Zany Former Lotus CEO is Recreating the DeTomaso Pantera

The DeTomaso Pantera has a huge following for the relatively obscure vehicle it is, so it’s hardly surprising to see that someone out there has decided to recreate the mid-engine sports car.

That “someone” isn’t just some random, wealthy car enthusiast, but former Lotus CEO Dany Bahar. The Turkish-born executive was ousted at Lotus after reportedly using company funds to do renovations on his home and rent a private aircraft. Prior to that, the company sent out a zany press release responding to media criticisms – making a mess of a situation that much worse.

project-panther-3

Bahar has since moved to Dubai and started an atelier called ARES Design. The automaker specializes in vehicle rebodies and customizations, and has today announced a plan to recreate the DeTomaso Pantera. Dubbed ‘Project Panther’, the vehicle will essentially be a rebodied Lamborghini Huracan. It’s currently undergoing final design, aerodynamic and crash-test engineering assessment at the company’s Modena, Italy factory and will go on sale in the second half of 2018. ARES says it will be built in “very limited numbers,” but it has not said how large the production run will be.

ARES claims they’ve already received a number of reservations for the Project Panther, so it sounds as though this project will indeed move past the digital rendering stage to become a real, tangible car. DeTomaso Pantera fans – rejoice!

project-panther-2

This article first appeared on AutoGuide

The post Zany Former Lotus CEO is Recreating the DeTomaso Pantera appeared first on VWVortex.

from VWVortex http://ift.tt/2zd5xvZ
via IFTTT

Comments

2018 Lamborghini Aventador S Roadster Review

“Supercars just don’t excite me anymore.” These words, spoken to me over a month ago by another journalist, friend, and (so-called) enthusiast were echoing in my head for far too long, but they’ve finally been drowned out. Drowned out by the wail of a naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12 engine mounted in the middle of the new Lamborghini Aventador S Roadster. My friend’s point is that back in the good old days, there was a crop of supercars that captured the imagination with amazing style, sounds, performance, and more. Today, it seems like everything is capable of supercar performance, with large luxury sedans outdoing some of the best and most dedicated teams of car nuts, while former pillars of automotive excellence are suddenly pumping out family-friendly SUVs. Beyond that, another league of supercars, dubbed hypercars have cropped up with hybrid gas-electric powertrains that make magical things happen quickly, but at the cost of the acoustic drama, visual flair, and engag...

Project SportWagen: Going Stage 2 with APR

When we last left you, the humble little SportWagen was fresh from the development process with our friends at AWE Tuning, sporting a new downpipe, exhaust and intake, allowing things to breathe a bit easier. The car sounded great, but there was no getting around the fact that our wagon was still quite, well, slow. While we realize that nothing we do to the Golf SportWagen at this point will make it a race car, we still felt compelled to do something . To put it bluntly, we had a fever, and the only cure was more power. Flash forward a few hours, and we found ourselves at Waterfest, staring down APR’s palatial spread and the numerous tuned vehicles surrounding it. Earlier in the year, APR had hinted to us that their 1.8 TSI files would be quite impressive, and based on what they were able to do with the 2.0 TSI found in the new GTI and our time in their Golf R, we knew it’d be worth the wait. So with this in mind, we lined our G...

Project Golf SportWagen- Intro

I’ve never really been one for SUVs and crossovers. The current offerings aren’t the body-on-frame, go-anywhere specialty tools I remember from my youth, and what they lack in capability, they also lack in on-road performance. The current crop isn’t terribly good at handling or being efficient, which in my opinion are major components of our ideal driving experience. So when it comes to space or utility, I usually look for something of the wagon variety- and it seems that I’m not alone. We hit quite a few shows around the east coast each summer, and we see modified Jetta SportWagens at nearly every event. Even amongst common consumers, these cars are highly sought-after. They don’t depreciate much, making even early Mk 5 2.5 versions expensive in comparison to other Jettas or Golfs of the same vintage. This year, Volkswagen launched their latest SportWagen, which is now billed as a Golf. In many ways, this latest SportWagen is the best yet and it has certai...

Vorderman Volkswagen

Search This Blog