Super Retro - Mangusta

There are few cars that are built out of sheer distaste for another manufacturer. Forged from absolute rage, and a steel determination to build a better car than the other man. Famously, it’s what set Ferruccio Lamborghini on his path away from simple tractor salesman.

But what of the other vengeful Italian?

De Tomaso’s Mangusta was birthed shortly after Carroll Shelby allegedly welched on a deal with Alejandro de Tomaso to develop a new breed of race-car, instead choosing to work with Ford on their GT40.

It’s unlikely to have escaped anyone’s attention that ‘mangusta’ is the Italian word for mongoose, one of the only natural predators to the Cobra. Fair to say then, that Alejandro wasn’t best pleased with Shelby. Sourcing a 4.9 L V8, also, curiously, from Ford, De Tomaso and Carrozzeria Ghia set to work build the frame and body to house this behemoth.

The result was a car that was as volatile as de Tomaso himself. When tested in 1969, the car achieved a top end of 155mph. Nothing to sniff at in 2022, let alone in 1967 at the cars debut.

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