A photo archive of DeTomaso Panteras that have been modified to suit their owner's tastes. From conservative, narrow-body automobiles to extreme, over-the-top modifications. 304 pages in length with over 600 color photographs. This book is suited for DeTomaso Enthusiasts who appreciate or wish to explore many of the options available to the Pantera owner to modify their cars. Beautiful photography of Panteras from all over the world.

A comprehensive, richly illustrated appraisal of the life of this automotive design giant. Few automotive designers have as impressive a resume as Tom Tjaarda. Among automotive enthusiasts, his name is synonymous with the De Tomaso, Ferrari, Fiat, Ford, Innocenti, and Lancia marques, but he also is responsible for the successful workaday Ford Fiesta. Raised in Detroit when the American Dream was beating out its rock 'n' roll rhythm, Tjaarda moved to Europe, where he had a ringside seat at the heart of automotive styling activities in the Mecca of vehicle design, Turin, in its heyday. The lessons he learned there helped make him one of the most influential and important designers of the second half of the twentieth century. Tom Tjaarda: Master of Proportions is a comprehensive, richly illustrated appraisal of the life of this design giant, featuring all his designs, both automotive and in other fields.

When we reflect upon the history of Italian coachbuilding and design, it is impossible to ignore the De Tomaso / Giugiaro Mangusta. It was stunning from every angle; in both art and engineering, it challenged and defined every aspect of motor car design in the mid-1960s while solving the problems associated with midengined design with beauty, grace, and authority. By the dictates of its creator, the Mangusta would be a race car for the street, its chassis based on a contemporary competition car. By the hand of one of the greatest automotive designers in Italy, it would be wide, low, sleek, and of perfect line. Ex-GM Designer Dick Ruzzin knows this well, as did others whose lives were devoted to automotive architecture. The Detroit doyens of design, William L. Mitchell at GM and Gene Bordinat at Ford, realized immediately that the Mangusta was one of the most advanced and beautiful cars in the world. Both ordered a specially tailored Mangusta for their personal use, and Mitchell had his equipped with a Chevy V8. Ruzzin has owned the ex-Mitchell Mangusta for the last forty-seven years. He spent years in Turin and interviewed many of those who still remembered how the Mangusta came to be created. Writing with passion, experience, and knowledge, Ruzzin has expertly authored the only book specifically about the design of the Mangusta. —Pete Vack, Editor and Publisher, VeloceToday.com, LLC ----- Reading about Dick Ruzzin's Mangusta reminds me of two of the most unforgettable characters I ever met. They are, of course, Alejandro de Tomaso and William L. Mitchell. Once known as Europe's most profligate creator of exotic sports and racing prototypes, Argentinean emigre de Tomaso had a phase of fondness for backbone-framed cars that gave birth to the Mangusta, magnificently styled by the young Giorgetto Giugiaro. The mercurial Alejandro finally made good as a car manufacturer—with a little help from the Italian government. A car enthusiast from his bald dome to his Bond Street shoes, Bill Mitchell arranged for GM Styling to buy the latest sports cars to help him persuade GM's often hidebound management that more exciting cars might be good for business. His Chevy-engined Mangusta was a perfect example. Ironically its successor in de Tomaso oeuvre was the Pantera, launched by Ford like an arrow at the heart of GM. Now Dick Ruzzin brings his own enthusiasm for great automobiles to this presentation of an esoteric example from the golden age of Italian sports cars, deeply informed on all aspects of the Mangusta as only a passionate owner can be. —Karl Ludvigsen

Popular Mechanics inspires, instructs and influences readers to help them master the modern world. Whether it’s practical DIY home-improvement tips, gadgets and digital technology, information on the newest cars or the latest breakthroughs in science -- PM is the ultimate guide to our high-tech lifestyle.