De Tomaso died in 2003, and the trademark was therefore acquired by Gian Mario Rossignolo in 2009. Following the Deauville concept at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show, De Tomaso was nothing more than a shadow of its former self up until Project P came into being.
Ideal Team Ventures bought De Tomaso in 2014 with the purpose of getting the business back on track in half a decade. Five years later, a working prototype has been put together just in time for the Festival of Speed. Details surrounding the Pantera’s successor are scarce, but don’t hold your breath for a Cleveland V8 under the hood.
What we do know about the mid-engine supercar is that De Tomaso has co-developed the newcomer “with world-renowned technical partners.” Speaking of which, Ideal Team Ventures bought Gumpert in 2016, coming up with the Intensa Emozione in 2018. The Apollo IE develops close to 800 ponies from a 6.3-liter V12 developed by Autotecnica Motori and HWA AG.
Given that HWA AG is a racing team that develops and builds racing cars for Mercedes-AMG, the engine could come in the guise of the 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 from the GT. On the other hand, the engine from Affalterbach isn't suited for mid-engine applications such as Project P.
Whatever propels the Project P, De Tomaso won’t disappoint us with fewer than eight cylinders.
