Resurrecting Carroll Shelby’s Secret DeTomaso Pantera Project
Car Kings spotlights historic collaboration between two auto industry icons that led to one-of-a-kind DeTomaso Pantera and eventually, the Viper.
A one-of-a-kind DeTomaso Pantera has rolled into the headlines after its back story was recently uncovered on an episode of Car Kings. The Discovery show provided a cool overview of the Pantera that was modded by Carroll Shelby for a project he worked on with equally legendary auto industry icon Lee Iacocca. The secret project was part of a development program that led to the Dodge Viper.
In the episode, the Galpin Crew resurrect the rare Pantera that was hot-rodded by Shelby to be “the ultimate racing machine,” says team leader Beau Boeckmann.
The team, and especially Boeckmann, seems genuinely excited to be in the presence of a project personally spearheaded by Shelby, who Boeckmann calls “one of the most important people in automotive history. “You can’t help but having a spiritual experience just sitting in it. There is so much history in this car that you can actually feel it.”
“It’s not like any other Pantera that exists in the world,” he adds. “This is the only one. But, I’m not just sitting here because it’s Carroll Shelby’s Pantera…there’s more to this story,” continues Boeckmann before delving into the DeTomaso Pantera’s intriguing backstory and how this once top-secret project car came to be. Check out the full Car Kings episode here.
Discovery’s Car Kings airs Mondays at 10 p.m. PT/ET. Catch the Liberace and other past episodes on the Discovery Go app.
Photos: Discovery/Car Kings
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