Whether it’s due to the cool combo of Italian style and American horsepower, the collectibility of analog powertrains, or perhaps its wicked name, time has been good to the De Tomaso Pantera. Born of a partnership between Formula One driver-turned-automotive businessman Alejandro de Tomaso and Henry Ford II, the vintage supercar’s value has surged wildly over the past 20 years, with the best examples trading for more than double what they would have just a decade ago. And what you’re looking at here is perhaps the best-kept example of the version for which purists clamor.
According to classic automotive insurer Hagerty, the highest price ever paid for a Pantera clocked in at $381,150, but that particular transaction needs an asterisk. The bespoke model, sold by SBX cars in November 2025, was dubbed “ADRNLN” by the Ringbrothers after the muscle car-customizing siblings put over 5,000 hours of work into handcrafting every panel and refitting the interior. A striking and covetable car, but not a factory collectible.
In 2024, a 1986 De Tomaso Pantera GT5-S set the record for the highest price paid for an original model at $352,000, the most obvious reason for the record being that it was a particularly low-mileage example of the 182 GT5-S models produced from 1985 through 1990. At that point, the Ford connection that makes the car so interesting had been dead for a decade, as the American automaker quit importing the model to the states in 1975.
The yellow 1972 model seen here represent the most expensive Pantera of the Ford era. Fittingly, it reached its $293,000 high-water mark after being sold on Bring a Trailer by Jim Farley, president and chief executive officer of Ford. Some 56 years ago, the Pantera debuted at the New York Auto Show in 1970, at which point Ford planned to import 10,000 to be sold at its Lincoln-Mercury dealerships.
Styled by American-born designer Tom Tjaarda of Ford-owned Italian design firm Carrozzeria Ghia, the vehicle looked like a mid-engine Ferrari but featured a 310-horsepower, 351-ci “Cleveland” V8 mated to a 5-speed ZF transaxle. After addressing early overheating issues with revisions and the introduction of an “L” Lusso model in 1972, Ford discontinued imports after fewer than 6,000 Panteras had been sold. While De Tomaso continued to produce the Pantera in low numbers all the way through 1991, the Ford import models are widely viewed as the most collectible.
According to BaT, the model formerly owned by Farley “was delivered new to the Aeronutronic division of Ford Aerospace for use as a pool vehicle before being registered to a private owner in Ventura, California, in July 1974.
The listing continues: “Chassis THPNMD04013 subsequently spent 18 years on display at the Yankee Candle Car Museum in South Deerfield, Massachusetts, prior to being offered on BaT in October 2018 and was subsequently repainted in its factory yellow finish that same year. The car was acquired by [Farley] on BaT in June 2024. Its overbored 351ci Cleveland V8 and ZF five-speed manual transaxle were removed and serviced by Classic Auto of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in January 2026, and further changes under current ownership have involved fitting an Edelbrock Performer intake manifold, refinishing the 15-inch Campagnolo magnesium wheels in bronze, reupholstering the seats in black vinyl and houndstooth cloth, adding a Ferrero steering wheel, installing a custom sound system, and more.”
If you consider a classic car an investment, it would appear that it’s time to start looking for a pre-1975 Pantera.