An Italian supercar icon is helping to revive another.

One of the truly great names of Italian automotive performance is being revived. The Detomaso Pantera is being reborn as a Panther by Italian design consultancy, Ares.

Detomaso once rivalled Lamborghini, in the period of its existence between 1971-1992, building dramatically styled supercars which were rather controversially powered by larger American sourced V8 engines.

Now Lamborghini is helping to revive the spirit of those wild Detomaso supercars of old. The new car is built on a Huracan chassis and powered by the Italian-German 5.2-litre V10, primarily developed by Audi.

Ares design has done a remarkable job of recreating the feel of Detomaso’s Pantera with its new Panther, a car shaped in the classic 1970s wedge aesthetic. Most of the Panther’s exterior surfacing is carbon-fibre and most amazing, are its lights. There are LED strips at each corner of the nose, but also pop-up further back on the bonnet, something which has been outlawed in the name of safety for more than two decades.

As a low-volume manufacturer, Ares is allowed certain latitudes in terms of regulation, and as such, the Panther is a modern mid-engined supercar with pop-up headlights augmenting its LEDs. Only an Italian design firm would be so bold.

You get a fantastically retro cabin too, with all the modern comfort and convenience features, whilst the exterior is charmingly late 1970s, even featuring door-mounted side graphics.

With a kerb weight of only 1 420 kg and the Huracan V10 tuned to produce 485 kW, the Ares designed Detomaso Panther won’t lack for performance. Official claims are for 0-100 kph in 3.1 seconds and a top speed of 325 kph.

Ares will deliver a Panther within 12 weeks of receiving the R10m (estimated) purchase price.

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