Lot 535: 1969 De Tomaso Mangusta Coupé
Coachwork by Carrozzeria Ghia

Alejandro De Tomaso began racing in his native Argentina in 1951 before moving to Italy where he drove for Maserati and OSCA, the latter firm having been founded by the Maserati brothers after they left their firm in 1947, having sold to the Orsi family a decade earlier. De Tomaso’s racing experience inspired him to form his own company - De Tomaso Automobili - in Modena, Italy in 1959. Racing was the order of the day to begin with, the fledgling firm building cars for Formula Junior, Formula 3, Formula 2 and Formula 1.
De Tomaso’s first road car - the Vallelunga - did not appear until 1965. A pretty, mid-engined coupé powered by a 1.5-litre Ford four-cylinder engine, the Vallelunga was built in small numbers and was not a commercial success, but did contribute its short-wheelbase, backbone chassis - extensively re-engineered - to the Mangusta. It was the latter’s arrival in 1967 that established De Tomaso as a serious automobile manufacturer. One of the very first supercars, the Mangusta (mongoose- one of the few animals feared by the cobra…) was powered by a mid-mounted 289ci (4.7-litre) Ford V8 engine (302ci for the USA) driving via a ZF five-speed transaxle. CarrozzeriaGhia’s Giorgetto Giugiaro contributed the striking coachwork with gullwing engine covers, originally intended for Giotto Bizzarrini, and with around 300bhp on tap the aerodynamic Mangusta was good for a top speed in the region of 155mph. All-round disc brakes helped restrain this outstanding performance.
De Tomaso enjoyed close links with the Ford Motor Company at this time and the American firm helped put the Mangusta into larger scale production than would otherwise have been possible. Approximately 400 examples were made between 1967 and 1972.
Delivered new to De Tomaso’s Belgian importer and well-known endurance racer Claude Dubois in 1969, this Mangusta remained in Europe and was first registered in the UK on 1st October 1994. Previously owned (from January 1995) by one Anne Terese Butler, it has been maintained by Italian car specialists Bill McGrath Ltd since coming into Alexander Fyshe’s care in May 1995.
Since then the Magusta has been used mainly for long distance trips on the Continent, particularly to Scandinavia,France, Germany and Italy where it successfully completed the 2003 Modena Cento Ore event. The car has also been shown at the Hurlingham Club and Parc de Bagatelle concours d’elegance and took first in class at the 1998 Cartier Style et Luxe concours at Goodwood.
This very collectible De Tomaso is finished in black with matching interior and offered with Swansea V5 (note that the ‘M’ in the chassis number is mis-printed as an ‘H’) and new MoT/ road fund licence. The odometer reading of 58,000km is believed to be genuine.