The De Tomaso Mangusta was the first production car built by Italian automotive manufacturer De Tomaso Automobili. It was designed as a competitor to Ferrari's successful sports cars and had a short-lived racing career. We can almost say that this might have been the most beautiful Italian-designed sports car of its time.

The De Tomaso Mangusta was certainly a forward-looking car. Built in 1967, this Italian exotic featured all sorts of progressive ideas that we see on modern vehicles today: moderate ride height and aerodynamics, configuration as a convertible Targa, and a mid-mounted engine.

Like its contemporaries from Ferrari and Lamborghini, the Mangusta was capable of three-digit speeds even by today's standard.

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The Mangusta Is A Unique Car In Many Ways

De Tomaso Mangusta
via autogespot

The 1967 De Tomaso Mangusta has the aluminum backbone frame of an exotic Italian automobile and the deep rumble of an American engine. Like every Italian, the Mangusta has an extensive display of beauty to cover its well-concealed powerful engine and unbeatable speed. While this was not a dubious attempt to entice customers, it was an innovative one. De Tomaso managed to create a car that did not only compete with American GTs and the European supercars of that time, it also maintained value and rarity over fifty years after it was last produced.

The Mangusta was Alejandro De Tomaso's dream car; it had to fulfill everything the talented racecar driver turn automobile manufacturer wanted in a car. It had to be fast, with unbeatable horsepower, and would not be complete without that Italian appeal. De Tomaso almost achieved it with its first car Vallelunga, but the Mangusta was the ultimate fit.

Decades after De Tomaso stopped producing the Mangusta, their Mongoose is still one of the most inspired sports cars globally. Its spatial design depicted something every car enthusiast agrees on: even the fastest cars can be appealing to the eyes.

Ford V8 In An Italian Mongoose

De Tomaso Mangusta engine
via fabwheelsdigest

This beautiful car's core is a mid-mounted engine that gives it the familiar American muscle car rumble instead of the expected Italian purr. The Mangusta originally had a Ford 289 V8 engine before De Tomaso replaced it with its American market's updated 302 V8 engine.

The engines were offshoots of De Tomaso Automobili's dissolved relationship with Carroll Shelby. Both companies went on to produce cars from the ideas they had shared during their brief De Tomaso P70 Project relationship, but the Mangusta seemed to have worn the design and engine better.

The choice of a Ford engine for Mangusta was not strange since its predecessor Vallenlunga had used a Ford Kent engine. The same in-line four-cylinder overhead valve-type pushrod engine powered the 1959 Ford Anglia. Mangusta's choice of small-block v8 meant it was no longer a cruise ride but could take on the races Alejandro De Tomaso designed it to win.

The manufacturers also included a fully independent coil-spring suspension and four-wheel disc brakes to support their V8. The 289 V8 could produce approximately 160 hp, while its successor, the 302, was fitted with a five-speed ZF and got an average 221 hp output.

The Infamous Giugiaro Design

De-Tomaso-Mangusta-Featured-Image
via Classic Driver

The Mangusta sported the long and flashy design that distinguished every car of the late '60s, but it still managed to come out different. The real difference in Mangusta's design came from the budding designer, Giorgetto Giugiaro. Giugiaro, who was working for Carrozzeria Ghia SpA, took the liberty to design a rather strange model.

The chassis was extremely low, with the roof barely a meter off the ground. Giugiaro also added a huge windshield and the strangest feature: gull-wing doors over the engine. This design was practical and stylish; it outdid most car designs of that age and still set the tone for future generations of supercars. While the Mangusta has trademarks to the gull-wing doors, the Giugiaro design has influenced most modern sports cars' spatial and chassis design.

RELATED:The 1971 De Tomaso Mangusta Could Easily Be Mistaken For A Lamborghini

What It Costs To Own A Mangusta Today

De Tomaso Mangusta
via coachbuild

Fifty years after production stopped, the Mangusta has gained enough relevance to be called a classic, but it is still rare. Following its launch in 1967, De Tomaso produced 401 Mangustas, and less than 200 were redesigned to fit the American regulations.

The Manufacturers retrofitted 50 of those cars with headlamps and seatbelts before their American customers could import the Mangusta.

The glory days of this classic may have been abrupt, but its value has only increased over the years, and it costs way more than most modern sportscars. While it is scarce to find a perfect condition Mangusta today, the available options are the hallmark of De Tomaso's legacy.

This Hagerty Valuation Tool estimates that condition #1 Mangusta with the pristine condition and perfect chrome would cost an estimated $403,000 while excellent condition options cost $308,000.

De Tomaso ended the production of the Mangusta in 1971 because of its poor sale, and the success of the Pantera made the Mangusta lost to history, but it has more value today than anyone could have expected in 1971.