Sunday, September 6, 2009

Super rare 1969 DeTomaso Mangusta shows up on eBay


American muscle and Italian design are no stranger to each other, both in the past and the present. And back in 1969, a lucky few could have their cake and eat it too in the form of the DeTomaso Mangusta.

De Tomaso was founded by an Argentinean based in Modena, and they created the Mangusta (Italian for "mongoose") which harbored a Ford V8 under the hood. From 1967through 1971, 400 Mangustas rolled out of the De Tomaso factory with 289s or 302s installed, out of which fewer than 200 are believed to still be around.

This particular Mangusta packs a 302 fitted with race-spec cylinder heads and intake manifold sourced from Dan Gurney's legendary Eagle racer. It once belonged to cosmetics heir and noted car collector Jack Nethercutt before passing into the hands of Vector founder Gerard Wiegert.