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1973 De Tomaso Pantera Restomod Honors Family Legacy with Subtle Modern Touches

A deeply personal restoration transforms a beloved Pantera into a rolling tribute, blending restrained design, modern craftsmanship, and decades of family history.

"We just tried to stay respectful and build a nice car that comes into the now with the interior but still stays Pantera on the outside." That's an accurate summation from builder and designer Steve Strope about the approach he and his guys at Pure Vision Design took when revamping this 1973 De Tomaso Pantera. Subtlety was key. A Pantera is already a beautiful car; Steve just wanted to freshen things up on the inside.

Bobbi Brown is the owner of the Pantera, and it has special meaning to her. Her father, Howard, purchased it in 1981. He had long admired Panteras and jumped at the chance to own one when the time was right. After he passed away, the car became Bobbi's, and wanting to honor her father's legacy, she turned to Pure Vision Design to handle the rehabilitation of this classic American/Italian mashup.

We say mashup, of course, because the Pantera was a product of Italian design and manufacturing but powered by Ford 351 Cleveland engines. Being sold in the U.S. through Lincoln-Mercury dealerships added to the exclusivity of the model. Panteras were available through the partnership with Ford from 1971 to 1974. After that partnership with Ford ended, Panteras could be imported direct from De Tomaso until production ultimately ended in 1990 after a production run of about 7,200 cars.

Bobbi's car is noteworthy because it was an early recipient of a set of steel fender flares by Hall Pantera, a company started by Gary and Beverly Hall in 1976 that specialized in performance and restoration parts for Panteras. Among those parts were steel fender flares modeled after the fiberglass flares on the Pantera Group 4 race cars. The replica's steel design allowed them to be welded onto production cars for the uber-exotic widebody look. Hall Pantera still exists, by the way, and it's currently run by the Hall's granddaughter Tara.

Bobbi and her son began a restoration of the car but soon realized they wanted professional help. Research led her to Steve Strope and Pure Vision Design. Steve began by completely disassembling the car and sending the engine to Clay Smith Cams for a rebuild. Although it's mostly stock, they added a stroker crank for a little more displacement. Steve reckons the engine is good for about 425 horsepower. The suspension was completely rebuilt with new bushings and ARP hardware, and they installed Wilwood brakes front and rear. The original coolant lines were replaced with stainless tubing, and the radiator was ditched for a much larger aluminum radiator with a pair of Spal brushless fans. The original ZF five-speed transmission was also disassembled and inspected. The case was fully polished before being put back together. Steve also immediately and gleefully removed the notoriously unreliable Lucas wiring, replacing it with a new harness and fuses from Painless Performance.

The body and paint were in great shape, so Steve and Bobbi decided to leave the exterior alone. The interior was a different story, however. The entire interior of the car was reworked by Pure Vision with help from designer Eric Brockmeyer. Most notably absent is the big center console these cars came with. Inspired by the exposed shifter mechanisms in Pagani supercars, Steve metal-finished and chrome-plated the Pantera's stock linkage, turning it into a functional piece of art visible beneath an elegant framework that supports the structure. The original throttle linkage also received a similar treatment, with the mechanical levers finished in chrome and left on display near the shifter. Speedhut designed a modern set of gauges, angled to face the driver in the instrument panel and supplemented by mini gauges in the center of the dash. Eric Thorson stitched all the Italian leather that covers nearly every surface of the interior, and those stylish stainless steel inserts in the dash are from material intended to make a custom kitchen backsplash. Vintage Air provided a compact HVAC unit, and Steve installed a Kicker Bluetooth receiver in the dash that controls a full complement of speakers hidden in the kick panels and doors.

Reassembly of the car included polishing the cylinder heads and intake manifold before bolting them back on to the 351C. The headers, exhaust pipes, and rear suspension pieces received a Cerakote ceramic treatment in a shade of gold that perfectly complements the car's dazzling blue paint. All new weatherstripping and trim pieces were installed, and the bumpers and chrome trip were blacked out. Bobbi had installed those fancy three-piece Gotti wheels years ago, so Steve had them polished to a mirror surface and mounted Pirelli Cintauro P7 tires, the rear measuring a whopping 345/35-15, the same as a Lamborghini Countach.

Steve unveiled the car at the 2025 Grand National Roadster Show, to the delight of the gathered crowd, as well as Bobbi, who hadn't seen the car in one piece since dropping it off at Pure Vision many months prior. She loves the rehabilitation of her father's pride and joy and wasted no time putting miles on it in his honor.