Why The ’66 DeTomaso Mangusta Couldn’t Kill the Cobra

In the early 1960’s, Ford was presented with two very interesting ideas at about the same time. Carroll Shelby wanted Ford to provide engines for his English-sourced Cobra race cars. Alejandro DeTomaso also wanted to use engines for his mid-engine sports car, the Vallelunga. While both Shelby and De Tomaso would go on to use Ford engines, it was ultimately Shelby that became a household name while DeTomaso eventually went into liquidation, sitting in a sort of legal limbo even today. So what went wrong?

Italian for “Mongoose,” the Mangusta was an affordable alternative to the Ferraris and Lamborghinis, and it was designed to compete directly with the Shelby Cobra. And it could have, had it not been for some serious missteps on the part of the designers.

Introduced in 1966 as a replacement for the Vallelunga, the DeTomaso Mangusta was originally slated to get something Shelby got, or so goes the story. It could have been the 306 horsepower 289 engine that would also be found in the 1966 GT350.

More likely though, it was the 427 engine that Shelby got for the Cobra, which in the process created a legend. Meanwhile DeTomaso got 220-horsepower 302 engines in the American market, a far cry from the 400-plus-horsepower 427 engines the 2,300 pound Cobras got. Save for the engine, the Mangusta was supposed to be a better, more modern setup with superior handling dynamics. But was it?

The Mangusta did have plenty going for it; aerodynamics, clam-like hood and gullwing doors, as well as a mid-engine setup that could have resulted in a superior weight distribution. But instead, the Mangusta was very awkwardly balanced with 32/68 weight imbalance. With some much weight concentrated on the rear end, the front end had a habit of lifting off the ground in the corners making for some rather dynamic understeering.

But the tubular frame that held the V8 engine and five-speed ZF transmission was prone to flexing, and so sometimes the car dramatically oversteered. Suffice to say, it was unwieldy and unpredictable at best, despite the four disc brakes and superior suspension setup to the Cobra. And at nearly a 1,000 pounds heavier than the Shelby but with a much less powerful engine, it wasn’t exactly quick either.

So despite the Mongoose moniker (the punky rodent is a natural enemy of all that slithers), the mid-engine Mangusta simply didn’t have what it took to compete with the Cobra. Just over 400 of these cars were built, and fewer than 150 are believed to be left. De Tomaso did go on to create the popular and affordable Pantera, but today the name exists only on some waiting-to-be-signed paperwork while Shelby’s legend continues to grow.