Random Italian WTF from the 90's - De Tomaso Guara

"Joe F" (joe-f) 12/11/2015 at 20:29 • Filed to: De Tomaso, Elton John, I am sorry Elton, Guara, Barchetta, Pantera, Mangusta

2

6

There once was a man from Argentina.

No, that’s not the first line of a dirty limerick; I speak of one Alejandro De Tomaso; a car guy through and through.

After relocating to Italy (due to a kerfuffle involving his association to an attempted government overthrow...don’t you hate when that happens?), he went on to have an impressive automotive career; eventually being well known for his Mangusta and Pantera which both featured “Italian skin over American muscle” - which coincidentally was the subject line of the last email I got from Elton John.

And yes, I opened it.

And yes, I quickly closed it.

Alejandro went from race driver to auto entrepreneur; eventually owning several build and design firms like Maserati, Ghia, Innocenti, and Motoguzzi. He owned Maserati in the late 80’s/early 90’s and during that period he created the Maserati Barchetta:

A limited production, mid-engined (twin-turbo V6), track-only car with no windshield, no roof, and a peak height of 36”. By all accounts it was a well done track car which offered very good performance for the time. He decided to make a Stradale (street) version of the car (because super maintenance intensive race cars with no windshields make AWESOME consumer cars; do they not?!); but by the time Maserati was taken over by Fiat... surprise …the Barchetta Stradale died.

And yet…the Barchetta Stradale lived on in the form of an even LESSER-known car called the De Tomaso Guara!

Ah what a name…”Guara”. It sounds like something only penicillin can clear up; but according to the googles, it really refers to a bird. Or a flower. Or possibly a place in Brazil that was named after a bird. Or a flower.

The Guara was a Barchetta Stradale with a windshield, a roof, and a more reliable drivetrain. It initially featured a 4 liter BMW 32 valve V8 mated to a 6 speed transmission. Not bad for a ~2,600 lb car today let alone 1993. After several years, De Tomaso went back to the more tried and true “Elton John’s Email Method” utilizing the 4.6 liter Ford 32 valve V8 of the time. Plans for a twin turbo version were halted when Alejandro had a stroke and unfortunately the car ceased production in 2004 after his death in 2003.

Did it sell? Well…not really. You had to pay for the car in full when you ordered it. And De Tomaso had a history of going in and out of business so you do the math on that one. Pretty rare car.

Was it any good? Mid-engined V8 on a chassis developed by the guys that did the F1 suspension for Williams. Probably an interesting ride for sure.

not for canada - australian in disguise > Joe F 12/11/2015 at 20:44

2

Super cool looking car. Middle and rear reminds me a lot of the Alfa GTV for some reason. Not a bad thing at all.

It’s a shame De Tomaso probably isn’t coming back, I wish somebody would take them over and bring back the Pantera. (Perhaps even Ford? GT350R V8 in a sexy Italian body? Yes please!)

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > Joe F 12/11/2015 at 21:09

1

I’t a sad, sad world when a 90’s era BMW V8 was the more reliable choice.

Joe F > not for canada - australian in disguise 12/12/2015 at 01:02

1

Yes, I want to see that Voodoo v8 in a European chassis with some Italian style - Qvale? You still there?

Nauraushaun > Joe F 12/13/2015 at 07:01

1

And yet…the Barchetta Stradale lived on in the form of an even LESSER-known car called the De Tomaso Guara!

The Barchetta lives on as a car that looks completely different, has a completely different name and isn’t a barchetta nor even a convertible. Are they really that similar?

Isn’t that like saying the SLS AMG lives on as the C63 AMG? Same body shape, purpose and engine (all when taken very loosely but aren’t actually the same), that’s it.

Joe F > Nauraushaun 12/13/2015 at 16:02

1

Sure, one could correct that to say “the spirit of the Barchetta Stradale lived on” if they prefer - I did not get into the details but do you want to see the first Guara? Here you go:

The first 10 were Barchettas.

Convertibles (or maybe they were targas) coming later in the line.

I eschewed a lot of the detail assuming anyone intrigued would do a search to get the details on their own and get all of the details themselves.

One has to think tiny Italian bespoke car builder here. There were only 15 Maserati Barchettas - only 1 of them being a Stradale. There was not much of a baseline here. After he was forced to sell Maserati, he re-used as much as he could get away with in the Guara. We’re talking about a car of which 50 units were built over a 10 year period.

When he decided to go longitudinal V8, he had to lengthen the frame.

The chassis is largely the same.

The same designer that penned the Maserati Barchetta was used for a new style - they could not continue to use a Maserati design for obvious reasons.

There could be a lot of reasons for not going to Maserati for the drive train but when you think about the fact that Fiat put Ferrari in charge - I don’t think they would have supplied anything to Alejandro; and the Maserati engine used in the Barchetta was too maintenance intensive for a street application.

So these cars were a lot closer than one may think; and evolved rather linearly, but they did evolve. Car manufacturers try to make their cars faster; and on Alejandro’s limited budget; he was evolving the Maserati Barchetta the whole time.

Nauraushaun > Joe F 12/13/2015 at 21:55

0

I see. Makes sense. You really know your Guara! I didn’t do research past reading your article, sorry for asking a silly question.