- De Tomaso Vallelunga
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De Tomaso Vallelunga 
Manufacturer De Tomaso Production 1964–1968 Assembly Ghia Successor De Tomaso Mangusta Class Sports car Body style Coupe (53 produced)
Spider (one-off)Layout RMR layout Engine Ford 1592 cc straight-4 Transmission 4/5-speed manual Wheelbase 2,310 mm (90.9 in) Curb weight 726 kg (1,601 lb) The Vallelunga was an extremely rare mid-engined, rear wheel drive sports car produced by De Tomaso from 1964 until 1968.
Contents
History
The Vallelunga was based on a roadster designed by Carozzeria Fissore[1] and named after the Autodromo di Vallelunga first shown as a concept car at the Turin Motor Show in 1964[2]. De Tomaso had hoped to sell the design of the concept to another company, perhaps Ford[2], but when there were no takers had the car produced by Ghia[1].
Specifications
The engine was a 1.5L straight-4 Kent engine from the Ford Cortina[2] with 104 hp (78 kW) at 6200 rpm[1]. A Volkswagen Beetle transaxle,[1][3] fitted with Hewland gearsets,[1] was used. The chassis was a pressed steel backbone with tubular subframes. Suspension was double wishbone and coil springs at all four corners[2] with uprights sourced from Triumph. The small car weighed 726 kg (1600 lb)[1] with a fiberglass body and many drilled aluminium parts[1]. Brakes were disc all around.[3]
Demise
Unfortunately the chassis wasn't torsionally sound for engines with higher torque made worst since some welding in the backbone spine fabricated in Italy was faulty, and drive train vibrations were a constant problem for those cars. Only 53[1] production cars were built (58 including aluminum body prototypes and race cars) before it was replaced by the De Tomaso Mangusta. The Mangusta used the concept of the Vallelunga chassis, significantly re-engineered to take a Ford Boss 302 engine , all packaged with a body by Giorgetto Giugiaro.[2]
One enthusiastic young owner of the Vallelunga was Ricci Martin, son of the late entertainer Dean Martin. Ricci obtained the red car around the time of his sixteenth birthday in 1969, but his brother wrote it off a few months later in a road accident. Ricci's mother went to some effort to locate a replacement car in an auto showroom in Milan, Italy, and she also arranged for the new car to be air-freighted to California. Of further interest, a few years later Ricci Martin sold the replacement Vallelunga after purchasing a version of its successor, the Mangusta. The Ricci Martin car (VIN 807DT0116) did not die, however. It was generally restored by machinist K. Krohncke in San Jose, California sold to a collector in Southern California in 1980 and now lives in Florida.
References
Citations
Sources
- Lamm, John (September 1991). Thos L., Bryant. ed. "Salon: 1967 De Tomaso Vallelunga". Road & Track (Newport Beach, California: Hachette Magazines) 43 (1): 106–109
- Lawrence, Mike (1997) A to Z of Sports Cars 1945-1990 Bay View Books ISBN 1-870979-81-8
- Rosetti, Giancarlo "De Tomaso Vallelunga: Just the beginning for Alexandro" European Car Magazine Source Interlink Media http://www.europeancarweb.com/features/0502ec_de_tomaso_vallelunga/. Retrieved 2007-10-24
De Tomaso Modena S.p.A. car timeline, 1960s–2010s Type 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 RMR Vallelunga Mangusta Pantera Guarà FR Sedan Deauville FR Coupé Longchamp Biguà Categories:- De Tomaso vehicles
- Rear mid-engine, rear-wheel drive vehicles
- 1960s automobiles
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