by Mike –
Here is my pick for the classic car for sale today that I would like to own. Another Mangusta – it seems like there has been an over supply of Mangustas on the market recently considering that there are less than 200 left.
A My Car Quest reader bought a Mangusta that was for sale in St. Louis last year. Who is going to buy this one? It appears the reserve is off so this Mangusta will sell!
1969 De Tomaso Mangusta
The seller says:
* Fully restored and beautifully presented
* 16,450 miles
* We’ve had this car for over 30 years
* Complete restoration by Doan Spenser, Ford Icon
* There is too much to list, the car is absolutely immaculate, it runs and drives like new
I hope the seller meant that the Ford Icon who restored this car was Doane Spencer. I think this must be a case of misspelling because how many Doane Spencers can there be?
And what a coincidence that I just wrote about the Doane Spencer Roadster yesterday! One of the very first hot rods ever made. Doane Spencer was a real pioneer in hot rod design and fabrication. If Doane Spencer really restored this Mangusta then I love it even more!
This De Tomaso Mangusta is for sale on eBay.
~~~
Low miles and 30 years with one owner – I love it! The cream leather interior is rare, most of the red Mangustas had black interior.
Let us know what you think about this classic car in the Comments.
Correct me if I’m wrong but the current bid of $87k seems very reasonable for the Mangusta in this condition and history. I didn’t read eBay description in detail but I not think that this Mangusta was tracked much given the cream interior.
Seems to be amazing piece of Mangusta 🙂
Hope the new buyer will maintain it like it deserves.
Actually there are 2 Mangustas in SoCal right now on Ebay, probably only miles from each other! One is referenced here at $87k, the other has 1 bid for $125 & a BIN of $180! I really like today’s featured car with its single headlight, red/creme combination and 30 year ownership. If records/pictures are available for those 30 years, then the value only escalates. What surprises me is that this example has found its way to Ebay. I would have thought a car of this seeming provenance would be well known in DeTomaso club circles and would sell on word of mouth. That being said, as a ‘veteran’ of Ebay, the buyers who are bidding seem legitimate and have bid it up to the Reserve & with 4 days left, it will be interesting to watch. The other Mangusta is scheduled to end today & while it does have 1 bid, I wouldn’t think it will come close to the seller’s $180-ish target. While my main interest is the early Porsche 911 era (1965-73), my first new car was a 1972 Capri 2600 and I spent many hours in the Lincoln Mercury showroom/service area in Wellesley Massachusetts waiting for my car to arrive and subsequent visits for after market work and there was almost always a new Pantera prominently featured in the showroom and a lasting interest in the marque was born. If I was a buyer, I’d get in contact with the owner via Ebay and then I’d empty the piggy bank and get myself to LA. This Mangusta looks that good!
I saw the eBay listing for both Mangustas and I chose to write about this one. It is rare to have two Mangustas on eBay at the same time!
I owned both the 2600 and 2800 Capri, they were great cars, best paint I ever had on any car. I put 150 K miles on my last one and then sold it to my dad who put another 125 K on it as a commute car. Perfect balance of power and weight . I used to love driving it up skiing in the Sierra’s.
Your right, I had green metallic over tan and it was stunning! Didn’t want to hi-jack the Detomaso thread but Edsel Ford was going to school in Massachusetts at the time and he had a real Ford Capri 2600 RS that was markedly different from my US car. Much lower, more power & better sounds.
Both are nice cars but i like the double headlight car, it looks more original.
The single headlight car looks like the Pantera hot rod club stopped by for lunch. Where are the original rims? Too much carpet everywhere. Then there is the price?? seems way too low why?
I agree with your comments about the single vs double headlight but this is the US version with a bigger yet less powerful Ford engine than the European version. But it is here and there are not that many around.
As far as the price I am a little concerned that the reserve was set so low, I do not know what it was but it is met at $87,000.
I also have sent two messages to the seller and have not had a response yet after 2 days. The second message I gave him my phone number and said I may want to see the car.
Interestingly, the $87K car is not shown in the Mangusta International club site while the other one is. I did not look closely and notice the wheel change however aren’t those trademark wheels from Mr Hall’s Pantera restoration shop? I liked the creme interior but perhaps it is over-restored and possibly masks some past issues. Again, the presence of records would be a real plus.
You are correct – the eBay ad says this:
Interior: Hall Pantera completed interior and Mag Wheels.
Man, you are smart!
That’s not what my wife says! It does lead me to a thought about Marques such as DeTomaso. How important is factory original when only 400 pieces were built? In the case of the Mangusta, is the Giugiaro clad body the only key to successful ownership? Just thoughts about the different standards used by contemporary marques.
SOLD!!
For $96,001. There was very competitive bidding on this Mangusta and the winner was clever with his bid of $1 dollar over an even number – there was another bidder at $96,000 even – that bidder is probably kicking himself now.
If you were the winning bidder let us know – if you were the $1 losing bidder also let us know. There will be other cars some day.
Hi Mike,
I won the bid and am very curious now how the real condition compares with the item-description and the pics. Unfortunately it will take about two months until the car is at my place in Vienna/Austria. I agree completely with all the comments and will try to get as much original parts as possible (if the owners had the car really for 30 years they must be some kind of “afficionados” and so I hope they stored the parts. Communication was indeed impossible before the end of the auction and for me it was (or better still “is”) therefore a kind of game of fortune. I keep you informed.
Herbert
Herbert,
Congragulations! I almost bid on this Mangusta but I was over ruled. I look forward to seeing photos and I am very interested in the Doane Spencer connection.
Dear Mike & Herbert, I was an underbidder! Not sure where I dropped out but think it was at around $94,000 (it was VERY late Jakarta time). Actually, I was prepared to bid well over $100,000 but didn’t because, like Herbert, I couldn’t get an answer (despite two requests) from the Seller to some simple questions (he cost himself a lot of money by not replying) and therefore was a little uncomfortable with the offering overall. Am sure you will enjoy the car! Best wishes, Anthony
Thanks Anthony. I will keep all of you posted.
best regards
Herbert
Here is a set of NOS Mangusta wheels on eBay, sent in by another My Car Quest reader:
Click here: http://bit.ly/13L6uBR
This car shows that you cannot win a design contest with Giorgetto Giugiaro. The wheels wreck the car exterior and the cream color on the instrument panel cover will make driving the car very tiresome due to the windshield reflections. Painting the ZF car color is also a hot rod trick which does not fit the Mangusta well at all.
I hope the new owner corrects these deficiencies, the value of the car will go up if they do I would imagine.
DICK RUZZIN
Hi Dick!
No worries. It was a lot of work to do (like always more than estimated) but now she has the original wheels and ANSA-exhaust. Engine is completely redone and in “FORD-blue”, ZF as supposed to be in silver. To be honest I did not correct the modifications concerning cylinder head and especially jackshaft (could not get one including new bell-housing). The interior is also still in cream – I will see how it works out. Paint came off and the car is now repainted in verde gemma which looks stunning.
Herbert
P.S.: I disagree with your comment ” … that you cannot win a design contest with Giorgetto Giugiaro.” because in my opinion he was one of the best in his era. But as I know that you are the owner of the Chevy-powered Mangusta I suppose that I misunderstood your comment 🙂
You mis-read my comment.
What I meant was that you will not be able to do a better job, or improve on, what Giugiaro has done.
Every Mangusta that I have seen that has been altered does not look as good as the original. You can enhance the design by doing things that he would have liked to have done in detail but hot rodding the car shows a lack of understanding of the car and its value as a design icon.
Naturally those people feel that what they have done is better, that is human nature.
Giugiaros design solution of a sheer body shape over a Shelby-DeTomaso racing chassis is very purposeful and elegant as well as sporty. The design speaks clearly as to the purpose of the car,
arbitrary alterations to the original design are not consistent with the excellent original solution and its execution. This results in a mix-up of the original design quality that devalues the car.
DICK RUZZIN
Sorry for my misunderstanding.
Herbert