The Amazo Effect: Racecar Of The Day - 1972 De Tomaso Pantera Gr.3 Prototype on eBay

To everyone who's ever listed a car on eBay and struggled to make an appealing listing and to the people who have made our day when we've laughed out loud at listings that are funny for all of the wrong reasons:
THIS is how you list a car.
OK, it helps that the car in question is a De Tomaso Pantera Gr.3 Prototype (Chassis 1070), but by jingo, they couldn't have put this car in a better light. We think that the $235,000 asking price is, if anything, too low.
Heres that link again; feel free to drool, slobber, gibber, go cross-eyed and generally act like a 5 year-old kid who's been given his first toy car. We are.

From the ad:

Of all Gr.3 Panteras ( presumably 34 ), 1070 is definitely the most unique. The Gr.3 Pantera was available by special order from the factory from 1972 through 1984 and '1070' was the first one.Being the prototype of the Gr.3 it was built on a leftover 'push-button' chassis and, therefore, is the only existing Gr.3 with a hand-made body as all pre-production Panteras were built by hand before the factory had the assembly line in place. The only noticeable difference were the door handles and thatís why all pre-production hand-made Panteras are called 'pulsante' ( push-button ).
Chucks registry indicates that:

Chassis 1001-1383 were push-buttons

1001-1285 stayed in europe

1286-1383 were exported to the US

The euro pushbuttons are a little different from the US pushbuttons

In addition to being the Gr.3 prototype, 1070 also stands aside as having one of the most intense racing activity of all Gr.3s. The archive of its racing life in Italy is intense and extremely well documented, as you will see below, but not all the results are known to this day and there should be some more room in years to come to complete it.
Sold new on March 21, 1972 to ìAuto Club Roma Italiaî it was registered with plate 'Roma KO 9227'. It was sold in 1973 to 'Ital Atlantic Express' for their driver Maurizio Micangeli to compete in the Italian sports car championship.
In the year 1974, Maurizio Micangeli raced her 7 times with 3 first place finishes.He moved on to a Gr.4 Pantera in 1975 and '1070' was sold to their friend Marco Curti alias 'Spiffero'.Spiffero raced her intensively until the end of 1979 when he storaged her as he also bought a Gr.4 ( 2858 ).
Within these 5 years he raced her at practically every race taking place in Italy with a couple of 2nd place finished. He also raced her each year at the prestigious 5 day Giro díItalia where his best result was 10th overall in 1978 behind some great drivers of that era like Markku Allen, Riccardo Patrese, Michelle Mouton, and behind great cars like Porsche 935 Turbo, Lancia Stratos Turbo.
Some other races where he took part in that second part of the 70's were won by drivers like Jacky Ickx, Jochen Mass and many others.Spiffero sold her in the mid 90's to Dominato Lado who took her to the factory for a complete restoration and changed the color from black to silver black. He took place in many Italian historical races and sold her in 2003 to Lado Niccolo who did the same until selling her in 2005.
1070 has been in Belgium since and is now available for a new home either for a private collection of historic racing cars or to continue her racing career in all the classic events around the world. She is eligible for all the famous ones like the Le Mans Classic (which she did in 2002 ), the French Tour Auto or even the new born Giro díItalia where she should be very welcomed, having done the original one 5 timesBy the way, it's probably one of very few Italian registered racing cars that is still with its first registration plates. (if you have an address in Italy, it could stay that way).

Condition :
Having done 48 historic races since the restoration in 1997 sheís not in concours condition, of course, but is very well preserved with a perfectly straight body that shows a small dent in the front hood, some chip stones on the nose and a few cracks in the paint near the windows. The interior is completely original and in perfect shape. The steering wheel and the 2 bucket seats are from the 90ís and both seats are worn around the area that holds the shoulders. The engine bay was cosmetically refreshed this last May when a full service was done and looks almost new. The work carried out was a new MSD ignition system with new plugs, cables and a new distributor. The original Ford 351 engine runs as new and delivers all the power wich you can tell by a time of 2:58 around the Spa-Francorchamps track in June of this year. All brakes were done in 2007 and are very good. Gearbox is perfect and the heavy-duty clutch is a little rough but does the job perfectly. Four new vintage-design Dunlop tires were also fitted this year. The 4 original Cromodora wheels ( not replicas ) were repainted a few years ago but the paint isnít as smooth as it should be. All electrical functions work perfectly including the pop-up headlight system (one is a bit slower that the other). The passenger side window rolls down but not evenly and needs some help rolling up. The sale includes the following :

The original ´Libretto' ( Italian registration document ) delivered in 1972 showing every change of ownership

The original 1997 FIA papers with stamped pictures and technical data

The original technical passport from the Automobile club díItalia ( ACI CSAI ) with 48 races registered and signed between 1998 and 2005

A good copy of the original invoice of the car from the factory to Auto Club Roma dated March 21, 1972

The front and rear original Italian License plates ´Roma KO 9227'

A portfolio with about 50 original large prints photographs of the car in action in the 70's

Many copys of invoices from De Tomaso Modena from the 70's and a copy of the work carried out in 2011.