I absolutely drooled over the Mangusta when I first saw it in magazines in 1967. Which means I spilled a lot of bodily fluids that year, as I had a similar reaction to the the Lamborghini Miura. I ran repeated mental debates: which was more stunningly beautiful: Marcello Gandini’s Miura or Giorgetto Giugiaro’s Mangusta?
The Mangusta won out more often, but I knew back then its beauty was only skin deep. R&T lays out the reasons why, and not just because it had no seat belts, thanks to a loophole in the US safety regs at the time. .
Yes, the idea of a sports car based on a mid-engine sports prototype racing car with a superbly styled Italian body, superb handling, a comfortable interior, refined and easy running, and yet incorporate easy servicing and parts was a dream at the time. Only two cars could be considered in the running: the Miura and Mangusta. Given that the Mangusta cost just about half of what a Miura did, and had a very easy to service Ford V8, it held out the promise of fulfilling that dream.
Its 43″ tall body was the ultimate eye magnet, and R&T staffers fought to get some seat time. Out on the road, everyone stared, even J. Law. Of course, getting into it was another thing, given its lowness and doors that didn’t open more than halfway and had no stops to keep them open. A preview of thing (not) to come.
The dashboard showed no concession to any thought of crash safety, with a a barely padded top that hid a near-razor sharp edge (“Safety by Gillette”). And as mentioned, neither lap or shoulder belts were fitted. Really? Did manufacturers in 1967 only do that because they had to? In DeTomaso’s case, yes. The Mangusta was exempted thanks to the “Bayh Law”, which allowed manufacturers of less than 400 cars to sell them in the US without any need to conform. That apparently included lighting, as the tested Mangusta had European lights, and its speedometer was metric.
The passenger compartment was cramped, the steering wheel and pedals well offset to the right to clear the huge front wheel well. The seats had no rake adjustment, seat back locks/latches, or head restraints. The very slow electric windows opened only halfway. But there was one saving grace: air conditioning! Without it, it might have been almost unbearable in the Southern California sun.
But the bodywork by Ghia was “masterfully finished and detailed”. Workmanship was top notch, inside and out.
And unlike some hoary mid-engine cars, the Ford V8 was surprisingly quiet. Given that the 302 was a perfectly stock and in mild 230 hp tune with a hydraulic cam, that’s not too surprising. Unlike the safety regs, emission regs did have to be met, which explains why US bound Mangustas (the majority of its production) came with the mild 302 instead of the 306 hp hi-po 289 (same as the Shelby GT350) that the European version got.
That also meant that the five gears in the ZF transmission were more than necessary, given the V8’s wide power band. The shift linkage had issues, so less shifting would have been a boon. The 302 wouldn’t rev past 5100 rpm, so it was a lazy American. But in the reasonably light Mangusta (3050 lbs), acceleration was still brisk although hardly stellar. 0-60 came in 7.0 seconds, the 1/4 mile in 15.1 @94 mph. The V12 Miura was doing 101 mph in the traps, so the difference in performance was considerable. In terms of top speeds, it was no comparison: 118 mph vs. 163 mph (timed).
The Mangusta’s steering was “neither light nor especially quick”, but it was precise. And it pulled a respectable 0.8 G on the skid pad. But on the road, it was sensitive to side wind and quite prone to oversteer, despite the fatter rear tires. And it didn’t like choppy road surfaces either. The brakes were only so-so.
The verdict? The practicality of the Ford V8 was a plus. But in just about every other way, it was inferior to the Miura. “How much driving enjoyment can you get from a sports car that has tricky handling, mediocre brakes, and a terrible shift linkage?”
R&T agreed with me that “it is the most beautiful car in series production…to be seen tooling down the freeway or boulevard is some kind of automotive ultimate”. There it is, and of course that’s precisely how the overwhelming majority of exotic mid-engine sports cars have spent their lives, right to today.
Related CC reading:
Vintage R&T Road Test: 1968 Lamborghini Miura – “Vroooooooooom!”
Hard to believe those are only 15″ wheels and tires (185 on the front, 225 on the back). I guess the fact that the Mangusta is so low makes the wheels and tires look bigger than they actually are.
I was the second owner of the orange car brought in for the 1967 Denver car show.
It was fun to drive, kind of like a big go cart.
I sold it because the frame cracked twice at the top were all the members came together. Others had the same problem.
The best driving car I owned (20 yrs)
First off, I have always loved the Mangusta. For interest sake, I checked the US Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI Inflation Calculator, and found that $11,150 as of November 1967 is $98,209.40 in November of 2022.
I suppose the Boss 302 heads were a bit larger than the Windsor heads, but it probably would have been worth the effort to make the EXPENSIVE US market Mangusta quicker or faster than a $3,000 compact muscle car.
Given the fragility of the transmission and drivetrain, it is better that it had the Windsor heads and was not tuned to the moon. Even though I am too big to drive it (size 14 feet) from others I have heard that it was a handful to drive, and really needed more development.
The design though, she is a beauty!
The European market Mangusta had a tuned K-code 289 with a claimed similar output to the Boss 302.
Ooohhhh, parents got me this I guess around 1970, as interwebs say this was a one year only. Had never heard of it, but even at 5 years old, i knew it was dead sexy. I remember that I used to call it a Mangusta Detomaso. it wasnt until about 6 years later when I got an excellent auto “encyclopedia” series that I understood I was saying it backwards. Looking at the underside, now I know why. Thats what my parents read to me! It was a beautiful model, although it had was looked like an amber lense in place of the headlights. (was going to post, but only seems to allow one shot)…Speaking of headlights (a “slight” interest of mine), first time i ever saw the “pop up” lights on this.
Last point, re the 15 inch tires, I agree, they do look big. Those nice fat sidewalls look just fine.
I lusted after these as an adolescent, as they seemed the very definition of exotic. The 302 wasn’t the screamer yet that the 289 was or that the Boss 302 would be. Ford was working on the tunnel port heads for the 302 that were ultimately a dead end and led to the Boss 302.
Great start to what the Pantera would eventually become.
Is this vehicle seen in movie “Kill Bill 2”?
I’d say yes
My favorite “exotic” car of all time, flaws and all. The most perfect body styling ever imo. I’d take one over any Lambo, Maser or Ferrari (well, maybe a 250 GTO….), and with a great US V8 to boot. When the Challenger came out in ’70 the thing I liked best about them was it’s Mangusta-inspired front end design. Mangustas are out of sight now, but the Pantera is pretty close, and almost attainable!
Adding to that (the front end design), very much also like the Lamborghini Espada. Bland stare of simple round lamps from within a trim, sharp-lined dark void.
Just the right touch of sinister in your rear view mirror.
One of the instructors at the old ACCD had one of these. I loved looking down on it from a second floor classroom and studying its sleek, clean shape…circa 1971-72.
The design has aged well, especially when compared to the overdone, origami, phony scoop “look” that is considered eye pleasing on today’s overdone HUGE SUVs that dominate the market in place of automobiles. DFO
Those pedals look incredibly close to the seat compared to the wheel.
Traditional Italian driving position “ape arms and go-kart legs” (per R&T),
Well, that’s most difficult to overcome, no wonder so many of the Italian stuff has that “don’t meet your heroes” stigma attached.
I’ve loved the special European cars that I never saw in Illinois/Wisconsin. Of course I saw and knew Mercedes, Porsche and Jaguar cars. But the exotic stuff I really learned best from the very good 1/43 scale die cast models available at reasonable prices. I would have rather had one of the models than a record album; I think they cost about the same. And I had a source for the fine Politoys models of truly exotics.
Those included both the Mangusta and the Miura. The DeTomaso model was flawed by having the two gullwing hood panels finished in a contrasting black – wrecking the beauty of the body. The Miura was just a stunning model. Mine was yellow but it could be found in red too. Based on the looks of the model only and knowing nothing about the relative merits of the real car, I’ve always preferred the Miura.
Talk about pushing the limits of safety law. That plaque should have read “Vehicle has zero safety equipment. It’s an absolutely gorgeous V8 powered cuisinart. In the event of an accident you will be julienned” Although they seemed to have learned quickly with the Pantera.
No seatbelts, so padding on dash, rattles over bumps, bad brakes, heavy steering, awful driving position only suitable for midgets, reading between the lines, this must have been an awful car to drive, but R&T could never come out and say that about anything from Europe. They weren’t nearly so gentle in describing the flaws of the C3 Corvette when it came out in 1968, which could spank the Mangusta at half the price even with a base 327/350. Sort of like meeting a super model only to find out she is airheaded b*tch.
Make mine the SBC powered one that a GM exec had. It got a mention in Dean’s Garage.
I’ve been entranced by it’s looks since I played with the Hot Wheels version in the late 1960s