De Tomaso Vallelunga

De Tomaso Vallelunga
Overview
Manufacturer De Tomaso
Production 1964–1968 (58 produced)
Assembly Italy: Ghia
Designer Carrozzeria Fissore[1][2]
Body and chassis
Class Sports car
Body style
  • Coupe (53 produced)
  • Spider (prototype)[1]
Layout RMR layout
Powertrain
Engine Ford 1592 cc straight-4
Transmission 4-speed manual
5-speed manual
Dimensions
Wheelbase 89.5 in (2,273 mm)[3]
Length 151.2 in (3,840 mm)[3]
Width 63.0 in (1,600 mm)[3]
Height 42.5 in (1,080 mm)[3]
Curb weight 726 kg (1,601 lb)
Chronology
Successor De Tomaso Mangusta

The De Tomaso Vallelunga is a mid-engined, rear wheel drive sports car produced by De Tomaso from 1964 until 1968.

History

The Vallelunga was based on a roadster designed by Carrozzeria Fissore[1][2] and named after the Autodromo di Vallelunga first shown as a concept car at the Turin Motor Show in 1963.[1][4] De Tomaso had hoped to sell the design of the concept to another company,[4] but when there were no takers had the car produced by Ghia.[2]

Specifications

The engine was a 1.5 L straight-4 Kent engine from the Ford Cortina,[3][4] tuned to 104 hp (78 kW) at 6200 rpm.[2] A Volkswagen Beetle transaxle,[3][2] fitted with Hewland gearsets,[2] was used. The chassis was a pressed steel backbone with a tubular subframe at the rear.[3] Suspension was double wishbone and coil springs at all four corners[4] with front and rear anti-roll bars[3] and with uprights sourced from Triumph. The small car weighed 726 kg (1,600 lb)[2] with a fiberglass body and many drilled aluminium parts.[2] Brakes were disc all around.[5]

Demise

The chassis was not torsionally sound for engines with higher torque, a problem made worse by faulty welding in the Italian-made backbone. Drivetrain vibration was a constant problem for those cars. 50 production cars were built,[3][2] along with three aluminum-bodied prototypes and five aluminum-bodied racing cars, bringing the total to 58.[3] The Vallelunga was replaced by the Mangusta. The Mangusta used the concept of the Vallelunga chassis, significantly re-engineered to take a Ford 302 engine, all packaged with a body by Giorgetto Giugiaro.[4]

Ricci Martin, son of entertainer Dean Martin obtained the red car at his sixteenth birthday in 1969,[6] which his brother destroyed in a road accident a few months later.[7] Ricci's mother went to some effort to locate another new Vallelunga in an auto showroom in Milan, Italy, and arranged for the new car to be air-freighted to California.[8] A few years later, Ricci Martin sold the replacement Vallelunga after purchasing a version of its successor, the Mangusta.[9] The Ricci Martin car (VIN 807DT0116) was generally restored by machinist and sports car enthusiast Kenneth Krohncke in San Jose, California, sold to a collector in Southern California in 1980, and was later located in Florida.


Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 Lamm (1991), p. 108.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Rosetti (2009).
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Lamm (1991), p. 109.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Lawrence (1997), p. 97.
  5. ↑ Lamm (1991), pp. 108, 109.
  6. ↑ Martin (2004), p. 197.
  7. ↑ Martin (2004), pp. 197–198.
  8. ↑ Martin (2004), pp. 200–201.
  9. ↑ Martin (2004), pp. 201–202.

References

  • Lamm, John (September 1991). Thos L., Bryant, ed. "Salon: 1967 De Tomaso Vallelunga". Road & Track. 43 (1): 106–109.
  • Lawrence, Mike (1997) [1991]. A to Z of Sports Cars 1945-1990. Bay View Books. ISBN 1-870979-81-8.
  • Martin, Ricci (2004). "Chapter 9—Dean-Paul". That's Amore: A Son Remembers Dean Martin. Lanham, MA US: Taylor Trade. ISBN 1-58979-140-1. LCCN 2001027526.
  • Rosetti, Giancarlo (February 2009). "De Tomaso Vallelunga: Just the beginning for Alexjandro". European Car Magazine. Archived from the original on 25 November 2013. Retrieved 2007-10-24.
De Tomaso Modena S.p.A. car timeline, 1960s–2010s
Type 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s
0123456789 0123456789 0123456789 0123456789 0123456789
RMR Vallelunga Mangusta Pantera Guarà
FR Sedan Deauville
FR Coupé Longchamp Biguà
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