In an era of 2,000-horsepower electric hypercars and screen-filled cockpits, the De Tomaso P72 arrives like a message from another time. After more than six years of delays, false starts and factory changes since its 2019 Goodwood debut, the reborn Italian marque has confirmed the production-specification P72 — and it is gloriously, defiantly analog. A supercharged V8, a six-speed manual, a carbon monocoque, and almost no screens at all.
An American Heart, Italian Soul
De Tomaso has always married Italian bodywork with American muscle — the Mangusta and the legendary Pantera both ran Ford V8s — and the P72 honours that tradition. At its core sits a hand-assembled supercharged 5.0-litre V8, derived from the Ford Coyote and tuned by Roush, fitted with bespoke forged internals and a De Tomaso-specific supercharger. It produces 700 horsepower and 820 Nm (604 lb-ft) of torque, driving the rear wheels through a six-speed manual gearbox.
Crucially, De Tomaso did not chase headline numbers. Company chairman Norman Choi prefers the linear delivery and soundtrack of natural aspiration, so the supercharger was specified to whine as little as possible, and the short gear ratios are tuned for "exhilarating in-gear performance" rather than a record 0-100 time. De Tomaso quotes no top speed and no acceleration figures at all — this is a car engineered for feel, not for a spec-sheet bragging war.
No Screens, No Drive Modes, No Apologies
The cabin is where the P72 makes its boldest statement. There are no touchscreens and no infotainment system; the only display is the legally-required digital rearview mirror. Instead you get milled-aluminium switchgear with a copper finish, traditional analog dials, and a gloriously exposed manual shifter linkage that looks like jewellery. There are no selectable drive modes — instead, a pushrod suspension with three-way manually adjustable dampers lets the driver tune the car by hand. Even starting it is theatre: a leather key fob slots into the gear stick before the push-button start.
Carbon Craft Beneath the Curves
Underneath the swooping, 1960s-endurance-racer bodywork — every panel formed from carbon fibre — sits a carbon monocoque chassis. The body's flowing fenders, deep side intakes and top-exit exhausts are a direct homage to the one-off De Tomaso P70 of 1965, the stillborn racer co-developed by Alejandro De Tomaso and Carroll Shelby. The mid-mounted V8 sits low thanks to a dry-sump system, and the whole car is conceived as a grand tourer rather than a track weapon — note the generous 100-litre fuel tank for long-distance driving.
"It is tuned not for lap times, but for road-going rhythm and analogue connection." — De Tomaso
72 Cars, All Spoken For
True to its name, only 72 examples of the P72 will ever be built, each priced at around €1.6 million (roughly $1.8 million) and individually commissioned for its owner — whom De Tomaso calls a "custodian." Every slot sold out years ago, with a waiting list for any cancellations. Production, after a winding road through Italy, the USA and several German partners, finally settled at the brand's own facility, with customer deliveries beginning in late 2025.
For collectors, the P72 represents something increasingly rare: a brand-new supercar built around driver engagement instead of lap times, with the kind of provenance — a revived legendary marque, a tiny run, a hand-built American V8 — that tends to age into serious value. It is, quite simply, a modern-day time machine.
