ELVIS PRESLEY SHOT 2 ROUNDS INTO THIS DE TOMASO PANTERA - HERE'S WHY
Rockstar of the 1950s, Elvis Presley, shot two rounds into his beloved De Tomaso Pantera, here's why he did it!
A Formula 1 fanatic by the name of Alejandro De Tomaso set out to build and start a Formula 1 race team and car that would absolutely dominate in the international sport, however, his dreams came crashing down as it was a total failure, but that didn't crush his dreams. In 1959 De Tomaso and his wife started a company called the De Tomaso Automobili Company where they would design and build exclusive sports cars with their first-ever model being the Vallelunga in 1963 which took the fancy of some elite businessmen in the same era that ultimately funded their second model, the Mangusta.
Ford's chief designer of the time bought himself a Mangusta and absolutely loved it and convinced the board of the company to invest in De Tomaso, however, they were reluctant due to the complexity of the design, however, a few years later, they settled to supply the drivetrain to De Tomaso for their next project, the Pantera.
The De Tomaso Pantera was indeed a seriously exclusive sportscar at the time and was now powered by a rear-mounted Ford 5.8 litre naturally aspirated V8 that produced 330 HP!
However, with that said, De Tomaso never had official dealerships and piggy-backed off of Lincoln dealerships in order to make sales.
One day, who else but the legend of rock & roll himself Elvis Presley, waltz into a Lincoln dealership to find his next toy car to impress his girlfriend at the time, Linda Thompson. He then spotted a used De Tomaso Pantera and fell in love with it and bought it for $2,500.
During this time, Elvis had a reputation for drug abuse and had a love for firearms. This specific Pantera bought by Elvis himself has one distinct bullet hole on the steering wheel, and there was a second report that was shot at a tyre as a result of having an argument with his girlfriend.
Take a look at the video below by the YouTube channel: Donut Media on why Elvis Shot A Hole In This Car...
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