We never thought the day would come – the De Tomaso P72 is ready for production
Having first appeared in 2019, De Tomaso is finally building its retro, V8-engined P72 hypercar
When we first laid eyes on the De Tomaso P72 concept at Goodwood in 2019, it looked like all of our hypercar fantasies had been rolled into one achingly beautiful, exquisitely engineered package. With bodywork like a ‘60s Le Mans car underpinned by a carbon chassis with a manual gearbox and (confirmed later) 700bhp+ V8, it promised to deliver the ultimate analogue driving experience.
It’s been a long time coming, but six years later De Tomaso is starting to make good on those promises, having signed off the P72 and built the first production spec car. In late 2025, delivery of the 72 customer examples will commence, each made to order and customised to the owner’s taste.
The P72 has been inspired by the P70 race car from 1965, built in a tie up between Alejandro De Tomaso and Carroll Shelby. The ‘P’ in the name was related to the car being a prototype racer, with the ‘70’ referring to its 7-litre Shelby Cobra V8 engine. The P72, meanwhile, doesn’t have a 7.2-litre monster powering it, but a mid-mounted 5-litre supercharged V8, hand built with forged internals and generating 690bhp and 605lb ft. The origins of the engine aren’t specified, but it’s likely to be a Ford unit if previous reports are anything to go by. With the Vallelunga, Mangusta, Pantera, Deauville, Longchamp and Guarà all featuring powertrains from the blue oval, that would be fitting.
In keeping with its analogue brief, the P72 gets a six-speed manual gearbox with an exposed linkage, with short ratios chosen for ‘exhilarating in-gear performance’ rather than top speed. There are no drive modes to play with, and no digital screens – just a smartphone holder inside the fully bespoke, hand-finished cabin. The detailing is exquisite and Pagani-esque, with milled aluminium trim, exposed carbon and traditional analogue dials.
At the P72’s core is an all-new carbonfibre chassis, with the monocoque formed from a single piece and the subframes and outer bodywork also made from carbon. Designing the chassis from the ground up has allowed De Tomaso to tailor the packaging, suspension geometry and pick-up points exactly to its liking. The suspension itself is push-rod actuated with three-way manually adjustable dampers.
Originally, the P72 was said to share its chassis (and designer – Jowyn Wong) with the Apollo IE, with the two hypercar firms being owned by the same parent company, Ideal Team Ventures. It’s unclear how much crossover there is with the Apollo and the production-spec P72, or how much the final car will cost. The original figure was €750,000, but that’s sure to have risen in the time since the concept was unveiled.
‘The P72 was our promise to faithfully revive a historic marque,’ said De Tomaso CEO Norman Choi. ‘This first production-specification vehicle embodies everything we stand for: a mechanical soul, timeless beauty, and a driving experience that rises above modern convention. It is our echo through time – now made real.’
