December 2015 Classic&SportsCar 139devicehad a look all of its own.Up front,it was
clearlya Daytonabut its probosciswas some-
whatlonger. Thesignaturefeature,however,
was the dramatichind treatment,completewith
an extendedrooflineand curvedside glazingthat
couldbe raisedand loweredin true gullwing
fashionfor accessto the loadingarea.Intrigu-
ingly, the tail-lightsweremountedbehindthe
rear screen,whichdoesn’t open.
As Chinetti points out: “It was never going to.
I wantedto be able to standon the sidewalkand
put things in the car rat her tha n sta nding behind
it in a parkinglot as othercars passedby. It was a
safetything.I thinkit was quitean innovative
idea;a practicaldeal ratherthanjust a showcar
gimmick.I knowthat it influencedat least a few
designers. I was good friends with [GM head of
styling]Bill Mitchell,who I admiredgreatly. He
and his guysdid a Trans Am shortlyafterour
Ferrarifirst appearedand it had exactlythe same
extendedroof set-up,rightdownto the gullwing
glasspanels.WhenI saw the Pontiac,I phoned
Bill and he cameclean.He admittedthat he’d
copied it! He really liked what we’d done, so I
musthavebeenontosomething.”
Gittlemanreceivedhis made-overDaytonain
the winter of 1975/ ’76, but the Floridiandroveit
sparinglypriorto sellingit in 1980.“He really
likedit,” Chinettisays.“We werebothpretty
pleasedwiththe way that it cameout. I would
havepreferredfor the noseto havebeenlower
and the tail to be a fractionhigher, but overallI
thinkit workedout reallywell.I visitedPanther
maybethreeor four timesduringits construc-
tion. Iknewthat Icouldtrust themto do it right.”
The NART-Panther, to go by one of its many
periodnames,hasn’t lost the powerto shock,
either. It has passedthroughseveralkeepers
sinceGittlemanmovedit on, includinga Paris-
basedcollectorof shootingbrakes,and for the
past year or so it has beenownedby formerF1
teamprincipal,Paul Michaels.
In 2014,it was lightlyrestoredby...Andrew
McKenzie.“I said goodbyeto it 40-oddyears
ago and neverthoughtI’d see it again,”he says,
laughing.“Thecar had beenmechanicallyover-
hauled,and Iworkedon variousaspects,basically
makingit workas it should.I don’t thinkit had
beenused much,and had sufferedas a result.”
Indeed,this flightof fantasyhad coveredall of
4000 milessincethe originalPantherbuild.You
reallyneedto see it up closeto fullyappreciate
how outrageousit looksevennow. Fromcertain
angles,the outlineappearsa littleskew-whiff,
not leastthe centresection,whichis perhapsa
bit stumpygiventhe sizeablerear glasshouseand
lengthyoverhangs,thoughoverallit’s positively
gobsmacking.What’s more,it doesn’t look
remotelyfunereal– despitebeingentirelyblack
save the brightorangebandthat wrapsaround
the nose.Accordingto McKenzie,thatwas
createdin period“by shapingcolouredPerspex
with a heat gun”. In 1976,the Ferrariwas photo-
graphedwithspun-alloydisc wheels,but these
weresoonreplacedwithBorraniwiresthat
contrastbeautifullywith the sci-fiappearance.Veglia dialssit in central
console;part of Perspex
flashlifts withneatlamp
covers; V12 is in standard
tune;car was restoredby
Andrew McKenzie,who was
on the teamthat builtit