De Tomaso Vallelunga

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De Tomaso
De Tomaso Vallelunga Ghia Berlinetta
De Tomaso Vallelunga Ghia Berlinetta
Vallelunga
Production period: 1963-1966
Class : Sports car
Body versions : Coupe
Engines: Petrol engines :
1.5 liters
(74-75 kW)
Length: 3900 mm
Width: 1550 mm
Height: 1200 mm
Wheelbase : 2315 mm
Empty weight : 470 kg
successor De Tomaso Mangusta

The De Tomaso Vallelunga was the first street sports car from the Italian car manufacturer De Tomaso . Its construction was technically innovative; the Vallelunga was the first Italian sports car to have a central tubular frame and a mid-engine . The vehicle was presented to the public in 1963. In the following years around 55 copies were made, including the prototypes. Most of them carried a Fissore designed coupe body; In addition, some other vehicles were clad with special bodies. The model name was reminiscent of the Autodromo Vallelunga Piero Taruffi race track in Campagnano di Roma .

The background

The De Tomaso Automobili company, founded in Modena by Alejandro de Tomaso in 1959, was initially geared towards participation in motorsport in the first few years of its existence. Alejandro de Tomaso had designed numerous racing cars, including some for Formula 1 , which until 1963 had competed with moderate success at mostly secondary grand prizes that were not part of the world championship. In addition, numerous racing cars for smaller classes such as Formula 2 or Formula Junior were created, some of which were sold under the model name Isis. A production of street sports cars was not initially planned. The fact that Alejandro de Tomaso decided to expand its activities in 1962 was primarily due to financial reasons: De Tomaso wanted to finance the expensive racing with the proceeds from the sale of street sports cars. In order to make these vehicles attractive, de Tomaso used numerous elements from racing in their construction.

The technology

The De Tomaso Vallelunga had a central tubular frame that was similar in concept to that of the Lotus Elan . The wheels were hung individually at the front and back. There are reports that the front suspension has been taken over from the Triumph Herald . The engine was positioned between the driver and the rear axle. The engine block, a 1.5 liter four-cylinder Kent type , came from Ford in Great Britain and was regularly installed in the Ford Cortina . De Tomaso installed a light alloy cylinder head and increased the compression ratio to 9: 1. In addition, two Weber twin carburettors of the type 40 DCOE2 were used. This resulted in an output of 74 kW (100 hp) at 6,200 revolutions per minute. The transmission came from Hewland , a British racing supplier, and contained components from Volkswagen . A similar engine-transmission combination was found in numerous contemporary Formula 3 vehicles.

The superstructures

The Fissore Spider

The prototype of the Vallelunga was clad in 1963 with an open body designed and manufactured by Carrozzeria Fissore, based in Savigliano . The car had a low, slightly curved beltline with a conspicuous, clearly protruding roll bar behind the driver's seat. According to general opinion, the structure was similar to that of the Porsche 550 Spyder . The body was made of aluminum, and the entire car should not have weighed more than 480 kg. Alejandro de Tomaso claimed that the top speed was over 220 km / h.

The Fissore Spider remained a one-off. De Tomaso considered launching a production version of this model, but then decided on a closed version. The Spider was successfully used in road races for a number of years.

Fissore Berlinetta and Ghia Berlinetta

After the Spider, Fissore designed a closed structure for the Vallelunga chassis. The technical orientation of the vehicle remained unchanged, but the body no longer resembled the Spyder, which was heavily geared towards racing. The headlights were behind a plastic cover and there was a large panoramic window over the stern.

Fissore built two prototypes out of aluminum. They were presented at the Turin Motor Show in October 1964. A special feature of the Fissore prototypes was that the entire body part behind the B-pillar could be opened as a unit.

With the serial production of the Berlinetta, however, it was not Fissore but the Turin-based Carrozzeria Ghia , which at the time did not belong to Alejandro de Tomaso's group of companies. In contrast to the Fissore prototypes, the Ghia bodies were made of plastic. Stylistically, they essentially corresponded to Fissore's designs. However, Ghia did without the hinged rear section. The other deviations were limited to details such as lighting components and trim. According to the prevailing opinion, around 50 vehicles with the body designed by Fissore were built by 1966 (according to other sources: by 1965).

Special bodies

In addition to the standard Berlinetta superstructure, a number of individual items were created on the Vallelunga chassis that were provided with special superstructures. This included:

  • The De Tomaso Vallelunga Ghia Spyder (Competizione 2000) was an open, ultra-flat racing car. It was completed in December 1965 by the bodywork company Ghia, presented for the first time at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1966 and subsequently presented at other trade fairs. For marketing reasons, De Tomaso regularly referred to a 2.0-liter eight-cylinder boxer engine from its own production, which, however, should not have gotten beyond the planning phase; In fact, it had a larger-displacement version of the conventional 1.6-liter Ford four-cylinder engine in a form specially tuned by De Tomaso with new cylinder heads and modified camshafts. The gearbox housing came from Volkswagen, the gearbox interior from Colotti; the transmission thus essentially corresponded to the De Tomaso Formula 3 and Formula Junior racing cars. The Ghia Spyder initially had tires with a width of 6 inches at the front and 7 inches at the rear on relatively small 13-inch rims, but was later converted by De Tomaso to 15-inch rims in the same way as the Vallelunga Fantuzzi Spyder (Sport 1000).
  • The De Tomaso Fantuzzi Spyder (Sport 1000) , also an open-top, ultra-flat racing sports car, dressed by the Modenese Carrozzeria Fantuzzi , was presented at the De Tomaso stand at the Turin Racing Car Show in February 1966. Initially it still had the regular Kent engine , but soon after the exhibition it was equipped with a four-cylinder Formula 2 engine from BRM with 998 cm³, modified by De Tomaso , which was based on an eight-cylinder engine developed for Formula 1 (output 129 hp at 9750 Revolutions per minute). The body was extensively modified on this occasion, and the vehicle was given Campagnolo rims, like those used by the De Tomaso Formula 3 racing cars.
  • Another unique piece was the De Tomaso Pampero , an open road sports car with a body designed by Giugiaro for Ghia . The wheelbase was lengthened to 2350 mm; apart from that, the technology of the series Vallelunga remained unchanged. The Pampero was created shortly before production of the Vallelunga was stopped. It was presented at the Turin Motor Show in November 1966. It remained a one-off.

literature

  • Paul Hardiman: Ballerina . Presentation and driving report of the De Tomaso Vallelunga Fissore Berlinetta (prototype) in: Classic and Sports Cars, November 2005 issue.
  • Halwart Schrader , Georg Amtmann: Italian sports cars . 1st edition Stuttgart (Motorbuch Verlag) 1999, ISBN 3-613-01988-4 .
  • Halwart Schrader , David Lillywhite: Classic Automobiles . 1st edition Stuttgart (Motorbuch Verlag) 2005. ISBN 3-613-02552-3 .

Web links

Commons : De Tomaso Vallelunga  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Technical data based on the Carfolio portal , accessed on September 15, 2010
  2. ^ David Hodges: Racing cars from AZ after 1945. Stuttgart (Motorbuch Verlag) 1993, p. 121.
  3. ↑ a b c d Classic and Sports Cars, November 2005 issue.
  4. ^ Schrader, Amtmann: Italienische Sportwagen, p. 99.
  5. ↑ a b Schrader, Lillywhite: Classic Cars, p. 146.
  6. ↑ The De Tomaso Vallelunga Ghia Spyder (Competizione 2000) on the website of qv500.com ( Memento of July 19, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) (English), accessed on September 15, 2010
  7. ↑ The De Tomaso Fantuzzi Spyder on the website of qv500.com ( Memento of May 13, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) (English), accessed on September 15, 2010
  8. ↑ Overview of the Fantuzzi Spyder (Sport 1000) on another website from qv500.com ( Memento from July 20, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) (English), accessed on September 15, 2010
  9. ↑ The De Tomaso Pampero on the website of qv500.com ( Memento of August 3, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) (English), accessed on September 15, 2010