Home Up Member Businesses Membership Meetings Newsletters Links 2012 Elections Tools Pay Your Dues Online Members Car Shows News Downloads For Sale Events Feedback Search Page

 Racing Pantera

 

 

Bruce Mallery sent in these photos of a racing Pantera that he co-drive in the early eighties with Vic Manuelli, in the IMSA West Coast Endurance Races.  Thanks for sharing these with us Bruce!

This is perhaps the fastest and most historied Pantera in North America.  Vic Manuelli is still around (in northern California) and Bruce keeps in touch with him.

The car re-surfaced on Ebay recently as a bit of a burned out mess back in Georgia (the guy Vic sold it to in 1985 was pretty "interesting").  Hopefully its been sold to someone who will restore it.

It is the only Pantera in the US with significant race history (Daytona 24 Hours and 12 Hours of Sebring in Hugh Kleinpeter's (original builder) hands and we ran the LA Times Grand Prix 3 times, Monterey Grand Prix twice (Laguna Seca) , Grand Prix of Sonoma twice (Sears Point) and the GI Joe's Grand Prix in Portland, Ore.  I made the front page of the Orange County Register (in color) when John Paul Jr. crashed into me in turn 5 at Riverside (picture right before the crash was on the front page of the sports section of the LA Times).  Also mentioned in Autoweek and IMSA annual reviews.  The car eventually was a full tube frame car with removable fiberglass body panels that weighed about 2,400 lbs with an injected 500 hp motor.  When we ran a club event at Riverside we were a good 10 seconds a lap faster than other "club racer" Panteras.  Car was built right hand drive, as Hugh Kleinpeter thought that improved the vision on the banking at Daytona, where the car was clocked at 210 mph.

Here are few more pictures, courtesy of Dan Wildhirt showing the Pantera in action at a 1984 IMSA race at Sears Point

http://photos.wildhirt.com/spimsa84/

 

scan0012.jpg (754950 bytes)

scan.jpg (995444 bytes)
scan0011.jpg (870048 bytes)
scan0010.jpg (751257 bytes)
scan0009.jpg (734197 bytes)
scan0003.jpg (838597 bytes)
This is an amazing picture of the moment of impact when Bruce was T-boned in turn 5 at Riverside.  Ouch!

scan0002.jpg (3229346 bytes)

scan0001.jpg (3005104 bytes)
 

Home ] Up ] Member Businesses ] Membership Meetings ] Newsletters ] Links ] 2012 Elections ] Tools ] Pay Your Dues Online ] Members ] Car Shows ] News ] Downloads ] For Sale ] Events ] Feedback ] Search Page ]

Send mail to webmaster@sandiegopanteras.com with questions or comments about this web site.
Last modified: August 15, 2011