De Tomaso says move to US is as a saviour
Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus says US design just fine, thanks
De Tomaso Automobili says that it is ready to “embark on a journey to America, creating & inspiring a modern-day American Automotive Renaissance.” Meanwhile, the competition and American car designers at Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus are, well, let’s say they’re not amused.
The news from De Tomaso is that the automaker is moving from Italy to the US, designing its vehicles and building them there in what it calls part of a long-term initiative to “America’s automobile industry to its glory days of automotive design and preeminence.”
Included in the plan is a move to build the De Tomaso P72, the brand’s homage to the classic P70 racer that’s based on the chassis of the Apollo Intensa Emozione and is an all-carbon grand tourer penned by Jowyn Wong, in the US. De Tomaso said that it is currently in negotiations with several states to decide where they should build, but that they’re planning to start production in 2022. De Tomaso was founded in 1959 by Argentine Alejandro de Tomaso, and the automaker is best known for the Ford-engined Panter and Mangusta supercars of the 1960s and 1970s, though rights to the brand were acquired by Hong-Kong based Ideal Team Ventures in 2014.
But Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus, best known for taking Ferrari chassis and rebodying them in stunning modern glory, before designing and entering its own cars in the Baha 1000 and readying for a Le Mans entry, is having none of it.
“These guys are sniffing glue,” the company said in a Facebook post. And while you’d assume an automaker that would potentially be a competitor would take umbrage, they’re not just blowing their own horns. They’re also bringing up the massive design and engineering skill of the American auto industry as a whole.
“They’re going to save the American car/design Industry? By making bling, clownish, bloated versions of Ferrari P 4/5 by Pininfarina? By racing at Le Mans, The Nurburgring Ring [sic], The Baja 1000? By going faster than our friends at SSC? By making the best sports car in the world for the money The Corvette? Something as cool as and reasonably priced as The new Bronco? By making better electric cars than Elon?” read the post.
SCG has a point, we’d say because America isn’t exactly doing a poor job these days unless you look only at seven-figure unobtanium hypercars. Even then, it’s not really missing out. SCG goes out with a bang, though, telling De Tomaso: “F*** them and the horse they are trying to ride in on.”
