Pampero Spider/Cabrio

Shortly before he acquired Carrozzeria Ghia from Ramfis Trujillo in 1967, Alejandro de Tomaso commissioned the company to build an open two-seat concept on a stretched Vallelunga chassis. The two firms were already familiar to one another as De Tomaso had earlier contracted Ghia to provide bodywork for 50 standard Vallelunga Berlinetta plus a couple of racing-style concepts.

Named after a polar wind from South America, the Pampero was designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro. Fabricated from aluminium and painted red, the Pampero’s nose treatment would heavily influence Giugiaro’s next creation for De Tomaso: the Mangusta. Both cars featured twin headlights mounted inside a full width aperture; those of the Pampero were impractically positioned behind a mesh grille.

Giugiaro lengthened the Vallelunga wheelbase by 1.5 cm to 2,350 mm. The chassis was basically unchanged so the heavy spine frame ran from the front suspension back to the 1500 cc Ford engine. The Pampero was given a low profile bonnet and single piece front bumper upon which the indicator lenses were mounted.

The tail end of the car had much similarity with that of the Fiat 850 spider Giugiaro had designed in his days with Bertone. Interesting were the two air intakes in the front part of the rear fenders. They did not only serve as vents, but also hid the fuel tank filler cap and the handle for opening the rear end of the car. The dashboard was “V” shaped for easy reading of the instruments. Displayed at the Turin Motor Show in November 1966, the Pampero never entered production and remained a one off.