De Tomaso 1963

Alejandro De Tomaso założył swoją firmę w 1959 roku. Zgodnie z jego zainteresowaniem, początkowo konstruowano w niej wozy wyścigowe typu monoposto. Dopiero w 1963 roku zaprezentowano w Turynie kabriolet o nazwie Vallelunga ważący zaledwie 480 kg z umieszczonym centralnie silnikiem o pojemności 1498 cm³ pochodzącym z angielskiego Forda Cortina. Nadwozie stylizowane przez Ghia. Małą masę uzyskano między innymi dzięki zastosowaniu plastikowych szyb i aluminiowego zbiornika paliwa. Predkosc maksymalna 208-230 km/h. Cene skalkulowano na 2.700.000 lirow.

Turin show marks the debut of de Tomaso as an exhibitor. His prospective commercial product is a light two-seater Spider- with an intriguing chassis structure and powered by a tuned (Vallelunga) Ford Corsair engine at the back. The frame centre section is a fabricated steel tunnel carrying water and brake pipes as well as the fore-and-aft gear linkage. This is joined at the front to a frame of small section square tubes carrying the suspension and steering components; at the back there is another tubular frame to carry the engine and attachment points for radius arms locating the rear-wheel assemblies. The engine is rigidly mounted and the main suspension stresses are taken through a light-alloy bridge bolted to the top of the unitary gearbox casing; these facts are drawing critical comments from observant engineers. So, too, is the use of tiny, concertina-shaped rubber springs above the telescopic dampers. They certainly look inadequate.