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If De Tomaso's most famous car is the Pantera, a mid-engined slingshot that looked set for widespread American success until it was dropped unceremoniously by its sponsor Ford, perhaps its least appreciated is the Deauville. This large four-door saloon was De Tomaso's challenge to the Jaguar XJ6 (in fact, it looked so like a Jaguar XJ6 you wonder how they avoided a lawsuit) and was in many ways one of the nicest cars the company ever built.
Designed by an American working for Ghia called Tom Tjaarda, it used Ford Mustang engines (although the prototype had a special overhead-cam Ford V8) and many other Ford components. Early Deauvilles, while sumptuously trimmed in soft Italian leathers and suedes, sported a hideous plasticky steering wheel straight from a 1970s Ford gas-guzzler. Only a few hundred Deauvilles were made between 1970 and 1988.
They were quick cars with good handling, although they never attained the levels of sophistication, build quality and refinement achieved by their mass-produced rivals. The Saatchi brothers of advertising fame were great fans, and had one each.
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