Campagnolo Brake Hoods
Jaguar found with De Tomaso a serious opponent. Standard of the revival of the sedan, the model Deauville attack the British brand on all fronts, symbolizing one of the wildest car struggles of the 60s. Reach into the ranks of single Italian manufacturer of luxury cars, was the ambition of Alejandro de Tomaso when he took the decision to launch his model. Grand Touring market was then dominated at European level by Mercedes and Jaguar in particular, who went on his way to a complete success with the arrival of the XJ model in a Maserati Quattroporte 1968. Avec end of life, firm the cat was in a strong position, with no one to challenge. Person? no! because a small brand based in Modena said she was ready to spice up the game this way the Deauville was founded in 1970 with the intention to do battle with the XJ 12. A monocoque with rear-wheel drive but also rear suspension with four independent wheels, four shock absorbers, two 50l tanks located in each wing, in short, totally similar to the model Jaguar. However, bold features take place at the Disc brakes self-ventilated and lightweight wheels like Campagnolo. The U. S. side of the vehicle is under the hood that contains a Cleveland Ford V8 300 hp 5763 cm3 transmitted through a ZF 5-speed automatic or a Cruise-o-Matic, optional. In addition, all powered by a carburettor quadricorps Holey for a maximum speed of 230 km / h. As for the cabin, he wants to model Jaguar particularly like: it has a walnut dashboard, a set of velvet or leather seats and a steering wheel and shifter typed USA. Reliable and powerful, as evidenced by the first press presentation, where Mr. de Tomaso arrived triumphantly in the middle of the journalists, claiming to have Rome Modena driving the Deauville in less than two hours, an average of 250 km / h . . . a bit mythomaniac Mr. Director?. Most unfortunately, the vehicle of the Argentine would not be successful. A relatively high price of 6,500,000 lire for the basic model could explain this debacle, a rate slightly further to a Mercedes S-Class today. The fact that it was never marketed in the United States has also undermined. Produced to 244 copies, it has little evolved over the years. Some interior finishes and adding a new bumper in 1980 are the only notable changes. The Deauville draw his bow in 1985 and have not managed to bend the Jaguar XJ and V12 injection. However, the intention was laudable and rendering more than interesting given the assumptions shown. Launched in conjunction with the Pantera, it is going to experience a fate more fatal than his sister but left his mark as a warrior of the road fell under the bullets of England. . . .
