De Tomaso Guarà

The De Tomaso Guarà is a sports car and the last project the founder and owner Alejandro de Tomaso put into the market. Presented at the 1993 Geneva Motor Show, the Guarà was initially available in coupé body-style. Later a roadster and an open-top barchetta bodystyle became available. The latter corresponds to the coupé but without roof and proper windscreen; a small air deflector protects the passenger and the driver from the passing wind and the car had to be driven while wearing a helmet.

De Tomaso Guarà
Overview
ManufacturerDe Tomaso
Also calledDe Tomaso Barchetta
Production1994–2004 (52 produced)
AssemblyModena, Italy (De Tomaso Automobili)
DesignerCarlo Gaino at Synthesis Design[1]
Body and chassis
ClassSports car (S)
Body style
LayoutRear mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive
Related
Powertrain
Engine
Transmission6-speed Getrag manual
Dimensions
Wheelbase2,610 mm (102.8 in)
Length4,190 mm (165.0 in)
Width2,030 mm (79.9 in)
HeightCoupé: 1,200 mm (47.2 in)
Barchetta: 1,033 mm (40.7 in)
Curb weight
  • Coupé (BMW engine): 1,200 kg (2,646 lb)
  • Coupé (Ford engine): 1,400 kg (3,086 lb)
  • Barchetta: 1,050 kg (2,315 lb)
Chronology
PredecessorDe Tomaso Pantera

Development
1998 De Tomaso Guarà Spider (BMW-engined)

The Guarà is based on the Maserati Barchetta Stradale prototype from 1991 which was meant to be the street-legal variant of the track-only car. A take-over of Maserati by Fiat prevented Alejandro de Tomaso from realising such a variant of the Barchetta manufactured by Maserati as Maserati ceased production of the Barchetta under its new owner. The car was thus manufactured by De Tomaso and was named Guarà. The Guarà was designed by Carlo Gaino of "Synthesis Design" who also designed the Maserati Barchetta.[2][3]

Production and Sales

The first cars (mainly Coupés) were sold in 1994 and with some interruptions the Coupé and the Barchetta still were available (prepayment in full required) in 2005/2006 in Italy, Austria and Switzerland. However, it seems there were no cars built after 2004 when the company went into liquidation. The last car, ordered by an Austrian in 2004, was only delivered in 2011 after De Tomaso's liquidation was completed.[4]

Though sources vary, approximately fifty two cars in total were built. Ten were the open top barchettas, four were the convertible spiders, and 38 cars were coupés. The Spyders were built by Carrozzeria AutoSport S.r.L.[5][6]

Specifications and performance
De Tomaso Guarà Spider

Fibreglass, Kevlar, and other composites make the body shell, fitted to a backbone chassis made from aluminium.[7] The suspension is a reminiscent of Formula 1 and IndyCar technology with independent upper and lower wishbone with pushrod front and rear end suspension having rose-joints designed by famed Formula 1 car engineer Enrique Scalabroni. The Guarà is known for its highly agile handling which makes it a bit too "nervous" for the average driver. The Guarà has no luggage space at all as the area under the front is utilised by the racing-style suspension. The large, distinct wheels are manufactured by Marchesini.[8][5]

Early variants of the Guará used the 4.0-litre BMW M60 V8 engine shared with the BMW 840Ci. This was due to Ford's inability to supply engines for the car. The engine was modified by De Tomaso and had different timing belt routing.[5] The engine has a power output of 283 PS (208 kW; 279 hp). A six-speed manual transmission made by Getrag was used to drive the rear wheels and it had a gated shifter for easier gear changes. The engine has a red-line of 7,000 rpm. Later variants switched to a 4.6-litre supercharged cast-iron block V8 engine from Ford primarily because BMW phased out the engine. The Ford engine has a power output of 320 PS (235 kW; 316 hp).[9][10][11] The brakes are from Brembo and were non-servo assisted. The brakes were similar to those used on the Ferrari F40. Like its predecessors, the Guará did not have a power-steering system as it increased weight.

The interior is upholstered in leather and has racing bucket seats with optional six-point racing harness. Most of the interior components were sourced from BMW. The Guará had the steering and pedals manually adjusted according to the owner's preferred driving position.

The Guará had a dry weight of 1,200 kg (2,646 lb) and had a power-to-weight ratio of 236 PS per tonne with the BMW engine. The Guará could accelerate to 97 km/h (60 mph) in a claimed 5.0 seconds and had a claimed top speed of 274 km/h (170 mph).[12][6]

References
  1. "Carlo Gaino". automotivedesignconference.com. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  2. "De Tomaso - Guarà". Synthesis Design. October 2002. Archived from the original on 2016-01-08. Retrieved 2009-05-10.
  3. "Random Italian WTF From The 90s - De Tomaso Guarà". Kinja. 11 December 2015. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
  4. Lange, Hans-Karl (2012). "Das Beben grollt noch: Das Ende von De Tomaso" [The quake still rumbles: The end of De Tomaso]. Oldtimer Markt (in German). Germany: Vereinigte Fachverlage (8): 53.
  5. "1998 De Tomaso Guara Spyder". RM Sotheby's. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  6. "You Know You Want To...DeTomaso Guara". Piston Heads. 12 September 2011. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
  7. Wouter Melissen (30 June 2008). "DeTomaso Guarà". www.ultimatecarpage.com. Retrieved 14 September 2013.
  8. Giordanelli, Roberto (March 2005). "De Tomaso Guara: The Enigmatic Supercar". Auto Italia. Virgin Media.
  9. Silvestro, Brian (29 August 2018). "Blow Minds With the De Tomaso Pantera's Forgotten Successor". Road & Track. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
  10. Raymond, Christopher (9 April 2010). "De Tomaso Gems For Sale". Motor Authority. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
  11. Halas, John (18 February 2015). "Remember the De Tomaso Guara Barchetta? There's One for Sale in California". Car Scoops. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
  12. Robinson, Peter; Culmer, Kris (3 August 2017). "Throwback Thursday: 1996 De Tomaso Guara first drive". Autocar. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
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