Jim Farley paid $121,000 for a 1972 DeTomaso Pantera in June 2024. Less than two years later, he’s selling it on the same platform he bought it from. The Bring a Trailer listing, handled by a Wisconsin-based third party, had already matched that purchase price with six days left in the auction.
The quick turnaround raises an obvious question: Why is the CEO of Ford dumping a Ford-powered Italian exotic he just spent real money refreshing?
Farley isn’t some suit who collects cars as tax shelters. He races vintage machines, wrenches on his own stuff, and has a reputation as one of the few genuine enthusiasts running a major automaker. So when a car leaves his garage this fast, it’s worth paying attention.
This particular Pantera, chassis THPNMD04013, carries a history wilder than most. It was delivered new to the Aeronutronic division of Ford Aerospace — yes, the same Ford that now struggles to explain its EV strategy once built missile guidance systems — and served as a corporate pool car. Imagine pulling that from the motor pool on a Friday afternoon.
After two years of government-contractor joy rides, the car went to a private owner in Ventura, California, in 1974. Then it sat for 18 years inside the Yankee Candle Car Museum in South Deerfield, Massachusetts. That’s exactly the kind of sentence that makes the collector car world so beautifully strange.
The Pantera resurfaced on Bring a Trailer in October 2018, freshly repainted in its original yellow. Then things went sideways — literally. A prospective auction bidder spun the car on a test drive and crunched the passenger-side door and quarter panel.
It was repaired, but that kind of incident leaves a mark on a car’s provenance even after the bodywork is straight. Farley bought it anyway.
Under his ownership, the overbored 351-cubic-inch Cleveland V8 and ZF five-speed manual transaxle were serviced. He added an Edelbrock Performer intake manifold, had the 15-inch Campagnolo magnesium wheels refinished in bronze, and installed a Ferrero steering wheel and modern audio system. QA1 double-adjustable coilovers and four-wheel disc brakes round out a car that’s been tastefully improved without being butchered.
The Pantera itself is a fascinating artifact of Ford’s mid-century ambition. Giampaolo Dallara designed the steel monocoque between leaving Lamborghini and launching his own chassis empire. Tom Tjaarda, an American working in Italy, penned the bodywork.
Ford sold the car through its own dealerships as a spiritual successor to the Shelby Cobra. As an early “Pre-L” model, this one wears the cleanest version of the design, before later cars piled on scoops and strakes chasing the Countach look.
At 34,000 miles with a clean Michigan title bearing the Ford CEO’s name, this Pantera is basically a celebrity consignment with a genuine mechanical pedigree. The provenance alone — Ford Aerospace pool car, candle museum display piece, crash survivor, CEO’s weekend toy — reads like automotive fan fiction.
Farley has admitted he’s not the sharpest bidder at auction. But he clearly knows when to sell. The market for early Panteras has been climbing, and a car with this kind of narrative practically writes its own auction copy.
Whether he’s making room in the garage for something better or simply cashing in on a story he helped create, the result is the same: somebody is about to pay a premium for the privilege of owning Jim Farley’s leftovers. The bidding suggests they’ll do so happily.
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