De Tomaso Deauville

De Tomaso Deauville (1978-1988)

The De Tomaso Deauville is a four-door sedan version of the Italian automobile manufacturer De Tomaso Modena.

The name of the vehicle refers to the French seaside resort of Deauville, in which a well-known horse racing track is located. Brand founder Alejandro De Tomaso was thus the preference of his wife Isabell Haskell horse racing bill.

  • 2.1 Series 1 ( 1971-1978 )
  • 2.2 Series 2 ( 1978-1988 )
  • 2.3 Special versions

Concept

Conceptually, the Deauville was intended as a rival to the published in late summer 1968 Jaguar XJ6. At the same time he should fill in the national market and the gap that should leave the set end of 1970 Maserati Quattroporte I.

Design

The body of the Deauville was designed by Tom Tjaarda, a Native American who worked for the De Tomaso Group company Carrozzeria Ghia in the late 1960s. While in many descriptions of the Deauville design is viewed as a mere copy of the Jaguar XJ6, Tjaarda said in an interview from 2011, he had developed the design of the Deauville before the presentation of the Jaguar sedan: the draft had been finished before Alejandro De Tomaso 've decided to build a four-door sedan. According Tjaarda the design on a Ghia study goes back, he had developed on behalf of the American Ford Group. Meanwhile, former President Lee Iacocca was interested in a compact by American standards, Sport Sedan with European style. In designing the Deauville- body Tjaarda have the lines of the Lancia Marica and the De Tomaso Mustela quoted I, two studies, which he had previously designed for Ghia.

Notwithstanding this, the design of Deauville on some conceptual similarities to that of the Jaguar XJ. Some detailed questions were solved identical, such as the bonnet, flipped open, including grille, interior lights and front bumper, and the two separately accessible tanks.

Technology

The chassis and the underbody of the Deauville designed by Giampaolo Dallara; Detailed questions of the construction did the Carrozzeria Vignale.

The car is fully equipped with individually suspended on double wishbones wheels. The engine is a Simple yet powerful and solid construction: De Tomaso Pantera, as used in an eight-cylinder Ford Cleveland series. Officially, his performance had been throttled to 270 hp, but actually only especially powerful engines were used to lend sporty performance to the nearly two-ton sedan. The transmission is a Ford C6 automatic transmission. Even otherwise used De Tomaso Many interchangeable parts from mass: The rear axle was taken about the Jaguar Mark X, and the steering column came from the Lincoln production.

Model history

Series 1 (1971-1978)

The De Tomaso Deauville was introduced at the Turin Motor Show in 1970. Production remained low. The highest annual output reached the factory in 1972, when 46 Deauville's were manufactured.

Series 2 (1978-1988)

1978, a second series of Deauville was presented. It was characterized by a modified suspension geometry as well as by a different positioning of the motor. The engine was then further added with a view to a better weight distribution of ten centimeters to the rear. Finally, the current - steering Lincoln was replaced by a structure of IF.

Visually, the series which corresponded to the Deauville's the second series initially 1 until 1980 they received - similar to De Tomaso Longchamp - wider, bordered in rubber bumpers in the front turn signals were integrated.

The revised landing gears of Deauville from 1978 were used as the basis for the new Maserati Quattroporte III, who was much more successful than the Deauville.

Special versions

  • The Carrozzeria Pavesi noted several armored versions of Deauville ago. One of this vehicle was used as a service vehicle then Italian President Sandro Pertini.
  • From Deauville the second series, a five-door station wagon was derived in 1984. The design of the front had been reviewed in detail; they resembled vie with rectangular headlights approach in the design of the Maserati Biturbo. Embo SpA put the vehicle on behalf of De Tomaso ago. The estate was a single piece and stayed out of use by the family de Tomaso reserved.

Success and importance of Deauville

The De Tomaso Deauville was not a commercial success. Production of the sedan ended in 1986, Sales of the last vehicles but still took until 1988. During this period 355 copies. More than 46 vehicles per year ( 1972) were never produced.

The Deauville is described in most publications as a high quality vehicle that the Iso Fidia regarding processing, sportiness and comfort was clearly superior and in particular came up in some areas of the qualities of the Jaguar XJ. The lack of success of the car is mostly attributed to its obvious in many details close to the major American series, due to which it of the Jaguar XJ significantly lagged behind the image of a Maserati Quattroporte or the.

In addition to that, the Deauville was a very expensive car. In the UK market, it cost at the beginning of the 1970s, four times as much as a Jaguar XJ6, Germany in 1978, he was only slightly cheaper than a Mercedes- Benz 450 SEL 6.9. With the introduction of this exclusive Mercedes model, but above all with the launch of the Jaguar XJ12 zwölfzylindrigen, the Deauville lost its status as the fastest production sedan in Europe. Both models - the Jaguar and Mercedes - were faster for everyday use and maintenance less costly than the Deauville.

Competitors

234764
de