During the 1970s, there was no more passionate Ford collector in America than Floyd Moore of Glenville, Illinois. A Ford man since attaining his first car in 1945, business success enabled Moore to build an impressive collection of automobiles. He regularly worked with Ford officials to order the first or last of a model run, for a collection that came to include various “serial number one” Lincoln Marks and the last period FoMoCo convertible, a Cougar XR-7, amongst others.

When the final U.S.-delivery De Tomaso Pantera was scheduled to be built, Moore arranged to buy it. Documentation on file records his detailed requests for special-order Pantera Orange paint, as well as the no-charge equipment of a five-speed transmission, four-wheel power disc brakes, air conditioning, power windows, tinted glass, full instrumentation, and magnesium wheels. Mr. Moore’s meticulous nature comes through; in a letter expressing concern over a customs delay, he demanded indoor storage, to prevent the car’s newly minted condition from deteriorating! After the Pantera was finally delivered, he was photographed with the car and Lincoln-Mercury Vice-President William Benton, copies of which are included in the voluminous history file.

The Pantera has been remarkably well-preserved since new, more recently by Randy Tinsley, whose honors with the Pantera included recognition as an “immaculate survivor” at Concorso Italiano in 1999, and White Glove Concours honors at the same event in 2002. Well known in the Pantera community, it remains in amazingly original condition, with 16,905 actual miles at the time of cataloguing, and is even on the original set of Goodyear Arriva tires. In addition to aforementioned documentation, it is accompanied by the original window sticker, tools, and jack.

Surely few Panteras have survived in such amazing original order – and this is the only one to claim honors as the last U.S. car built, treasured by enthusiasts since new, beginning with the eminent Floyd Moore.