De Tomaso
Vallelunga

Why it matters

The Vallelunga was De Tomaso's first road car and was built to help pay for his racing programme. It was an early use of a central spine chassis with the mid-mounted engine acting as a stressed member, and it was shown by the Museum of Modern Art in New York as an example of technological progress and design.

How rare is it?

Six separate kinds of rarity – never combined into one number.

Each kind of rarity is rated separately and never combined.

Photos

Exterior, interior and detail photos with their licences.

• De Tomaso Vallelunga (Wikimedia Commons search)
  Photo: Calreyn88 · CC BY 4.0
• De Tomaso Vallelunga (Wikimedia Commons search)
  Photo: Calreyn88 · CC BY 4.0
• De Tomaso Vallelunga (Wikimedia Commons search)
  Photo: Calreyn88 · CC BY 4.0

History

Alejandro De Tomaso introduced a prototype of the Vallelunga in 1963, named after the Italian circuit where he had raced. The first prototype was an alloy-bodied roadster, followed by at least two alloy coupes also styled and built by Fissore, one with a clamshell rear section. For production, bodywork passed to Ghia, which made fibreglass bodies with a glass hatchback over the engine bay.

Ghia records indicate 50 fibreglass Vallelungas built in 1965 and 1966; De Tomaso's eldest son thought the total nearer 58 including prototypes. The design later spawned the one-off Pampero prototype, and De Tomaso moved on to the V8 Mangusta.

Technical specifications

Engine

Transmission & drivetrain

Chassis, body & dimensions

Performance

“Not yet verified” means no source has been checked for that value yet. Nothing is estimated to fill a gap.

Identification guide

How to tell an original from a replica or later conversion.

A production Vallelunga has a fibreglass coupe body by Ghia with a large glass hatchback over the rear engine bay, a 1500 cc Ford Kent engine with Weber carburettors, a Volkswagen-derived transaxle with Hewland gear sets, Campagnolo magnesium wheels and a 91-inch wheelbase. The alloy-bodied Fissore prototypes, with a hinged one-piece rear section, are separate cars.

Sources

Each number links to the exact facts it supports.

1. 1
   De Tomaso Vallelunga Level C European Car magazine (archived 2013) · 2013-09-25

   • 1500cc ohv Kent engine
   • mid-mounted engine becomes a stressed member of the chassis
   • Weber carbs
   • basically a Volkswagen transaxle carrying Hewland gearsets
   • large, square-oval shaped tube running right up the middle
   • unassisted four-wheel disc brakes
   • rack-and-pinion steering
   • the bodies were rendered in fiberglass
   • 91-in. wheelbase
   • weighed in at a mere 1,600 lb

   Accessed 2026-11-13