One of the stars of the 2019 Goodwood Festival of Speed was undoubtedly the De Tomaso P72. De Tomaso's long-awaited return didn't disappoint, as the P72 looks stunning from every angle. For us it was love at first sight, but it turns out not everyone is a fan of the exotic supercar – especially James Glickenhaus. The automotive entrepreneur has expressed his feelings about the P72 on Twitter, accusing the company of putting "tracing paper over our P3/4", and pasting "much of our P4/5."
He then accused De Tomaso of stealing the interior from Horacio Pagani and that the company "pumped it up like a Vargas Girl and turned it into Anime. I see Koons not Caravaggio." Jesse Glickenhaus also quoted the definition of a copy as "a thing made to be similar or identical to another.'" To be fair, the P72 does have some similarities to the P4/5, particularly at the front, but it isn't an exact copy. The rear also looks drastically different. Admittedly, the exquisite interior looks like it could have been crafted by Pagani or in fact Spyker, with its diamond-quilted leather and polished copper.
In response to Glickenhaus's accusations, De Tomaso reached out to us to clarify the P72 was inspired De Tomaso Sport Prototypes of the 1960's including the Sport 1000, Sport 2000, Sport 5000 and P70. The company also provided us with a design sketch highlighting the lineage. "The Glickenhaus's are certainly entitled to their opinion and we truly wish them nothing but great success for the future," De Tomaso told us.
The P70's original designer, Peter Brock, also said he was "honored" to be approached by De Tomaso to create a homage to the car he personally designed. "When I was told this new De Tomaso is an "homage" to my P70 Sports racer I was honored. I had no idea my concept from the mid '60s would in any way be influential to a car being presented today," he said. "My first impressions of the new DeTomaso are all so positive I hardly know where to begin. The exterior form is so well done it invites you to keep walking around, admiring every subtle detail. In this day of modern super GT's it's difficult to stand out for more than a short time. With its design, engineering and technical specifications I think this De Tomaso P72 will set a new standard.
Limited to just 72 units, the De Tomaso P72 is based on the bespoke all-carbon fiber chassis featured on the Apollo IE. Powertrain details haven't been announced yet, but De Tomaso says the car has been "co-developed with world-renowned technical partners." Full technical details will be announced at a later date. Do you think the De Tomaso P72 looks too similar to the Ferrari P4/5? Let us know in the comments below.