The De Tomaso Pantera entered the market in 1971. This Italian sports car is De Tomaso's most well known model, and the one that gave the brand notoriety in the automotive industry. The striking Tom Tjaarda designed body was powered by a Ford 5.8L V8 mid-mounted engine with drive going to the rear wheels. A Pantera "L" was introduced in 1972, with small tweaks to comply with the US market, these models are very similar to the standard Pantera outside of a detuned V8 engine. The standard Pantera was slowly phased out near the end of production, but it could still be made to order, although imports to the United States ended in 1975.