Let’s see — how many boxes does this rare Qvale Mangusta check? Italian styling? (courtesy of Marcello Gandini) Check. Rare? 284 produced in total, check. DOHC V-8? Check. Reasonable price? $19,000, check. Chassis penned by an ex-Formula 1 designer? Check. Have you ever heard of one before? This car is a 1999 model that is available here on our own Barn Finds Classifieds and is located in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
While the styling may not appeal to everyone, the body has some really cool features, including a three-position top inspired by contemporary TVRs. When the car was first introduced for sale in January of 2000 (which makes this being a 1999 model interesting) the sticker price was over $78,000! This one is wearing Corallo red pearlescent paintwork.
Unfortunately, there are no pictures available under the hood or of the interior, so we don’t know if the car is equipped with the standard 5-speed manual transmission or the optional 4-speed automatic. Perhaps the owner will tell us in the comments. Given the 320 horsepower available from the Ford-sourced V-8, I suspect this is the view most other cars will see! What do you think, Barn Finds readers? And if you have a similar car to sell, find a great audience by posting it in our classifieds!
Seems like it would be an interesting car to drive. I’m having a hard time getting past the front end styling. She’s not very pretty! I think I have grown to like the Daimler SP250 styling over this one.
Put headlights on an egg, this is what ya get.
Not for me
I drove one of these back in the day and I must say I was surprised how not exciting it was to drive. If I recall the collective opinion was save your money and buy a mustang.
Whoever took the pictures needs to figure out how to use the focus.
These pictures are only worth 100 words.
A few years ago I was driving in Geneva N.Y. at the north end of Seneca Lake when I spotted one of these in someone’s front yard for sale. I had no idea what it was so we stopped and checked it out. I had to take some pictures then look it up. I can’t say I’m a big fan of the lines of these. They are kind of weirdly rounded off and look a bit like a stuffed sausage. I’m sure they are a blast to drive and it might change my mind if I ever got to drive one, but it caught my eye because it looked weird. even if I could afford one, I’ll pass.
The owner is the famous toly arutonoff(spelling?) this will be an auto car with less hp.
Reminds me of a tired Frog trying to smile……
One of the ugliest cars ever made..and I own a VW Thing! A crime to put the Mangusta name on this..Disgusta would be better,
Man, tough crowd! I agree these pictures aren’t great … they also don’t do it justice. From the right angle, these cars are actually exotic looking and kind of cool. (Flame suit on).
Well i had owned two of these, a silver and a red one. They are lots of fun and did many car shows with them. They got a lot of attention. They have the SVT Cobra engine. This guys photos and ad is mighty poor. The price seems great.
It´s not huge money. But the presentation doesn´t deserve huge money.
For me, Gandini has more misses than hits. When he´s good, very good indeed!
it’s an automatic with a new engine and repaint in ’11 by the dealer in florida I got it from. drove it to and from Charlotte and Monterey with no problems. lexan windscreen as a new one from the parts gentleman in North Carolina is $1600. sport exhaust sounds great. everything works. it has old tires. I like it because it doesn’t have a splitter or a spoiler ANYWHERE. people in Carmel were all over it trying to figure out what it was. I’m selling it because I got another one!
If italian styling is so great, how come most cars these days look like wanna-be BMW´s? and why aren´t italian cars attracting more buyers internationally? This thing is forgettable, to be kind.
Interesting car
I must add that the car has a cracked dash top neat the windshield; easy to cover! be well!