Are you sitting down? Good. It isn’t often here at Barn Finds that we have a project car in need of complete restoration that comes with a six-figure asking price, but that is precisely what we have with this 1970 De Tomaso Mangusta. Barn Finder Jacob referred the Mangusta to us, so thank you so much for that Jacob. The Mangusta has been off the road since 1976, so after more than four decades of inactivity, this Italian sports car is going to require plenty of work before it is able to burn up the bitumen again. Located in Northridge, California, you will find the Mangusta listed for sale here on eBay. The owner has set the BIN price at $150,000, but if you are truly serious, you could also make an offer.

It isn’t clear when the restoration of this Mangusta stalled, but if the car really hasn’t seen the road since 1976, it has been a fairly slow restoration project. There is still rust to be addressed in the Mangusta before the next owner even considers reassembling the car. This rust is present in one of the rockers (a replacement is included), along with rust in the floors, the driver’s door, and in the rear valance. The owner says that there is also rust in other spots, but doesn’t elaborate on where. On the positive side of the ledger, the car does appear to be virtually complete, so hopefully, the next owner won’t have to search long and hard for any parts for the car.

The Mangusta was originally finished in Red, and the black interior must have provided a great contrast. The interior trim actually looks like it is in good condition, and I think that a good clean would bring the seats, console, and door trims back to their best. The dash also looks like it is in good condition, and will need little more than a good clean. The Mangusta also features air conditioning and power windows. The A/C is likely to be a blessing, because air-flow into a Mangusta is not one of its strong points, and hot days can be a less than pleasant experience.

Powering the Mangusta is the venerable Ford 302ci V8 engine, which produces 230hp. This sends the power to the rear wheels via a 5-speed ZF transaxle. The funky gull-wing style engine cover looks great and quirky, but it also makes accessing the engine in a Mangusta quite awkward. For all of its mid-engined attributes, the weight distribution in a Mangusta is pretty ordinary. Combine this with a chassis that lacks torsional rigidity, and the Mangusta is not a particularly pleasant thing to point at a piece of twisting tarmac. The owner says that the engine and transaxle in this Mangusta are original, but provides no information on their condition. If they truly have been sitting unused since 1976, then there will almost certainly be some work required before the car once again fires a shot in anger.

If the De Tomaso Mangusta proved one thing, it is that a car that could be considered to be a triumph of style over substance can still command a premium price. De Tomaso rolled 401 Mangustas out of its factory, but it is believed that only around 250 of these remain in existence today. Being a handmade Italian sports car, it is a car that achieves very respectable prices today. This means that you simply won’t find a driving example today for less than $200,000. How high can the values go? Well, there is an example for sale at present that is absolutely perfect, and the owner is asking a cool $399,990 for that. Of course, asking for something is one thing, but actually getting it is another matter entirely. That might also be the case with this one.