Page 1 of 1 With the Vallelunga, launched late in 1963, DeTomaso created Italy's first mid-engined production road car. Although designed for use on the street, the Vallelunga's underpinnings were clearly inspired by the competition cars built and raced by DeTomaso since the early 1960s. While some of the road-going Vallelungas were raced, DeTomaso also constructed at least two track-ready show cars on the Vallelunga's underpinnings.
One of these was the Sport 1000, which was launched at the Turin Racing Car show in February of 1966. It was clothed by Fantuzzi with a very low, open two-seater body. This aluminium skin was tightly draped over the Vallelunga underpinnings. This was a sheet-steel backbone chassis with a separate tubular spaceframe that housed the engine and rear suspension. At the front double wishbones were fitted and in competition car fashion, the rear-end consisted of reversed lower wishbones, top links and twin trailing arms.
At the car's launch, no engine was fitted and many assumed, the Sport 1000 would be powered by a downsized version of the Ford 'four' fitted in the Vallelunga. Instead, the car was fitted with altogether more exotic engine after its return to the factory; a BRM F2 unit. Derived from the World Championship winning P56 V8. Displacing just under one-litre, the fuel-injected engine produced around 125 bhp. It was mated to a Volkswagen gearbox, equipped with Hewland internals.
Although fully functional, the Sport 1000 is believed to have never turned a wheel in anger. By the time, it was completed, DeTomaso was already working on V8-engined versions of the same chassis that would ultimately lead to the Mangusta road car. The one-off Sport 1000 was retired to the DeTomaso museum. Page 1 of 1