De Tomaso Longchamp: Italian with American influences – In the Wild

There are not many more than a few dozen cars from the De Tomaso brand in the Netherlands, so it is not very surprising that one has never appeared in this section before. It doesn’t even start with the most famous one, the Pantera, but thanks to AutoWeek forum member HarmenA, with a Longchamp. A special appearance, which you can essentially see as a coupe version of the – not entirely coincidentally – De Tomaso Deauville, which resembles the Jaguar XJ. However, the Longchamp mainly had sporty lines, while the Deauville had to appear chic.

There is no arguing about taste, but it is clear that the American (with Dutch roots) Tom Tjaarda of Longchamp has created a rather extravagantly designed car. A mix of influences, moreover, because his Italian origins are clearly visible at the rear, including the taillights borrowed from Alfa Romeo. At the front, the headlights from the Ford Granada catch the eye and Ford can also be found under the hood. There is a 5.8-liter V8, which is also supplied in the Ford Mustang, among others. So you can probably imagine the roar that comes from the (not exactly original) thick exhaust pipes of this car.

In any case, this specific Longchamp from 1977 is unfortunately not quite as you would normally expect it to be. It can distort the photos a bit, but the tires seem a bit too big for us, while the wheels themselves look original. There is also a roll cage in the car and the air scoop in the hood does not seem original to us. But hey, we won’t examine the first De Tomaso too critically in this section. In any case, it looks neat and it is especially nice that he received a set of Dutch license plates last year! Did you know that the De Tomaso Longchamps had a Maserati brother?