I have seen pictures of the stock white DeTomaso Mangusta once shown at Ford's Design Center wearing a metal SHELBY badge in the grille. i was wondering if anybody ever heard which Ford official was promoting the idea that Ford import the Mangusta and that it be sold as a Shelby. As I understand it, Ford turned down the Mangusta because of build problems (too much hand labor) but as usual "success has many fathers and failures none" so it's had to find out now who was pushing the Mangusta, which ended up being imported by Kjell Qvale, a SF car importer.
You need look no further than the Deuce himself. He of course took the Ford corporate route and got Iacocca etal involved to create a production car rather than the handbuilt goose.
RE: Pantera
Such a car also would be a sexy addition to Ford Motor's staid Lincoln-Mercury division car line. And chairman Henry Ford II had wanted a sexy Italian auto to go with his new Italian wife since Ford Motor failed to buy the Ferrari auto company in 1963