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The Longchamp debuted at the Turin Motor Show in 1972 and was the final product of the De Tomaso / Ghia / Ford collaboration. It was the first 2+2 gran Turismo luxury sports coupe, Alejandro's reply to his European competitors.
The Longchamp was produced on a slightly shortened Deauville chassis, and its styling came from Tom Tjaarda. At this time, Tjaarda had already provided designs for the Pantera and Deauville, and the Ghia Marica inspired the styling of this particular car.
The Longchamp shared virtually the same chassis as the Deauville and its steering, suspension, and braking systems. Similar to the Deauville, over the lifespan, there were two variants of the Longchamp produced; a series 1 and series 2. The production of series 1 commenced in 1973 and was only offered with a three-speed Ford automatic transmission (approximately 17 cars made that featured a ZF 5-speed manual transmission).
In 1980 at the Turin Motor show, De Tomaso presented a new variant of the Longchamp, the GTSE. The GTSE was, in essence, a Longchamp that featured the signature Pantera GT5 campagnolo wheels, flared wheel arches, and the suspension was slightly revised. There was also a convertible 'Spyder' concept at the show, produced by coach-builder Carrozerria Pavesi from Milan.
Throughout its production run, there were approximately 410 Longchamps produced. The breakdown was 394 coupes and 16 convertibles.
Source: Longchamp – De Tomaso Automobili. https://detomaso-automobili.com/longchamp/
Images: www.productioncars.com; oldcarmanualproject.com; www.supercars.net; www.pistonheads.com
