Best of Both Worlds: European Cars With American Engines

DeTomaso Longchamp

In the ’70s, De Tomaso was a well-respected sports car brand that needed a luxury GT coupe to expand its portfolio. Built on a shortened Deauville sedan chassis, De Tomaso introduced a sleek and fast coupe called the Longchamp in 1972 (via Hagerty).

The engine for this model, as for all other De Tomaso cars, was sourced by Ford in the form of the 351 V8 that produced 330 hp. More than enough for exhilarating performance and true to the Gran Turismo nature of this car. Production was over in 1989 after more than 400 cars left the factory. The interesting thing was that US engines installed in Italian cars in the ’70s had more power and torque since European environmental standards were different than those in America.