25th Oct 2006, 10:25
Nice car it may be, it's let down for the DeTomaso purists like myself who knew of this car during its inception. When still developed and owned by DeTomaso, it was called the Bigua, looked as it does today, but was never intended to resemble or be even close to the pedigree of the original DeTomaso Mangusta. Our hearts sank when the project was shoveled, only to be picked up by Qvale - not a bad thing at all, but when renaming it the Mangusta I felt it was merely an effort to ride historical Mangusta coattails, and felt like a slap in the face. Still, I'd own one. If you look closely on some of the earliest new Mangustas you can detect through the paint where the original 'Detomaso' emblems were affixed. If I had one, I'd replace them for what was intended - DeTomaso emblems.
30th Jun 2007, 21:23
I own the #178th Mangusta built out of less than 300. My husband and I only drive it on weekends/special occasions. It's true that wherever we go, we are hounded by people who want to know what it is. You'd think after car design changes over the last 6 years, that this car would no longer stand out, but it's impossible to drive it without getting attention. Both of us love the way it drives and handles. We took it over 150mph on a deserted stretch of road and it seemed to beg us to go faster. We could never have afforded to buy one of those exotic cars that is mentioned in some of the other comments, but we were lucky to pick this one up for less than $30K at an auction. I just don't think the sellers really knew what they had in those days. It is pricey to fix and we've stockpiled tires/rims and other parts in case they stop becoming available. (Only one mfg. place in San Francisco still has some parts to sell.) We were able to meet the other 8 owners on the West Coast about a year ago at a car show. It really was a site to see! We stole the show from all the Gallardos. There's a reason that Jay Leno has one in his collection.
23rd Oct 2006, 11:24
Well, regardless of price-point or speed (0-60 or 1/4 mile), I just find the car's exterior styling more obnoxious than that of a Citroen DS or Honda Insight. Ughh. Even the doggish, late-model Chevy Cavalier looking headlights Jag stuck on their new XK are more appealing than those of this Qvale.
But, hey, whatever floats your boat. I've never been one to follow the crowd in terms of styling either. But there's more than one reason that only 300 people in the U.S. will own one.