The Pantera was produced by De Tomaso from 71 - 73, imported to the US. and sold via Ford dealers. Durning that time 6,128 Pantera's were sold. This is the largest production timefram of the Pantera's life, and was still available after the fact however not through Ford. Ford pulled out in 1973, ending the large scale production and importation of the Pantera.
Here is a brief excerpt from the Wikipedia, which I believe to fairly accurate.
"The first De Tomaso produced in anything like significant numbers, the Mangusta, introduced in 1966, was also the first to be developed in association with Ford, a firm which was to have a decisive influence on De Tomaso's early life. With the Mangusta De Tomaso moved from European to American Ford engines; powered by a 4.7-litre iron-block V8 engine and with steel and aluminium coupé bodywork from Ghia – an Italian coachbuilder also controlled by Alejandro de Tomaso – the Mangusta could more than compete with contemporary Ferraris and Lamborghinis on looks, if not on cachet. About 400 examples were built until production ended in 1971.
The Mangusta was succeeded by the Pantera, the car that was to put De Tomaso on the map – if only briefly. It appeared in 1971 with a 351 Cleveland Ford V8 and a low, wedge-shaped body designed by Ghia's Tom Tjaarda.[3] Though less visually arresting than the Mangusta, the Pantera looked set to vault De Tomaso into the ranks of the supercar giants. Through an agreement with Ford, De Tomaso sold Panteras in the USA through Ford's Lincoln and Mercury dealers. Between 1971 and 1973, 6,128 Panteras were produced in Modena, dwarfing the intensity of any De Tomaso production runs before or since. Sadly for the firm (and for American supercar fans), the the oil crisis of the early 1970s, and the dismal quality of the cars produced, caused Ford to pull out of the Pantera deal at the end of 1973. (Other supercars of the same era, such as the Pietro Frua-bodied AC Frua, were to cease production completely for the same reasons.)
After its brief flowering as a mass-production car, the Pantera settled down during the 1970s and into the 1980s as an ordinary, small-production but 'invisible' Italian supercar. This was a shame, as it combined the Mangusta's sound mechanicals and (almost as) striking looks with a larger engine and a more luxurious interior. Price-wise, it was much more affordable than its rivals from Ferrari, Lamborghini, Aston Martin and Iso. Pantera production continued at a greatly reduced scale, at a rate of less than 100 cars per year. From this point forward, the cars were being largely hand-built.
In 1980, the GT5 model was introduced. The GT5 incorporated better brakes, a more luxurious interior, much larger wheels and tires, and a fiberglass body kit comprised of an air dam, wheel flares and running boards. Production of the wide body GT5 and similarly equipped narrow body GTS models continued concurrently until 1985, when the GT5-S replaced the GT5. Although the factory has not made its records available, it is thought that less than 252 GT5 Panteras were built. The GT5-S featured single piece flared steel fenders instead of the GT5's riveted-on fiberglass flares, and a smaller steel front air dam. The 'S' in the GT5-S name stood for "steel". Otherwise the GT5-S was largely identical to the GT5. Again, although there has been no confirmation from the factory, it is thought that less than 183 GT5-S Panteras were built. Concurrent GTS production continued, on a custom order and very intermittent basis, until the late 1980s. Incorporating a Marcello Gandini facelift, suspension redesign, partial chassis redesign and a new engine, the Pantera 90 Si model was introduced in 1990. Only 38 90 Si models were sold before the Pantera was finally phased out in 1993 to make way for the radical, carbon-fibre-bodied Guarà."
