Book review: De Tomaso Racing Blue Blood

It would be easy to sing the praises of a book costing €350 ($370). But for that kind of money, it had better be good. De Tomaso: Racing Blue Blood is not just good, it’s outstanding.

Despite operating from Modena, Alejandro de Tomaso never quite earned his place among the established Italian sports car elite, like Ferrari or Maserati. And not through lack of trying. The Argentinian entrepreneur-engineer played many an interesting card, such as buying the Ghia coachbuilding firm when it was in trouble, or teaming up with Ford to develop the Italo-American Pantera sports car Dearborn had always dreamed of. 

Start with racing

Alejo Pérez Monsalvo is the brains behind the De Tomaso race car registry; Marcel Schaub – who sadly passed away at the end of 2023 – was the authority on De Tomaso road cars. Together, they have created something special.

Many previous books have emphasised De Tomaso’s road car operation over the racing side. Racing Blue Blood does the opposite and provides the not-so-knowledgeable with a fascinating – and more logical – insight into the man and his ambitions. More than anything else, Alejandro de Tomaso wanted to be a successful racing driver. His is a fascinating story, masterfully told by the authors.

OSCA

De Tomaso was born into affluence in 1928, in Buenos Aires. Too soon, his father passed away and he found himself overseeing 120,000 acres of family estate. Racing was his outlet. Feeling suppressed by the Péron regime, de Tomaso left behind wealth, wife and children to make his way to Europe. His destination? Modena – the place ‘where the best craftsmen are based.’ There, he met American Isabelle Haskell, at Maserati in 1955. Haskell, of Standard Oil fortune, and de Tomaso fell in love; they would embark on a lasting adventure. It’s typical of de Tomaso, by now a client and collaborator of the Maserati brothers’ OSCA company, that he quickly told them: ‘This is not how you build race cars.’ At the end of 1959, De Tomaso Automobili emerged.

Pérez Monsalvo and Schaub paint an honest picture of an intriguing individual, highlighting both his genius and his flaws, be they personal or professional. Whilst de Tomaso may have snapped up many firms for next-to-nothing, they were ailing businesses necessitating major investment. Money de Tomaso never could provide.

Chapman

Yet, there is no denying that in the 1960s’ racing scene, de Tomaso seemed destined for a great and prosperous future, both in single-seaters and in sports cars, among many other classes. Would it be so wrong to describe him as deserving of similar praise heaped upon Lotus’ Colin Chapman? No wonder the two admired each other and struck up a collaboration. But the resulting lightweight, 5.5-litre (335-cu.in.) V8 De Tomaso Lotus engine failed to take off in the way both had hoped.

Zandvoort drama

1970 was all about Formula 1 with Frank Williams. Based on a Tom Tjaarda design at Ghia – with supervision from Giampaolo Dallara – the De Tomaso 505-38 sported a Cosworth V8 in the back, and Piers Courage behind the wheel. Initially, the project showed promise, until tragedy struck at Zandvoort’s Dutch Grand Prix in June. Courage was killed, and de Tomaso lost his enthusiasm for the sport, terminating the agreement with Williams.

With around 500 photographs and documents, Racing Blue Blood is lavishly illustrated and beautifully designed. Presented in a luxurious slipcase, the book is limited to 550 numbered copies. We can only congratulate the authors and publisher on such an excellent work, which at 23.8 x 31 cm (9.4 x 12.2 in.) and 4.6 kilos (10 lbs) will certainly test your bookshelf. All we can say is that this product of deep love for De Tomaso and motor racing is worth the investment. Hopefully, after the limited edition runs out, McKlein Media will consider a cheaper, regular edition. (JoD)

mckleinstore.com

Author: Alejo Pérez Monsalvo, Marcel Schaub

ISBN: 9783947156580

Publisher: McKlein Media

Pages: 458

Price: €350 ($370)