10k: Italian Style, ‘Merican Power: 1989 LaForza Magnum GT

 If you were a well-to-do stock broker in the late 1980s and wanted a car for picking up a few lady friends, a two-seat Lambo or Ferrari just won’t do.  You need something with a back seat that offers safety from immobile objects during one of your weekly coke and Quaalude fueled benders.  You could have picked up a Land Rover or an SJ Wagoneer, but if you really wanted something with Italian styling there was only one option.  Find this 1989 LaForza Magnum GT offered for $12,500 in Washington, DC via craigslist.  Tip from _MNMLST_.

The LaForza followed in the footsteps of DeTomaso’s Pantera, but using an American pushrod V8 to power an Italian body, but the Magnum was not a sports car.  It was built on an Iveco light truck chassis designed for military and industrial use, but power comes from a Ford 5.0 engine from the Mustang.  This one has a factory supercharger which should make it good for a few more than the 225 horsepower from the 1989 Mustang GT.

From the seller: If you are used to a Range Rover or a Cayenne, you will tear your pantyhose just getting into this thing.

 tips@dailyturismo.com