Bertone Panther, Sbarro Tiger

Often the most defining stories in the history of racing involve drivers, tracks, cars, and sometimes corners — but rarely will a team be credited as part of the puzzle that helped cause a moment to happen.

Founded in 1964 in response to their local government's refusal to reignite the Mille Miglia, a team of dissatisfied racers banded together to form Scuderia Brescia Course, so-named after the town where the Mille Miglia had its starting line. 

The team was wonderfully car-agnostic as well, meaning that the wealthy privateer could turn up with a brand-new Alfa Romeo or Porsche and receive the same team support under the Scuderia Brescia Course banner. 

The setup worked a treat, and by the late '60s the team was entered into a number of prestigious events; this reflected its strategy of both national and international competition. 

At the modest Bertone stand for the 1968 Geneva Motor Show, the team's lofty ambitions became clear: project Panther sought to contest over 3-litre prototype races in the World Sportscar Championship.

Bertone was contracted to create the prototype, and, somehow, found the time to include several revolutionary details for that time. An alloy and titanium tube frame chassis featured clean aerodynamics, a hydraulically-controlled main wing, and even 24-volt electrics. 

Originally, BRM was to supply a Formula 1-derived V12 engine for the project, but the team ended up courting Maserati for a powerplant.

It was not to be — a lack of support both in Italy and abroad showed Scuderia Brescia Course wasn't quite ready for an all-out assault on the world stage.

When the operation went under, the Panther was given to Umberto Maglioli as compensation for his investment. Maglioli soon sold the car on to one Franco Sbarro, who had noted the production potential of the Panther…

Somewhere along the way — and without modern 3D scanning — you can imagine where wires were crossed between a struggling race team, coachbuilder, and Swiss concept car creator Sbarro when it came to the matter of transferring the car’s moulds to Switzerland. They never arrived.

I don’t imagine that went down particularly well with Sbarro, who had already done serious engineering work on the Panther, proposing different engines for the car, removing the car’s large spoiler, and renaming it to Tiger.