Years before deciding to create a Shelby Cobra-killing sports car, 27-year-old Argentine-born Alejandro de Tomaso emigrated to Italy in 1955 with the dream of becoming a Formula One driver. He settled in Modena, a city with deep roots in the automotive industry, and two years later, he got a chance to make his dream come true by joining Scuderia Centro Sud, a local privateer racing team.

His driving career was short-lived, but his passion for fast cars grew stronger so, in 1959, with the help of American businessman and brother-in-law Amory Haskell Jr., he founded De Tomaso Automobili intending to build thoroughbred sports cars that could rival the likes of Ferrari, Maserati, or Alfa Romeo.