Panhard Vintage Cars - Surprising Innovators

Panhard Classic Vehicles

Vintage Panhard cars are both rare and awesome, I was having one of those days where you trawl the net for something to inspire you. I thought, I know, I’ll look up odd classic cars.

Almost immediately I found a French vintage automobile, the Panhard, mentioned in a classic car blog with a comment that it “..looks like it’s sucking on a lemon..” – and yes, it really does. It also has a vague hint of the retro-inspired Nissan Figaro about it.

I’d never heard of it, I confess, but the company was founded way back in 1891 when it was called Panhard et Levassor, and they currently manufacture military vehicles.

The Panhard company was under the ownership of Citroen for around 40 years prior to 2005 and they ceased production of civilian motor vehicles in 1968.

But let’s not mock too much here, as with various other French car manufacturers, the company was a very forward thinking organisation.  

Classic Motor Innovation

My friend once owned a black Citroen DS1 that on initial viewing prompted only two thoughts: 1: where’s the funeral and 2: how do we get round corners. Once the initial amusement died down, the DS1 would come to gain a level of respect with its subtle innovations that I hadn’t anticipated. In fact, keep watching this blog, I’ll cover that one next, as it deserves more detailed coverage.

The Panhard used a chain driven gearbox and has arguably been credited with the first modern motor vehicle transmission. Indeed, the Panhard Rod is still a component of a modern car’s transmission today, included on the-go-anywhere Land Rover.

To top it all, if you’re looking to take some vintage or classic car insurance out & hunt down an old Panhard, as classics go you could do worse than find a Dyna X or Z1, as they were built with aluminium bodies.

So, not so bad when all things are considered. Definitely no lemon, this car clearly has an expression that belies its IQ.