Panther cars!

[Spiny Norman]

If the J72 or Excalibur didn't appeal you could always have plumped for this back in the day. a Sbarro 328. A BMW 328 re-creation fitted with the 2.8  straight 6 this was pretty restrained compared to his other work.

There was a convertible version of the De ville too.  Did they modify the Land Crab doors or are they from something else I wonder?
 

[sierraman]

23 minutes ago, Spiny Norman said:

If the J72 or Excalibur didn't appeal you could always have plumped for this back in the day. a Sbarro 328. A BMW 328 re-creation fitted with the 2.8  straight 6 this was pretty restrained compared to his other work.

There was a convertible version of the De ville too.  Did they modify the Land Crab doors or are they from something else I wonder?
 

XJ6 doors I think

[sierraman]

2 hours ago, MiniMinorMk3 said:

The panther Laser from 1974. Only one was built

My nephew drew something remarkably similar on the bathroom wall a few weeks ago. 

[garethj]

On 07/11/2023 at 22:52, garethj said:

Coming soon, Kallista and Solo

With the change of ownership to a Korean businessman, there were certain advantages.  His family’s container pressing company in Korea could easily stamp out aluminium body panels for the new Kallista, and the steel chassis, similar to the Mk2 Lima, could be done too.

The engine choice was from Ford, the XR3’s 1600 or the 2.8 V6 if you were in more of a hurry.  Running gear was Ford too, front suspension was Cortina Mk4/5 and rear axle was the Capri.  Obviously this meant the cars couldn’t be sold through Vauxhall dealers so Panther sold direct to keep profits healthy.

The Kallista was 10 inches longer, a bit wider and had a more roomy cabin thanks to a lower seating position.  They were selling 300 cars a year by 1984 when the K-Jetronic 2.8 took over from the carburettor engine, giving 0-60 in under 8 seconds and most of 120mph.

Turbo Technics added their trickery to one of these, giving a 0-60 time under 5 seconds but as the rest of the running gear would have needed improvement, just one was made.

At the other end of the scale, they were exported to the US, with the 2.3 litre 4 cylinder Mustang engine to clean up emissions.

With the automatic gearbox usually fitted and appalling aerodynamics, this could barely crack 70mph and by the end of the 1980s they were practically unsaleable.

For Europe, the 2.9 V6 was first shown in 1987 and this was proudly alongside the Panther Solo at the Frankfurt motor show, although customer deliveries didn’t start until 1989.

 

All the profits were pushed into the Solo development, more soon.

[Richard_FM]

On 07/11/2023 at 22:09, garethj said:

The Panther Six.  Not difficult to see where the name came from.

I read somewhere that the reason the car had six wheels was that Bob Jankel said most customers couldn’t tell the difference between a Porsche and a Ferrari, so he wanted a car that would stand out.  Having said that I also think I remember a TV advert in the 70s for a Timex watch that featured the Panther Six and there’s no evidence of that at all.

What is certain, is that the Tyrrell was easy to spot in a grid of 1976 F1 cars and who wouldn’t want some of that?

The chassis of this car was fabricated from 2 inch square section 14 gauge tube with two girders running front to back that swept around the cockpit.

There were stressed bulkheads, transverse tubes and the biggest door sills this side of a gullwing Mercedes if you check the video.

The front suspension was Vauxhall wishbones although obviously the quantities were increased somewhat, and for the engine they found the biggest V8 available at the time - an 8.2 litre Cadillac.  What a shame it only made 190bhp.

It was turned around to fit in the rear, an easy installation from the FWD Cadillac with its 3 speed Hydramatic auto box, and after some work by A.K. Miller, an American hot-rodder, twin turbos at 5psi were added which allegedly gave the car 600bhp and 600ft.lbs of torque.

 

The racing Tyrrell used 10 inch wheels at the front and it was the tyres that were its downfall.  With all the other teams using 13s, the tyre manufacturers had lots of data to make improvements and lots of customers to buy them.  With only Tyrrell using 10s, who could be bothered with improving compounds, tread patterns and sidewall strength?  The grip from 4 front wheels was soon eclipsed by stickier 2 front wheels and once the extra weight was factored in, it was uncompetitive.

Panther used 205/40 13s on the front and 265/50 16s on the back and they just weren’t available as a mass produced product.  The prototype used hand-cut treads but that wasn’t going to work for type approval.

The rest of the car was thoroughly engineered; mindful of where in the world the customers would be, the air conditioning was from a truck and in that huge tail there was room for twin fuel tanks to give 30 gallons capacity.

Panther owned Panther Electrocraft so made their own digital dashboard with LEDs, buttons and gas plasma barographs for rpm, volts, oil and fuel.

By 1979 a second prototype was underway but the company was in financial trouble and was only 75% completed by the time the receivers were called in.

I heard the second one was completed, painted white with LHD & is in a collection in one of the Gulf States.

[High Jetter]

Not pink?

[Captain Mainwaring]

Looking forward to the Solo instalment. Oddly proportioned yet captivating styling, if memory serves they only made about 15 of them. 

I'm fascinated by Panther, they were fucking bonkers. I love how they basically look like crummy kit cars (Kalista/Lima esp) but were comically expensive, owing I'm sure in no small part to the build quality.

I think the name Panther is a cheeky swipe at Jag whose parts bin they seem to have raided habitually.

 

Great thread!

 

[GR8 PL8 M8]

34 minutes ago, Captain Mainwaring said:

I'm fascinated by Panther, they were fucking bonkers. I love how they basically look like crummy kit cars (Kalista/Lima esp) but were comically expensive, owing I'm sure in no small part to the build quality.

I was reading through this thread remembering how my old team leader used to own a Panther Kallista, and I would wind him up by calling it a kit car.

I did redeem myself by finding footage of him taking it up a hill climb on YouTube.

[sierraman]

Elton has  one! 
  

[Captain Mainwaring]

I'm fairly sure the Cruella DeVille DeVille was on display at Walt Disney World when I was there a few years ago, along with the villains Transit pickup.

I remember being all excited that there was a knackered Mk2 Transit in America, and the family thinking I was a crackpot.

[Snake Charmer]

I know who has Jankels alloy bodied Lima, it was restored a while back. Still has a Sierra 5 speed that was fitted in place of the ZF dogleg box but retains the slant four on Dellortos.

Brightwells auction sale 2015

 

[Saabnut]

Back in 1976, I attended my (and possibly the) last Motor Show at Earls Court. Amongst the haul of goodies, I acquired a few Panther brochures. I am not* a hoarder, so I still have them, mainly because no one has ever offered them a better home! So here we go:

Very much of its time in the prose used

Also included was a J72 Price List. Printed without prices!

Then there was a reprint of the June 72 Auto Test report of the J72

And a reprint of the Ugust 74 Motor report

And that was all the literature they had on the stand. They did have a J72 and a DeVille on the stand as I remember but no literature as I made a point of asking! I really liked Panthers then and sadly I still do although I have never sat in, driven or owned one.

[Pat Earrings]

Saw this on the motorway today

[davocano]

1 hour ago, Snake Charmer said:

I know who has Jankels alloy bodied Lima, it was restored a while back. Still has a Sierra 5 speed that was fitted in place of the ZF dogleg box but retains the slant four on Dellortos.

Brightwells auction sale 2015

 

Saw it in 2017 at the Walton Bridge Breakfast Club.

[Captain Mainwaring]

1 hour ago, Pat Earrings said:

Saw this on the motorway today

Shit the proverbial bed!! :O

[garethj]

I’m pushed for time at the moment, let’s once again thank @trigger for some road test scans.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/triggersca ... 823219154/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/triggersca ... 823311412/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/triggersca ... 823469302/

Make a start on those and I’ll catch you up later.

[motorpunk]

1 hour ago, Pat Earrings said:

Saw this on the motorway today

Cool spot! I wonder if that's off to the classic car show at the NEC this weekend, perhaps for auction.

[Pat Earrings]

Yeah come to think of it, there were two being trailered together and the one in front was also another Panther but my mate didn’t get a picture in time. If you zoom in you can make it out just.

once again I am astounded at the price of one of these things!

[Spottedlaurel]

Kallista seen back in 2014 (on Mrs SL's birthday, it would appear):

This one was a 2.8.

[mk2_craig]

On 07/11/2023 at 22:52, garethj said:

Kallista

Here’s one from what must be over 15 years ago, big engined example too! 
 

[Marina door handles]

I quite like the Panther 6 wheeler and the Solo/Solo2 but most of the pastichey 1930s knock offs just have so many details that jar quite badly. The rear view below the bumper on the Kalista looks like the tail lights on the back of a trailer and why do the rear wheel arches flare upwards? Also fake wire wheels, sweet baby Skeletor on a bicycle that is horrible.  With a few tweeks they would have been way more attractive IMO.

Has anyone mentioned that during the Eighties Panther made most of their money by running a chain of video rental stores?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oh hang no that's wrong, they actually made their mulla modify high end Mercs and Range Rovers for wealthy Middle Eastern clients.

 

[garethj]

8 minutes ago, Marina door handles said:

Oh hang no that's wrong, they actually made their mulla modify high end Mercs and Range Rovers for wealthy Middle Eastern clients.

I think that was a different company, Bob Jankel ran that but it was completely separate to the operations which built the cars, they split in 1980.

[Snake Charmer]

8 hours ago, davocano said:

Saw it in 2017 at the Walton Bridge Breakfast Club.

Nice spot. 👍 Sadly not used enough.

47 minutes ago, Marina door handles said:

Oh hang no that's wrong, they actually made their mulla modify high end Mercs and Range Rovers for wealthy Middle Eastern clients.

Jankel are still producing and supporting vehicles, armoured and military.

[garethj]

7 hours ago, garethj said:

I’m pushed for time at the moment, let’s once again thank @trigger for some road test scans.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/triggersca ... 823219154/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/triggersca ... 823311412/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/triggersca ... 823469302/

Make a start on those and I’ll catch you up later.

After reading those back, they probably tell the story better than I can.  The development of the Solo, renamed the Solo 1 after the second one happened (like World War One) was halted after Young Chull Kim drove an MR2 and found it much better than the prototype Solo.

Its XR3i engine was always going to limit the price Panther could charge, and it just wasn’t different enough from the MR2.

Solo 1 with its transverse XR3i engine 

Solo 2 with its longitudinal-ish Sierra Cosworth engine 

 

The engine is twisted by 8 degrees so the sump can clear the rear differential.  If it was me, I’d have extended the wheelbase by a couple of inches, but it’s easy to say that nowadays with slick CAD programs.

I was studying automotive engineering at the time so I was all over the IMechE Composite Materials publication, where Panther wrote about their carbon fibre and honeycomb structures.

There are lap shear and peel strength tables in there too but I haven’t included them here.  Pure filth.

The car was debuted at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 1987, it’s easy to spot as it has the vertical end plates on the rear spoiler.

 

Production cars dropped this.

The chassis design and advanced crash structure worked very well, when it was subjected to the 30mph barrier crash test at MIRA, the steering wheel was allowed to intrude by 127mm but the Solo’s moved by just 33mm.

Later in 1989 during testing at Millbrook, the Solo beat the record for a lap of the handling circuit.  The aerodynamics were carefully worked out underneath too, with the car achieving positive downforce front and rear.

Tthe plan was to build 100 cars in 1988 and 600 in 1989.  Unfortunately development was slow and the first car wasn’t built until the end of 1989.  The media and Panther’s management piled on the pressure to deliver the car as soon as possible, but getting it right took time.  They chose to focus on the date rather than the quality and the car’s reputation never recovered.

[Marina door handles]

My info comes from a documentary were they were interviewing someone at Panther and doing a factory tour, there was mention of both the body panels being made in Korea and the export Mercs, this was early Eighties. Cant find the vid at the moment. 

[garethj]

6 minutes ago, Marina door handles said:

My info comes from a documentary were they were interviewing someone at Panther and doing a factory tour, there was mention of both the body panels being made in Korea and the export Mercs, this was early Eighties. Cant find the vid at the moment. 

You could be right, I’m not sure when they were separated but Panther cars definitely got rid of Jankel around that time and he did the customised Mercs and bulletproof 6 wheel Range Rovers.

[garethj]

Hope you enjoyed this, I can heartily recommend the book, Panther, the inside story of the British Panther car company by Bruce Powell for lots more detail by a man who was there at the time.

[Jim Bergerac]

I adore the Solo, and I don't think that's anything to be ashamed of.

I also like the Kallista... Which is probably something to be ashamed of.

[ETCHY]

Great thread really enjoyed that thanks.

J72 still looks really cool imo.

The 6 wheeled thing looks like something from Thunderbirds so is just brilliant !

 

[MiniMinorMk3]

I always thought the Panther Solo looked odd and quite ugly.