.jpg?w=1)
Details
1902 PANHARD-LEVASSOR 7hp REAR ENTRANCE TONNEAU
Registration No. AR 247
Engine No. 5183
Royal blue with red coachlining and upholstery
Engine: Two cylinder monobloc, 90 x 130mm bore and stroke, 1654cc. Automatic inlet, side exhaust valves, trembler coil ignition, Krebs automatic carburettor. Transmission: cone clutch, 3 speed and reverse gearbox with right hand quadrant change, side-chain final drive. Chassis wood and steel flitch-plate, 1.8m wheelbase, 1.22m track; Suspension: semi-elliptic springs to front and rear; Brakes: contracting bands on back wheels from side lever and on transmission from foot pedal. Right hand drive.
The first Panhard-Levassor car of 1891 used a V-Twin engine built under licence from the German Daimler company. In 1895 a parallel twin was developed and this came to prominence in the June of that year when Levassor finished first with one of his firm's cars so powered in the Paris-Bordeaux-Paris race. Later Panhard-Levassors used variations on the engine in two and four cylinder form. In 1895 the bore and stroke had been 80 x 120mm, but a ten millimeter addition to both dimensions soon became most frequently used. For twins this gave about 7bhp at 1000rpm.
The late John Bolster of 'Bloody Mary Special' fame, staff writer for commentator of renown, owned a 1903 7hp Panhard-Levassor from 1934 and drove it annually on the London to Brighton Run. In 1962 writing in Veteran and Vintage Magazine commented on the Panhard:
'to the sympathetic it is a sheer joy to handle….. the ride is comfortable, although the short wheelbase allows some pitching. The roadholding is excellent by any standards, particularly on wet and slippery surfaces. …. For a journey 20mph is a fair average.' Bolster concluded: 'Lacking the sheer drama of the big four-cylinder Panhards, the two cylinder car must be regarded as one of the most reliable and best made machines of the Veteran era. Above all, it will give its ultimate performance only to the man who can feel its sensitive controls and interpret the sound of its engine.'
This 7hp car is a 1902 example of the make and type about which Bolster felt empowered to write so emphatically and passionately. Panhard-Levassor cars of the period carry a common car and engine number and the factory records show that the chassis de voiture automobile actionné par 1 moteur á petrole de 7 chevaux No. 5183 left the works on the 1st March 1902. However when the car was discovered in a dilapidated condition near Ashford in Kent in 1946 it was recorded as being car number 5154. The works records show that 5154 was also a 7hp car that was sold by Panhard-Levassor on the 21st of March 1902 and described in precisely the same manner, both chassis having KA type three speed gearboxes, as expected. It is not at all unusual to find Panhard-Levassor cars sold out of direct number cum date sequence, but assiduous efforts by the vendor and others have to date failed to explain the apparent anomaly. Irritating though it may be not to have the definitive answer to a conundrum, in reality it does not affect the car at all.
Immaculately presented, the coachwork is coachlined in period style, with deep button back upholstery comfortably accommodating five passengers. It is appropriately furnished with a full complement of correct period accessories - brass Rotax self-generating acetylene headlights and Lucas side and rear lights, coiled trumpet horn with extended conduit, mirror, AA and VCC badges - and the wheel hubs, levers and kicker plates are nickel-plated. The mechanical condition mirrors its cosmetic order - in recent years benefitting from an engine overhaul by Veteran car specialists Brentclass, and a new balanced Phoenix crankshaft. Accordingly it made a swift and successful run on the RAC London to Brighton last November, as it has done for former owners many times before.
Dated by the Veteran Car Club of Great Britain in 1947, this date was re-confirmed in 1989. It is thus eligible for VCC events, the London to Brighton and this year's re-enactment of the 1900 '1000 Mile Trial', as well as other popular Veteran events such as those organised on the Continent by the French 'Les Teuf Teuf' Club.
This is a fine example of a 7hp Panhard-Levassor, one of the great makes of the period, which has had considerable sums of money spent on it by previous owners as even the most cursory inspection shows, and is offered for sale ready to use with current MoT and road fund licence, together with a detailed history file.
Registration No. AR 247
Engine No. 5183
Royal blue with red coachlining and upholstery
Engine: Two cylinder monobloc, 90 x 130mm bore and stroke, 1654cc. Automatic inlet, side exhaust valves, trembler coil ignition, Krebs automatic carburettor. Transmission: cone clutch, 3 speed and reverse gearbox with right hand quadrant change, side-chain final drive. Chassis wood and steel flitch-plate, 1.8m wheelbase, 1.22m track; Suspension: semi-elliptic springs to front and rear; Brakes: contracting bands on back wheels from side lever and on transmission from foot pedal. Right hand drive.
The first Panhard-Levassor car of 1891 used a V-Twin engine built under licence from the German Daimler company. In 1895 a parallel twin was developed and this came to prominence in the June of that year when Levassor finished first with one of his firm's cars so powered in the Paris-Bordeaux-Paris race. Later Panhard-Levassors used variations on the engine in two and four cylinder form. In 1895 the bore and stroke had been 80 x 120mm, but a ten millimeter addition to both dimensions soon became most frequently used. For twins this gave about 7bhp at 1000rpm.
The late John Bolster of 'Bloody Mary Special' fame, staff writer for commentator of renown, owned a 1903 7hp Panhard-Levassor from 1934 and drove it annually on the London to Brighton Run. In 1962 writing in Veteran and Vintage Magazine commented on the Panhard:
'to the sympathetic it is a sheer joy to handle….. the ride is comfortable, although the short wheelbase allows some pitching. The roadholding is excellent by any standards, particularly on wet and slippery surfaces. …. For a journey 20mph is a fair average.' Bolster concluded: 'Lacking the sheer drama of the big four-cylinder Panhards, the two cylinder car must be regarded as one of the most reliable and best made machines of the Veteran era. Above all, it will give its ultimate performance only to the man who can feel its sensitive controls and interpret the sound of its engine.'
This 7hp car is a 1902 example of the make and type about which Bolster felt empowered to write so emphatically and passionately. Panhard-Levassor cars of the period carry a common car and engine number and the factory records show that the chassis de voiture automobile actionné par 1 moteur á petrole de 7 chevaux No. 5183 left the works on the 1st March 1902. However when the car was discovered in a dilapidated condition near Ashford in Kent in 1946 it was recorded as being car number 5154. The works records show that 5154 was also a 7hp car that was sold by Panhard-Levassor on the 21st of March 1902 and described in precisely the same manner, both chassis having KA type three speed gearboxes, as expected. It is not at all unusual to find Panhard-Levassor cars sold out of direct number cum date sequence, but assiduous efforts by the vendor and others have to date failed to explain the apparent anomaly. Irritating though it may be not to have the definitive answer to a conundrum, in reality it does not affect the car at all.
Immaculately presented, the coachwork is coachlined in period style, with deep button back upholstery comfortably accommodating five passengers. It is appropriately furnished with a full complement of correct period accessories - brass Rotax self-generating acetylene headlights and Lucas side and rear lights, coiled trumpet horn with extended conduit, mirror, AA and VCC badges - and the wheel hubs, levers and kicker plates are nickel-plated. The mechanical condition mirrors its cosmetic order - in recent years benefitting from an engine overhaul by Veteran car specialists Brentclass, and a new balanced Phoenix crankshaft. Accordingly it made a swift and successful run on the RAC London to Brighton last November, as it has done for former owners many times before.
Dated by the Veteran Car Club of Great Britain in 1947, this date was re-confirmed in 1989. It is thus eligible for VCC events, the London to Brighton and this year's re-enactment of the 1900 '1000 Mile Trial', as well as other popular Veteran events such as those organised on the Continent by the French 'Les Teuf Teuf' Club.
This is a fine example of a 7hp Panhard-Levassor, one of the great makes of the period, which has had considerable sums of money spent on it by previous owners as even the most cursory inspection shows, and is offered for sale ready to use with current MoT and road fund licence, together with a detailed history file.