Panther's 6-wheeled Car
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 26 มิ.ย. 2024
- Surely if 4 wheels are good, then 6 are better? Panther Westwind, maker of the Panther 6 obviously thought so when they produced this crazy car in 1977 to an astonished reaction. How did its owner, a retired clothing company manager find himself launching a luxury grand tourer with four front wheels at the London Motorfair in 1977, and what became of it?
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I used to work for Robert Jankel. He had two boxer dogs, TJ and Hannah they used to sit on my feet where ever I went in his house. 🤣
Hannah 😂 I love it when people name animals with plaid human names it makes me laugh.
Wonderful story. I am related to the Jankels: my paternal grandmother was Trude Jankel. I think the dog was named after Auntie Hannah, as my father called his mother’s cousin.
Robert Jankel sounds like heck of a guy.
@@Bombardier9011 ahh yes that makes sense. And TJ trude jankel? Perhaps. Loved those dogs.
My boxer dog also used to sit on my feet 😂 I think It's because they didn't like when their butts touched the ground when the floor was cold.
I saw the Panther 6 at the 1977 Motor Fair and I thought it was the most amazing car I'd ever set eyes on. Needless to say, I was a teenage boy at the time.
I was there too! The engine I was told was an Oldsmobile V8
Yes I was there too, was mind-blowing for me at age 11.
Me too
Yep me too first ever motorshow went with school aged 14, it was a superb thing to see
it was an awesome car
This 6-wheel Panther made me think back to Lady Penelope in her Fab One.
Very interesting story. 👏🎼
The pink Roller.
@@Your.Uncle.AngMoh Right. You remember it too. I thought it was fascinating at the time. 😆
Penelope pitstop from Wacky Races?
@@Your.Uncle.AngMoh Parker yes mylady time for a burn up yes mylady .
Damn, ya beat me on that.
Great example of a man who never gave up, massive respect well earned . Well put together on the vid team keep em coming : )
"No mister Bond, I expect you to drive."
No Mister Bond, I expect you to rust.
@@RandallSlick don't be so practical 🧐
Excuse me Mr Bond, would you have any Grey Poupon?
That Lazer reminds me of that car Homer Simpson designed.
thats exactly what its is hey....
The " PERSEPHANI " I think lol .
Did it have rack and peanut steering though?
The Homer would make a good April Fool's video.
RIP Robert, a man that was brave enough to follow his dream.
My friend has a Kalistra, great on a sunny afternoon.
When I first started work in 1978, I worked in a Vauxhall dealership as a mechanic. Once, and only once, we got a Panther Lima in for a service, and I actually got to work on it. Beautifully made, but I always felt that huge front spoiler was out of place on a retro design like that. Always wanted a Royale, and still do!
Shame he never put a rotary engine in any of his creations ... deprived us of having any discussion (over a pint) about the Jankel Wankel
Boom!💥⚡️😂👍
The F104 starfighter was "a missile with a man in it ".... the "Jankell with a Wankel" would've sounded just as good hahaha!
I'd like to hear Andrew Frankel's opinion first.
Still in 2021 one of the dreamcars i would like to have. Never changed my list since 1970. It just grew.....
If a Panther is on your list, I really do think it's time for some housekeeping. Is the square-wheel Allegro on there by any chance? Sorry but interventions help sometimes
Ikr, lol. If I had the money and means I'd have to be like Jay Leno and have 2-3 large buildings for all the cars I've wanted and dreamed of owning, id have some exotics, alot of customs and some originals. Id also have several doubles because there's vehicles i like custom and original like the 65' Impala SS id have a black on black original and then a candy red lowrider with gold wires and gold trim id also like to have a 65' Impala Caprice, then there are the twins like I want a few 1963 model cars like of course a 63' Impala convertible lowrider, but I want the Canadian version of the 63' Pontiac Catalina called a Parisienne i also would love to have a 59' Impala, a 59' Bel-Air and a 59' Biscayne. Then there are my oddball favorites, like De Sotos, Ramblers, Edsels, Kaiser/Frasers, Packard, Hudsons, etc...
@@RandallSlick Oh I get it, if you don't think his dream is any good then no one else needs it either.
You display all the hallmarks of lack of imagination and creativity - in other words an accountant.
@@ThePaulv12 Yes mate. Still a shit car. Like to comment on the British car industry c 2021 now? Shit designers and shit senior management for the last 50 years. I'd rather be French.
I agree it's still a beautiful vehicle, If I had some money I would get that going again.
The only car I have truly wanted to own since seeing it back in ‘77..
If it helps theres a 6-wheeled car in cyberpunk 2077
The front wheels lock up to clear a path for the second set to maintain traction.
I'll file this away with 16" rear wheels and 14" front to improve mileage because you are going downhill.
The Tyrrell P34 was a reasonably successful F1 car with six wheels, four small and two big.
It was also a bit of a one-season-wonder, the second iteration was worse than the original and later the rules were changed to mandate four wheels anyway.
@@tz8785 the most iconic of the no rules 1970s F1 scene!
@@tz8785 And didn't Ford bring out a racing car with 6 wheels, 4 at the rear and 2 at the front? Or did I just dream that?
thats hilarious well done
Not gonna lie, as a kid I always marvelled at that six-wheeled F1 car. It looked just so amazing!
Same here. Back then F1 had innovators who made the cars look different. Today they are still brilliant, but they end up with all the cars looking the same. It was a couple of years later when Renault called up the never used rule that allowed a 1.5 litre turbo. This Panther car was featured in Road and Track magazine, and that's where I first learned about it.
It was. I saw the car on a pit lane walkabout at Brands Hatch. Was struck by the four tiny front brakes. If you don't try out new ideas you can never learn from them.
And then there was the pink six wheeled FAB-1 Rolls in “Thunderbirds” in the 1960’s…
What a FANTASTIC tribute.
Well done on such deep research.
I remember my father coming home with the brochure for this car. He used to visit car shows professionally and still has quite a significant car brochure collection as a consequence.
Thank you very much for this episode! It really brought back a lot of memories from my childhood, when I was seeing some of these weird Panther cars in magazines and trump card games.
I mainly remember Panther as a kid playing Top Trumps in the 70s
My memory of the car is from the Observers Book of Automobiles
+1 🤣🤣
No such thing as the 70s
Me 2!
This is why I loved the six-wheeler. I’d never lose with it!
What a brilliant story, Robert Jankel followed his dreams and that 6-wheel car just looks incredible. Thank you.
I remember seeing this car on the cover of a car magazine in the 70's when I was a kid. It seemed so out of this world back then. Aston Martin then brought out the Wedge shaped Lagonda, the future was looking interesting to say the least !.
And then we got the Austin Metro.
I remember seeing it in Popular Science.
The Lagonda predates the Panther model, but not by much.
It's FAB1!
Shame this didn't survive. It absolutely floats my boat. I'll have mine in pink, with a bubble top.
Same.
"bubble top": The first thing I thought was that it was ten years too late for the Kustom Kulture of the mid-late 60's.
Adam ....pink? Wtf?
@@branon6565 if you need to ask your too young, it harks back to the Anderson's creation for their series Thunderbirds (mid to late sixties), only Fab 1 was a Rolls Royce, they had to get permission to use the grill shape as that was a Rolls feature, Rolls Royce thought the design reflected well on the ethos of a luxury car in the twenty first century so allowed them to use the grill shape, it was a gorgeous looking car as is the Panther six.
Superb;y done. Thanks. The de Ville fascinated me as a kid. I wish my 70s car magazines were still with me.
eBay?
I once wrote an article about this car. I couldn’t quite believe it at first!
Where were you when I was writing this script! 😉
Haha! If you’d ever like me to help write future script about these unusual cars, Big Car, just let me know in this comment section and I’ll give you my email :)
Why is everybody always avoiding the most obvious inspiration. Make mine pink, add a whopping big Rolls Royce grill to it and don't ask me what I want on the number plate! :-)
FAB 😉
@@TheSheiban Where will you Parker?
@@TheSheibanthe registration in TB was FAB 1 👍
@@scotttait2197 Yes, I was giving the "over and out" that they do in TB
@@TheSheiban Technically, it's F. A. B. and not FAB.
From the thumbnail, I though for a second it was that six-wheeled Ford Thunderbird that doubled as FAB 1 in the Thunderbirds movie! xD
Superb video as always! :D
Thanks Ruairidh. You keep knocking videos out faster than I can watch them!
Looks like that's the inspiration for the cyberpunk 2077 car!
It is SO HARD to wrap my mind around the fact that when you bought a car from the 30s in the 70s...which feels like an amazing timejump...is nothing different from buying an 80s car now....which feels just like "an old car" to me...
80s cars though are much more amenable to daily use compared to 1930s cars and 1970s ones, the usability and performance leap between 1980s cars and the cars of today is less so than the gap between 30s and 70s. I use a 1988 Volvo 480ES everyday no problem at all
@@benhooper1956 used to have this talk/argument with a colleague all the time- I'd say tax exemption should still be done at 25yrs, he'd say 80's cars aren't 'proper' classics like E-types etc. I'd always try and explain that that era of cars were as old when tax exemption was began as my 300ce is now.
I reckon a lot of it is just a generational thing?
Yeah, and I was alive in the 70s. I feel old...
Seen the Lada 4x4 2020 model? :)
@@bjrn-steinarhanssen2102 Indeed i did and isn´t it a Niva still? I have no clue how they met the regulations with that engine...apart from tuning it down maybe? Because i tried my best to order a Suzuki Jimny, but i couldn´t get one, they are already discontinued due to the regulations and the long waiting list.
I looked for the Niva once, but they are rustbuckets and not very reliable i heard :(
Thanks. It reminds me of FAB 1 from the Thunderbirds. Great story as always.
Nice to hear that he kept making cars and was able to buy his company name back.
Another problem with the Tyrrell P34 was that the huge Bertie Bassett rear tyres pretty much negated the aerodynamic advantage gained by the front wheels. Both F1 teams and Panther might have had more success with 6 wheels had they placed 4 at the rear instead of at the front in order to get the power to the road. Ferrari, March and Williams all built 6 wheeled F1 cars in that configuration but they were never raced. Jonathan Palmer, who was Williams test driver in the early 80s, claimed that the 6 wheeled Williams was markedly superior to the standard 4 wheeler, but F1 cars of more than 4 wheels were banned by the rule makers before it could be raced. Tyrrell's P34 was the only 6 wheeler raced, for 2 seasons, but with the 4 wheels at the front.
The first production one was actually ordered by Shah of Iran. The order was later cancelled due to the 1979 Revolution.
I didn’t know that. Thanks for the extra information.
Or possibly because he drove it once.
Shah, cancel the car....do you do helicopters?
so, that's where the cyberpunk 2077 6 wheel drive car design came from! I thought it was BS but damn it's actually real
Unlike cyberpunk the jankel 6 actually performed better lol
"Sausage roll at a bar mitzvah..." LOL. Panther's retro sports cars were generally fast, good handlers, and usually pleasant to look at. Then came the Panther six wheeled land yacht.
----AND CONTINUED WITH THE GOOD WORK.
3:55 lol. 4:05 and the back of it looks like stacked ham slices🤪
As a child of the 70s I can still remember seeing my first Panther. I can also member seeing Punks in English provincial towns. I've not quite got over either.
The world needs frivolity and fun. This car answered that need.
1300kg seems pretty lightweight for such a big car.
It is because 'modern' cars are much more heavy at same size but back in it's day it was a heavy weight.
@@Triggernlfrl It's more the power to weight ratios for engines has increased, modern cars are just as heavy it's just better designed engines and transmissions (at least in performance if not quality and lifespan).
That and we use a lot more aluminum and plastics instead of steel even for the frames.
It is. Back then, there was no requirement for crash-testing, so no crumple zones etc. It was also a convertible, so I'm guessing some sort of spaceframe. No roof and no special strengthening around the driver and passenger. No airbags, no heavy speakers, no sound insulation, a fabric roof. I seem to remember that the Triumph TR7 (a slightly less but almost as terrible car) was between 1000kg and 1100kg depending on engine and what few options there were. So guessing the extra weight in the Panther was mostly engine, extra wheels and front suspension. Could also have been that the makers were lying through their teeth about the weight and it was in fact nearer 1500kg.
That was terrific! I remember the Panther Solo saga well - it was regularly featured in Car magazine in the 80s and 90s.
I have a copy of (probably) Car magazine with a road test of the Solo. I liked the headlamps, not so much pop-up as rotatey-swivel.
I'm surprised that 38 Rios were made, even that sound too many when you could have a Jaguar for the same money, and with dealer network like you said.
A few of the Panther Limas were sold in Canada. I remember seeing one or two back in the old days
"Lady Penelope, someone painted your car Black" (Thunderbirds reference to the uninitiated)
My favourite car from my childhood, It would be nice for someone to buy and return it to the UK, it is purple now an in Arabia :-)
I was 12 yrs old when the Panther Six came out and saw it in my car yearbook, i wanted it SO bad haha! Stil think it's a real cool car :)
Fascinating film, I remember the car and some of the story but this filled in the gaps. Cheers 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
Brilliant video, I saw a very odd looking gently convertible in the late 1980s, and found out it was a jankle special,it was ugly beautiful always wanted one of his cars, hats off to the man.
Big thumbs up for including the out takes.. shows how much work goes into your videos.
That DeVille is simply beautiful and the 6 wheeler probably the most beautiful car ever made. I want one!
The guy was an original, good for him. I shuddered hearing the bit about cannibalizing E Types though!
1977, my uncle Rog took my cousin and I (we were both eight) on a train to London... when we got there we had no idea he was taking us to the Earls Court Motor Show. The highlight of the day was us being allowed to sit in the new 'Panther 6'. 1977... what a year.
22 years later, I'm travelling in a splitter bus with my band, on the M1 to our gig in London... we pass the very same black Panther 6 (that I later found out was only one of two built), travelling about 60 mph in the slow lane... :(
Growing up in Weybridge, I remember one of these pulling along side me at a junction, not far from Bob Jenkel's house named West Wind.
I lived at the opposite end of Oatlands Drive and recall West Winds being destroyed by fire, must’ve been around 1969/70. The only thing he managed to save was his Silver Ghost.
While scrolling through the comments I remembered the German company Artz Tuning. Günter Artz, former manager of a Volkswagen dealership in northern Hannover, made some crazy stuff based on VW, Audi, Porsche and later, with an Opel dealer contract Opel / GM base:
- Audi Quattro sedan (Audi 80 body on a Quattro chassis)
- Golf 928 (a widened Golf Mk1 body on a Porsche 928 chassis)
- Cordett (same principle, a heavily modified Opel Kadett / Vauxhall Astra E body on a Corvette C4 chassis)
- Käfer Carrera (Beetle body on Porsche 914 Chassis with Porsche 911 RS engine)
- Lotus Calibra (Opel Calibra body on a Lotus Omega chassis)
- VW Scirocco Mk1 pick-up
- VW Jetta Mk1 and Mk2 convertible
- Several estates and shooting brakes based on Audi 200, Porsche 924, Porsche 928, Mercedes 500E, Audi Quattro and VW Scirocco
I once saw the Golf 928 and Cordett parked side by side on a car convention.
I first heard about that Golf 928 back in 1980. No-one else seemed to know of its existence.
Great video ! I remember this car was in the 1980 Guinness Book of Records as the world's fastest car.
My Dad is in this video at 1034 on the left of the picture. He was telling me about the cars he worked on there, and I was showing him this video, not realising he would be in it, he doesn't remember being filmed! He worked at Panthers in the 70's and again in the 80's,. His name is Den Sparks.
Oh yes I remember that crazy car, loved it ! Seems to have a Citroën CX windshield. The most beautiful they made remains the J72 to me.
Thank you for this story. I remember this car being on the cover of Road & Track many years ago.
You've just transported me back to my childhood and a trip to the Motor show with my dad. I couldn't take my eyes off this when I saw it and its the same now. Thanks.
Imagine the performance on icy roads..
That Solo from 1989 looks amazing. Thank you :D
The editorial and accompanying pictures will confuse the viewer a little. The original Solo was smaller and totally different in appearance. This is the car that was said to be* too close in styling to the forthcoming MR2 replacement, but this view was not universal and besides, the first car was delightful and almost certainly the car that should have been made in quantity in hindsight. *who actually said this is controversial.
Great video... your channel's really on a roll, congrats & all the best for 2021 - amazing you found the original films from back in the day. The Panther 6 & Panther overall really sticks in my mind as I was about 10 years old when their name started to get mentioned often.
Always look forward to your videos, and also the outtakes! Thanks big car
You’re right, one must believe he and the team had fun in the process.
I remember this at the time. Thank you for posting this. You have a great channel and are genuinely engaging to listen to. Keep up the good work!
Nice video again! I was always intrigued by Panther, but I never realised they made so few of them. The 6 was an absolute dream car back then.
Excellent video! Panther has such a fascinating story. I had the rare opportunity to ride in a Panther Solo and it was very cool!
Another great upload from one of my favorite TH-cam channels! Thank you for keeping me sane :)
My pleasure!
Big car i really love your show, oh and my better half fell about laughing at the bit about the Lazer. Bravo great work and cant wait for more.
I'd spent 30 minutes listening to John Oliver before I wrote that, and I think that rubbed off a little.
@@BigCar2 John Oliver will do that 🤣
It was hilarious!
Fantastic job, This is a great resource for new interest, Thank you for positing this.
Brilliant video. I was totally immersed in that and it was a blast from the past with memories as a very young boy seeing that six wheeled beast.
Great video as aways - what a treat👍 Such an interesting story; there is just something about companies, created and run by passionate people
Great video. A lot of effort must have gone in.
Thanks very much!
I saw the Panther 6 at the Motor Show in 1978. It took ages to get through the crowd. Next door, tumbleweed was blowing across the Ferrari stand.
I love the bemused tone of Mr Big Car's narrations. :-)
Yes their Subtle aren’t they
I traveled to England from Oz in 1975 and worked at Panther. They made some good cars. I worked on the SS.J. 4.2 six and 5.3 V12. It was so cold and dark at 3pm. I longed for home. And in. 1976 that's what we did. If nothing else l can tell my kids l worked at a unique English car maker. Steve. H.
They did some amazing work, good for them.
Fantastic, thank you for this.
The father of a friend of my mine had a J72. After gaining my driving licence I was interested in a Lima, my favorite Panther was however the Solo!
I was the body designer on the Solo II along with Keith Campbell Hunter and Paul Woolard (who did the rotating light units running off simple wiper motors and they passed 50,000 cycles) they are both sadly both no longer with us.
15 cars were made, a motoring journalist said it was the best handling car he had ever tested. One was written off and the journalist walked away unhurt. Ken Greenley from the London Royal College of Art"s car styling dept was the stylist all this in 1987-88 and was done secretly in a separate engineering unit in Woking till we moved to Harlow early in 1988.
Thank you for the brilliant content, had no idea this thing existed.
Brilliant video, as always!
I remember it coming out.
It was AND still is stunning.
I always wanted a Panther.
I've always loved this. It makes no sense but as you said... theatre.
Jaguar with a network of dealers WHEN something went wrong- weekly!
I always watch your videos a couple of times. There's just so much to see and hear! Brilliant.
So you're the one getting my viewing figures up. Thanks! 😀
Thank you that cheered me up.
That means a lot. I love making people feel better, rather than worse.
I remember loving this car as a teenager, saw it at the motor show ❤️ I feel privileged knowing I saw this car as only two ever existed. I was 13 😊
OH THANK YOU for this, what a lovely car.
Brings back memories of my 1976 Observer book of cars.. Remember the AC 3000 ME??? That was another forgotten relic.
Great episode as usual alway look forward to these
The Panther Rio, it was said that they made 38, but in Classic and Sportscar magazine it says,
"For years it was believed that 38 Rios were produced but, once the penny dropped that Panther only issued every other chassis number, the final tally was established at just 18 cars."
Thanx 😊 I learnd something New today... Never heard of the panther.
Keep up the good work 😊
Also in Denmark a family of car people named Sommer intended to make cars, of which one was produced, but lacking official support, it only came to one in the fifties (S1). Later his son Ole Sommer started producing a number of specially built cars, mostly based from his Volvo Dealership with engines and parts. His last series became an AC Cobra/Ferrari inspired open, fine handling, sportscars, named "Oscar", with a galvanized frame inside and 50 years warranty against rust! His cars is to be seen in a private Museum in Nærum, north of Copenhagen, and in the Danish Technical Museum - also with the second last produced Volvo Amazon (Only driven down from the Factory in Gothenborg), the first Danish imported Mini and the first Danish VW. And a Mercedes 600 long version, which was absurdly hydraulic, even the windows, and complicated built in a special Factory!
A life well lived; RIP Rob.
Exactly. Why do people here put him down?
FYI - the De Ville model was also used as the villians car in 101 Dalmations.
Cruella Deville's Panther De Ville.
@@howardmckenna A four-door De Ville is in the new Disney film 'Cruella'.
fantastic video. It was sad the fact that the company didn´t really succed but at least they made interesting cars and as you said, they followed there dreams
The second car was reimported from the middle east(where it had apparently spent several years outside) several years ago. I worked for a recovery company, and moved it for the owner twice. My boss was astonished when I walked in the office and asked where the Panther 6 in the yard had come from! It was then white, with a red leather interior and gold plated trim. It was complete, but didn't run. I've always liked these but never expected to see one, let alone get a to examine it closely. The mk2 Capri doors underneath the new skins were a bit of a surprise
I love these relevant and interesting personal recollections.
I met the ex head of sales of Panther. He told me that one Panther was sold prior to the bankruptcy to the head of a hot and sandy Country. He recalled how it was bought on a credit card - which caused quite a stir as it was a huge amount of money to go on a card. He had to call up the issuer to confirm that the sum was ok. Which of course it was!
Great content.Thanks for sharing.👍
Another fantastic video about a left field car. I seem to remember that you could buy the Panther Lima from. Vauxhall dealerships at one stage. And you can get kosher sausage rolls which are just fine for any bar mitzvah.
as featured in the 70's usbourne book “Supercars” :)
They produced cars that didn't look cookie cutter/ kit car except for that Lazer hiccup. Good on you for telling their story and well done.
Really interesting - thank you!
Let’s try and park this in London
Mission Impossible: parking hell
And who's fault is it, **BORIS?**
Worse in Edinburgh!
Yes but these extra wheels really breaxit
Great video and as usual well researched ...thanks
Fantastic story
Can't knock someone for following his dream like this chap did, all with such positivity, enthusiasm & passion. Some truly distinctive cars resulted. Not to everyone's tastes, but you could say the same for most other things tbh. A wonderful production once more; you did this comparatively little-known company proud. :)
Sticking with the 6-wheeled theme (and tying in with my foremost passion), the Panther 6 instantly puts me in mind of the Bedford VAL coach chassis of 'The Italian Job' fame, in that both are twin-steer designs.
We _can_ knock him for pursuing his fever-dream horrible ideas in reality! Not all dreams are worth investing huge sums of money into, and expecting them to compete against rational operations based on reality is pretty misguided.
Great episode !
Enjoyed that very much , thanks 👍🏻😎