Panhard PL17 - 61

Panhard is a French manufacturer of light tactical and 

military vehicles. Its current incarnation was formed by 

the acquisition of Panhard by Auverland in 2005. Panhard 

had been under Citroën ownership, then PSA (after the 

1974 Peugeot Citroën merger), for 40 years.

The combined company now uses the Panhard name; this was decided based on studies  indicating that the Panhard name had better brand recognition worldwide than the Auverland name. Panhard once built civilian cars but ceased production of those in 1968. Many of its  military products however end up on the civilian market via third sources and as  military/government surplus vehicles. Panhard also built railbuses between the wars. 

A glimpse of the History

Panhard was originally called Panhard et Levassor, and was established as a car  manufacturing concern by René Panhard and Émile Levassor in 1887. 

Early Years

Panhard et Levassor sold their first automobile in 1890. based on a Daimler engine license.  Levassor obtained his licence from Paris lawyer Edouard Sarazin, a friend and representative  of Gottlieb Daimler's interests in France. Following Sarazin's 1887 death, Daimler  commissioned Sarazin's widow Louise to carry on her late husband's agency. The Panhard et  Levassor license was finalised by Louise, who married Levassor in 1890. Daimler and Levassor  became fast friends, and shared improvements with one another.  These first vehicles set many modern standards, but each was a one-off design. They used a  clutch pedal to operate a chain-driven gearbox. The vehicle also featured a front-mounted  radiator. An 1895 Panhard et Levassor is credited with the first modern transmission. For the  1894 Paris–Rouen Rally, Alfred Vacheron equipped his 4 horsepower (3.0 kW; 4.1 PS) with a  steering wheel, believed to be one of the earliest employments of the principle.  In 1891, the company built its first all-Levassor design, a "state of the art" model: the  Systeme Panhard consisted of four wheels, a front-mounted engine with rear wheel drive,  and a crude sliding-gear transmission, sold at 3500 francs. (It would remain the standard  until Cadillac introduced synchromesh in 1928.) This was to become the standard layout for  automobiles for most of the next century. The same year, Panhard et Levassor shared their  Daimler engine license with bicycle maker Armand Peugeot, who formed his own car  company. In 1895, 1,205 cc (74 cu in) Panhard et Levassors finished first and second in the  Paris–Bordeaux–Paris race, one piloted solo by Levassor, for 48¾hr. Arthur Krebs succeeded  Levassor as General Manager in 1897, and held the job until 1916. He turned the Panhard et  Levassor Company into one of the largest and most profitable manufacturer of automobiles  before World War I. Panhards won numerous races from 1895 to 1903. Panhard et Levassor developed the Panhard  rod, which became used in many other types of automobiles as well.  From 1910 Panhard worked to develop engines without conventional valves, using under  license the sleeve valve technology that had been patented by the American Charles Yale  Knight. Between 1910 and 1924 the Panhard & Levassor catalogue listed plenty of models  with conventional valve engines, but these were offered alongside cars powered by sleeve  valve power units. Following various detailed improvements to the sleeve valve technology  by Panhard's own engineering department, from 1924 till 1940 all Panhard cars used sleeve  valve engines. 

1961

Engine 851 cc 2 cylinders Power 42 HP Top Speed 130 km/h Lenght 4,57 m Widht 1,67 m Weight 805 kg The collections Panhard is in mint original condition. Ready for a spin.