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Superb Panhard PL17 Tigre Is for Sale in Texas

Who here is in for some classic auto oddities? Because that’s on the menu today - a 1960 Panhard PL17 Tigre put on sale in Frisco, Texas. Odd place to find such a funky European car...
Panhard PL17 for sale 11 photos
Photo: eBay
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Some of you might have heard about Panhard from that axle locating suspension link wearing the same name that is still used in cars today. But Panhard et Levassor, as the company was originally named, did more than that for the auto industry...

In the 1894 Paris-Rouen Rally, a Panhard et Levassor early model was probably the first car to use a steering wheel instead of a tiller. And in 1895, another unit was credited to be the first automobile using a modern transmission, with a clutch pedal and all.

And if that’s not enough, Panhard also created the PL17, a car that came with an interesting design which influenced Citroen a bit with his, on some models like the DS, after it absorbed the company in 1965.

But back to our showcased model here, this is actually a PL17 Tigre, which was the top model, fitted with a twin-cylinder air-cooled flat engine good for 50 hp, 8 more than the standard model. The front wheels were driven by a four-speed gearbox with column shifter and synchromesh for the upper three gears.

The suspension consists of two transverse leaf springs at the front while at the back it has three torsion bars on each side. Total weight of the car is set at 830 kg (1,830 lbs) and back when it was brand new, it could achieve a top speed of 145 km/h (90 mph).

If the mechanical part isn’t blowing you away, check out its styling - the pointy ends of the body gave it a drag coefficient of 0.26, which also helped with the fuel consumption (6 l/100 km or 39 mpg). Other interesting features to mention are the mid-mounted opposing windshield wipers, front suicide doors, egg-shaped fuel cap, full chrome disc rims, B-pillar parking lights and one of the simplest yet very interesting interiors.

The seller says the car has all the original parts, works great and it only did 27,456 miles (76,373 km). The current bid is at $10,000 but the reserve appears to have not been met yet.
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