Photo: Bonhams
Auctions usually are the events to go when in the market for rare or exotic cars. But even this type of show doesn’t always bring cars as rare or old as the 1901 Panhard-Levassor Type A2 that will be offered by Bonhams during the London to Brighton Sale on November 1.
If Panhard doesn’t ring any bells, that’s because there aren’t any bells to ring. The French carmaker, one of the first in the France, has long died out, split to pieces by the likes of Citroen or Auverland, a manufacturer of armored vehicles for the military.
Back in the day when it was around though, Panhard was responsible for the introduction of one of France's first true modern cars, as in one fitted with an engine at the front (good for 7 hp and produced by Daimler), transmissions and pedals.
The car which will go under the hammer is one in just five examples that have survived the passing of time, but one with a pedigree.
This particular Panhard, nicknamed Le Papillon Bleu because of the Cambridge Blue painted body, was commissioned initially for René de Knyff, a pioneer racing driver and one of the first presidents of the Commission Sportive Internationale, a group known today as the FIA.
The car was entered in 1927 in the first commemorative London to Brighton challenge, known at the time as the Old Crocks Race, and since that time, it competed in 60 other races. In the early ones, de Knyff was behind the wheel himself, wearing a captain cap that usually flew off as soon as the race started.
Bonhams did not say how much it expects to fetch for the car, but it did mention it is selling it on behalf of the current owner, who had owned it – and continued to race it - for the past 27 years.
Full details on the 1901 Panhard-Levassor Type A2 can be found in the document attached below.
Back in the day when it was around though, Panhard was responsible for the introduction of one of France's first true modern cars, as in one fitted with an engine at the front (good for 7 hp and produced by Daimler), transmissions and pedals.
The car which will go under the hammer is one in just five examples that have survived the passing of time, but one with a pedigree.
This particular Panhard, nicknamed Le Papillon Bleu because of the Cambridge Blue painted body, was commissioned initially for René de Knyff, a pioneer racing driver and one of the first presidents of the Commission Sportive Internationale, a group known today as the FIA.
The car was entered in 1927 in the first commemorative London to Brighton challenge, known at the time as the Old Crocks Race, and since that time, it competed in 60 other races. In the early ones, de Knyff was behind the wheel himself, wearing a captain cap that usually flew off as soon as the race started.
Bonhams did not say how much it expects to fetch for the car, but it did mention it is selling it on behalf of the current owner, who had owned it – and continued to race it - for the past 27 years.
Full details on the 1901 Panhard-Levassor Type A2 can be found in the document attached below.
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