Lot Ended
Description
Extremely rare and quirky front-wheel drive French
flyweight; Alpax aluminium alloy body; weighs only 550kgs; 610cc air-cooled
flat-twin engine; baroque Louis XV styling; from a celebrated 'oily rag'
collection; Mille Miglia eligible
France’s oldest
car manufacturer and one of the greatest names in motoring history, Panhard et
Levassor was founded in 1887 by Rene Panhard, Emile Levassor and Edouard
Sarazin. Well-equipped and beautifully engineered, the cars pioneered many
inventions that we now take for granted including the first effective
transmission and the famous Panhard rod suspension brace. A range of
increasingly majestic and innovative cars were produced until the outbreak of
war put a temporary halt to production in 1939.
In the desolate post-war years, a complete rethink was in order and
the Panhard became a utility car of considerable ingenuity and performance with
the advent of the Dyna X series. Designed by Jean Albert Gregoire, these were
front-wheel drive, air-cooled, flat-twin engined machines with flyweight Alpax
alloy (aluminium/silicon/magnesium) bodywork by
Facel-Metallon.
This meant the Dyna tipped the
scales at a mere 550kg, equivalent to saving the weight of three 12-stone
passengers in a 790kg Morris Minor or 10 passengers in a 1,400kg Rover P4.
Powered by a 610cc air-cooled flat-twin engine producing 28hp (fiscal rating
3CV), the excellent power-to-weight ratio meant the X85 had a top
speed of 68mph.
Despite its diminutive and
baroque exterior (in France the Dyna X is colloquially known as the
Louis XV due to its ornate front end styling), the front-wheel-drive layout
eliminated the transmission tunnel, providing a surprisingly spacious cabin for
four adults.
On the road, the Dyna X was a
revelation, its front-wheel drive configuration and low centre of gravity giving
it go-kart handling that embarrassed much larger contemporary saloons. It even
found success in motorsport, frequently winning its class at the 24 Hours of Le
Mans, the Mille Miglia and the Monte Carlo Rally due to its remarkable
efficiency.
Produced as a four-door saloon, a
two-door cabriolet, a three-door estate and a ‘Fourgonette’ light van, around
47,000 Dyna X models were made in total from 1948 to 1954 when it was replaced
by the larger and heavier Dyna Z. These included the 745cc X86 rated at 4CV and
the 851cc X87 rated at 5CV.
Dating
from early 1950, this X85 110 Berline 3CV comes with a letter from the Panhard
Club stating that it is number 4,063 of only 6,029 such models
made in total (see last photo). It was imported from France by the
current owner in 2015 to join his celebrated collection of highly original ‘oily
rag’ classic and Vintage cars. It comes with a large and interesting history
file including invoices for work to the braking and electrical systems and much
useful technical literature relating to the model.
We are told that the car is in good running order and was in regular
use until recently but it has only been used for short local runs so some
precautionary checks would be advisable before any long journeys are undertaken.
Only reluctantly for sale due to our vendor’s
declining health, this extremely rare and quirky Panhard is eligible for a
variety of historic events, including the Mille Miglia, and will prove a
real talking point wherever it goes.
On offer here at no reserve, we
have no real idea what it is worth because we can find no record of any being
sold at auction in the UK before, although the 10 or so Dyna X models
sold at auction on the Continent in the last dozen years seem to make anywhere
from 6k - 30k Euros. You decide...
Consigned
by James Dennison – 07970 309907 – james.dennison@brightwells.com