The Panther 6 was a British six-wheel convertible produced by
Panther
Panther may refer to:
Large cats
*Pantherinae, the cat subfamily that contains the genera ''Panthera'' and ''Neofelis''
**''Panthera'', the cat genus that contains tigers, lions, jaguars and leopards.
***Jaguar (''Panthera onca''), found in Sout ...
in 1977. The car is powered by a mid-mounted
Cadillac
The Cadillac Motor Car Division () is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM) that designs and builds luxury vehicles. Its major markets are the United States, Canada, and China. Cadillac models are distributed i ...
V8 engine with twin turbochargers paired to a three-speed automatic transmission.
Only two cars were made (one in white, one in black), both of which are known still to exist. One is in Saudi Arabia, and the other was shown at the 2008 NEC Classic Car Show by the Panther Car Club and at the 2015
Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este
Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este () is a Concours d'Elegance event in Italy for classic car, classic and vintage cars. It takes place annually near the Villa d'Este (Cernobbio), Villa d'Este hotel in Cernobbio, on the western shore of Lake Como ...
by Albert Fellner.
The six-wheel configuration was inspired by the
Tyrrell P34
The Tyrrell P34 (Project 34), commonly known as the "six-wheeler", was a Formula One (F1) race car designed by Derek Gardner (designer), Derek Gardner, Tyrrell Racing, Tyrrell's chief designer. The car used four specially manufactured 10-inch dia ...
racing car.
[ The layout consists of one pair of larger rear wheels with Pirelli 265/50VR16 tyres, and two pairs of smaller steerable front wheels with Pirelli 205/40VR13 tyres.
The specification included a detachable hard top and convertible soft top, electronic instruments, air conditioning, an automatic fire extinguisher, electric seats and windows, a telephone and a dashboard-mounted television set.
Claims for the top speed of this vehicle suggested it was capable of over .][
]
See also
Twin front axle
* Covini C6W
The Covini C6W is an Italian 2-seat 2-door sports coupé with a removable roof section. Inspiration for the car was taken from the 1976 Tyrrell P34, which had two pairs of smaller front wheels, a principle applied to the C6W. The project was start ...
* FAB 1
FAB 1 is a pink, six-wheeled car seen in the 1960s British science-fiction television series '' Thunderbirds'', its three film adaptations and its reboot, '' Thunderbirds Are Go''.
Depiction 1960s TV series and films
In the original '' Thund ...
(fictional car)
* Ford Seattle-ite XXI The Ford Seattle-ite XXI was a 3/8 scale concept car designed by Alex Tremulis and displayed on 20 April 1962 on the Ford stand at the Seattle World's Fair.
Description
The car contained novel ideas that have since become reality: interchangeable ...
(concept car)
* Tyrrell P34
The Tyrrell P34 (Project 34), commonly known as the "six-wheeler", was a Formula One (F1) race car designed by Derek Gardner (designer), Derek Gardner, Tyrrell Racing, Tyrrell's chief designer. The car used four specially manufactured 10-inch dia ...
* Bedford VAL
The Bedford VAL is a type of coach chassis that was built by Bedford in the United Kingdom from the mid-1960s to the early 1970s. It was unusual at the time for its multi-axle design, in a " chinese six" wheelplan, i.e. with two front steering ...
(Bus and Coach versions)
Twin rear axle
* Ferrari 312T6
* March 2-4-0
The March 2-4-0 was an experimental six-wheeled Formula One racing car built by the March Engineering company of Bicester, UK. It was constructed in late 1976 and tested in early 1977.
The car followed on from the successful use by Tyrrell Rac ...
References
*''The Observer's Book of Automobiles'' Frederick Warne & Co
Frederick Warne & Co. is a British publisher founded in 1865. It is known for children's books, particularly those of Beatrix Potter, and for its Observer's Books.
Warne is an imprint of Penguin Random House, a subsidiary of German media cong ...
(1978)
External links
Panther 6 and interview Bob Jankel
{{Panther Westwinds
6
Sports cars
Luxury vehicles
Six-wheeled vehicles
Cars introduced in 1977