Panhard was originally called
Panhard et Levassor, and was established as an automobile manufacturing concern by
René Panhard,
Émile Levassor, and Belgian lawyer Edouard Sarazin 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 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 Panhard 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
Système Panhard consisted of four wheels, a
front-mounted engine with
rear wheel drive, and a crude sliding-gear transmission, sold at 3500
francs. 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,
Panhard et Levassor vehicles finished first and second in the
Paris–Bordeaux–Paris race, one piloted solo by Levassor, for 48 hours, 45 minutes. However, during the
1896 Paris–Marseille–Paris race, Levassor was fatally injured due to a crash while trying to avoid hitting a dog, and died in Paris the following year.
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 manufacturers of automobiles before
World War I. Panhards won numerous races from 1895 to 1903. Panhard et Levassor developed the
Panhard rod, which came to be 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.
First World War Under the presidency of
Raymond Poincaré, which ran from 1913 till 1920, Panhard & Levassor's 18CV and 20CV models were the official presidential cars. During the
war Panhard, like other leading automobile producers, concentrated on war production, including large numbers of military trucks, V12-cylinder aero-engines, gun components, and large 75 and 105 diameter shells. This was followed three months later by three more 4-cylinder models which will have been familiar to any customers whose memories pre-dated the
war, but they now incorporated upgraded electrics and a number of other modifications. The steel sleeves were thinner and lighter than the cast iron ones that had been fitted in Panhard sleeve valve engines since 1910, and this already gave rise to an improved friction coefficient permitting engines to run at higher speeds. The new Panhard 16CV "Six" came with a 3445cc engine and sat on a wheelbase. Instead they concentrated on their "S-series" cars, designated "
Panhard CS" and "Panhard DS" according to engine size, and introduced a year earlier.) but, clearly captivated by the power of alliteration, added that "S" also indicated cars that were "...souples, supérieures, stables, spacieuses, silencieuses, sans soupapes (i.e., using valveless cylinders)...". Panhard et Levassor also produced railbuses, including some for the
metre gauge Chemin de fer du Finistère.
Post-World War II era After
World War II the company was renamed Panhard (without "Levassor"), and produced light cars such as the
Dyna X,
Dyna Z,
PL 17,
24 CT and
24 BT. The company had long noted the weight advantages of aluminum, and this as well as postwar government
steel rationing (designed to limit new car models to ensure an orderly return to production at the major firms), encouraged the firm to proceed with the expensive alternative of making the bodies and several other components out of aluminum. Thus the Dyna X and early Dyna Z series 1 had aluminum bodies. Unfortunately, cost calculations by Jean Panhard, the inheriting son and managing director of the firm, failed to account for the extra cost of aluminum vs steel. His calculations were made for the sheet metal panel area actually utilized per body shell, and did not account for the scrap of each of the stampings making up the shell. Once in production, a re-examination showed a cost of 55,700fr for aluminum shells and only 15,600fr for steel. The use of aluminum had pushed the firm close to bankruptcy, and a hurried engineering job returned the firm to steel. Thus, the later Dyna Z (from mid September 1955) and the successor PL 17 bodies were steel, and the major stampings retained the heavier gauge intended for durability with aluminum, so as to avoid complete replacement of the stamping dies. The air-cooled flat-twin engine of the Dyna was used by
Georges Irat for his "Voiture du Bled" (VdB) off-road vehicle, built in Morocco in small numbers in the early 1950s. Drawing inspiration from the
Panhard Dynavia concept, the styling of the Dyna Z was distinctively smooth and rounded, with an emphasis on aerodynamics and an overall minimalist design. The 24CT was a later (from summer 1963 on) stylish 2+2 seater; the 24BT being a version of the same with a longer wheelbase and space for four. For a period after the war, the Panhard-based
Monopole racing cars received unofficial support from Panhard (as did
DB and other clients such as Robert Chancel), using it to good effect in winning the "Index of Performance" class at
Le Mans in 1950, 1951, and 1952. In 1953, Panhard moved on to a more direct involvement with Chancel, which however came to an end after the deadly
1955 Le Mans. In 2004, Panhard lost a competition to another manufacturer of military vehicles,
Auverland, for the choice of the future
PVP of the French Army. This allowed Auverland to purchase Panhard, then a subsidiary of
PSA Peugeot Citroën, in 2005. However, the fame of Panhard being greater, it was decided to retain the name; the PVP designed by Auverland would bear a Panhard badge. In 2007, it was reported that PSA Group was considering reviving the Panhard name for use on a range of luxury vehicles akin to
Toyota's Lexus brand. A revival did not occur, although
DS Automobiles was later launched as PSA's premium brand. In October 2012,
Renault Trucks Defense, division of Swedish
Volvo Group since 2001, finalized the acquisition of Panhard for 62.5 million euros. Today the only use of the name Panhard is in the
Panhard rod (also called Panhard bar), a suspension link invented by Panhard that provides lateral location of the axle. This device has been widely used on other automobiles or as an aftermarket upgrade to rear axles for vintage American cars. ==Models==