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Bill Vance: Pioneer Panhard & Levassor Co. dared to be different

Although the pioneering Panhard & Levassor Company of Paris built cars for almost 80 years, the name was hardly known in North America until Panhards were imported for a few years in the 1950s and ‘60s.
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The Dyna's aerodynamically efficient body was initially made of aluminum, later changed to steel for cost reasons.

Although the pioneering Panhard & Levassor Company of Paris built cars for almost 80 years, the name was hardly known in North America until Panhards were imported for a few years in the 1950s and ‘60s.

The first Panhard was introduced in 1891, powered by a centrally located Daimler V-2 engine. It soon settled on what became the conventional automobile layout, with a front engine driving through a central transmission to a rear axle.

Panhards excelled in early competition, tying Peugeot for first place in a run from Paris to Rouen in 1894. In 1895, it won the first real motor race, from Paris to Bordeaux and back, driven entirely by Emile Levassor. He covered 1,178 kilometres in 48 hours and 48 minutes, averaging 24 km/h. It was a remarkable demonstration of endurance of man and machine.

Panhards dominated motor racing during the 1890s, before others gradually began taking over. They evolved into upscale cars, and in 1911, began using quiet Knight sleeve-valve engines invented by American Charles Knight.

Following the First World War, Panhard concentrated on sleeve-valve engines culminating in the advanced 1937 Dynamic model with a Knight six-cylinder engine, four-wheel independent torsion-bar suspension and backbone frame.

The aerodynamic body had headlights faired into the body, fully enclosed wheels and a windshield wrapped around the centrally located driver (soon changed to left-hand drive). Unfortunately, the Dynamic was cut short by the Second World War.

After the war, Panhard recognized the world had changed and began building smaller, lighter, more economical cars. Its Dyna X series, introduced in 1946, was based on a design by front-drive specialist J.A. Gregoire, who had worked for the French Tracta company.

The Dyna’s front wheels were driven by a two-cylinder, horizontally opposed (flat), overhead-valve (no more sleeve valves), air-cooled, 610-cc engine. Its modest 22 horsepower gave the lightweight Dyna acceptable performance, but styling was still in the 1930s mode.

That changed with the introduction of the new, modern 1954 Panhard Dyna Z, the car that introduced the marque to North America. Like the Dynamic, it bristled with interesting technology.

The flat, air-cooled twin, now up to 851 cc, had the cooling fan bolted directly to the front of the crankshaft. The engine was ahead of the front axle, driving the front wheels through a column-shifted, four-speed manual transmission and constant velocity joints. Fourth gear was an overdrive ratio, but in spite of this, the engine still turned a fairly high 3,980 rpm at 97 km/h.

The alloy engine had a multi-part built-up crankshaft running in roller bearings. The aluminum cylinders had iron sleeves and the valves were not closed by conventional coil springs, but by small torsion bars. This allowed shorter valves for reduced inertia.

The valves nestled in hemispherical combustion chambers, and engine oil pressure kept the rocker arms in constant contact with valves and pushrods for reduced noise. It produced 50 horsepower, and the entire drivetrain could be removed from the car for repairs.

The full-envelope body was thoroughly contemporary and aerodynamically efficient, if perhaps a little bulbous. It was made of aluminum when the Dyna was introduced, but changed mostly to steel in 1958 for cost reasons.

The aluminum model weighed only about 694 kilograms, which went up to 811 kg with the steel body, still light for this size of car.

There was no traditional grille, just an oval opening above the front bumper. The entire front of the body hinged up for easy servicing.

Front suspension was by transverse upper and lower leaf springs and a solid axle and torsion bars at the rear.

The Dyna was no midget. A 2,570-millimetre wheelbase and 4,648 mm overall length accommodated up to six passengers and their luggage.

In spite of its small engine, the Dyna’s performance was surprisingly good. It accelerated to 100 km/h in 23.7 seconds, compared with a Volkswagen Beetle’s 28. It exceeded 129 km/h when a VW barely reached 113. It gave up to 40 miles per gallon.

Panhards, and Panhard-powered cars such as the Deutsch-Bonnet, did well in competition, winning hundreds of races including the Le Mans 24-hour race several times in its class and in Index of Performance, a formula based on engine size and distance covered.

In spite of its technical novelty, Dyna production was never high by North American standards (it reached 30,000 in 1957). Dynas stopped being imported in the early 1960s.

The company was bought by Citroen to get factory space for its own models, and Panhard production ceased in 1967. Thus ended an automotive pioneer that dared to be different.