Panther Westwinds, commonly called Panther was a manufacturer of luxury, low volume sports cars based in the United Kingdom. The company was founded in 1972 by Robert Jankel, a fashion designer with a flair for auto design. He set up Panther after rebuilding a 1930 Rolls Royce and selling it to a Spanish bull fighter!
The company was called Panther, a fast cat like Jaguar and “Westwinds” was the name of the family house. Indeed his first car, the J72 used Jaguar running gear and was modelled on the Jaguar SS100. 300 were produced.
Other models included the De Ville modelled on the Bugatti Royale and fitted with a Jaguar V12. It cost twice as much as a Rolls Royce! Another model was the Rio, based on the Triumph Dolomite, a small saloon, but it cost 3 times as much, which would explain why only 40 were ever built!
Jankel’s most outrageous design was the Panther Six, a six wheeled car that was modelled on a Tyrrell F1 car. Only 2 were ever built due to its high cost.
Panther did make some successful cars before the inevitable collapse: the Lima & Kallista models were comparatively successful with 1,000 built. The cars used GM (Vauxhall specifically) sourced powerplants. However it was not enough to save the company and in 1980 Jankel sold out to Young Kim, a South Korean businessman.
Kim kept the company going for a further 10 years, building a new factory in the UK with bodies shipped from Korea. They continued selling the Kallista and developed a new model called the Solo, however the new model was an instant failure and the company was liquidated with the assets bought by SsangYong.
After selling Panther, Robert Jankel focussed on the Jankel Group, a coachbuilding company that he created in 1955. Jankel was contracted by Rolls Royce, Mercedes and Jaguar to produce specialised versions of their cars for wealthy customers and Government agencies. This company still exists today although Jankel died of cancer in 2005.
For more information and to buy a used Panther, please visit www.pantherclub.co.uk