MEET THE OWNER: JIM BAUMANN AND HIS PANHARD PL17

A few months ago, we described the wonders of the PL17, and we now celebrate the incredibly rare British market version owned by Jim Baumann. “I always wanted a Panhard - not sure why or which one - and the enthusiasm flip-flopped between a 24 and a Dyna. But then I realised that the early PL17 had a serious amount of polished aluminium ‘bling’, and I wanted RHD!”.

This presented Jim with a serious challenge as few Panhards of any type crossed The Channel, let alone in right-hand-drive form. In the meantime, he acquired a V12 E-Type. However, “whilst it really IS wonderful ( especially after my fiddling with optimising gearbox, clutch, and differentials etc.), I still had a hankering for a car that had 240 horse-power less”.

A PL17 is indeed a very different form of motoring from the Jaguar, one “that could dispense with 4.6 litres and ten cylinders and still keep up with modern traffic and cruise at 70 mph!”. And after the E-Type underwent a bare metal restoration, Jim was perusing the eBay listings when he noticed a RHD Panhard for sale.

The result was ”an immediate phone call that bought this car sight unseen! This was followed by a train up North to Macclesfield, and I drove the Panhard back to Southampton non-stop. I bought her off a lifelong Panhardist -Ted Bemand. He had a few Panhards too many and was running out of garaging”. The PL17drove well, but the cabin was ‘compromised’ as it had been used in the 1991 re-enactment of the 1961 Panhard Monte Carlo Rally victories.

Jim renovated and re-coloured the authentic but somewhat maltreated interior using all the original seating. As for the exterior, “it was somewhat tired-with no visible now rectified and the outside of the Panhard has been partially bare metalled with all the glass removed.

As for performance, Jim remarks, “When new, the roller bearing on main and big-end equipped 851cc engine produced 42 bhp ( 50 plus in the Tigre version ) giving a top speed of 85 mph( or 91 mph for the Tigre). The car, devoid of the driver, weighs around 830kgs, so there is perceptible acceleration, and the willing horizontally opposed twins torque lugs the car out of a slow speed corner well. Alas some of those 42 horse-powers may well have left the car in the intervening 60 plus years”.

The Panhard’s road manners are a further attraction. In Jim’s words, “being front-wheel-drive with independent rear suspension the car carries speed into corners and roundabouts very well. The tall fourth gear allows a comfortable 60 mph motorway cruise, with 75 mph downhill sometimes”.

Given that a PL17 is not exactly a common sight, the public response is often one of incredulity. Comments to Jim range from “what the hell is that?” and “Panhard - is that American?” to “gosh - you can sit six people in there! “ , “Never seen a folding back seat on a car that old” and “Wow - the whole front end is a space frame!’. But then the brochure did promise the PL17 ‘Brings The Future A Little Closer’.

With Thanks To: Jim Baumann and The Locks Heath Classic Car Group.