Panhard et Levassor Phaeton With Canopy

Strolling in the park is something for which, at the end of the 19th century, a car is used more often than for a trip from A to B. Especially a car like this Panhard et Levassor, with its short wheelbase that makes it relatively easy to handle, and its elegant upholstery in fine woolen fabric.

However, driving longer distances was also possible: a car of this type won one of the first motor races in the world, a long-distance race of no less than 1,200 kilometres. This Paris-Bordeaux-Paris race was won by the car’s designer, Emile Levassor on the 13th of June 1895 in an identical model, a 1.2-litre, twin-cylinder with hot tube ignition. He drove the entire distance in 48 hours and 48 minutes, averaging 24 km/h, finishing six hours ahead of the number two. During the race Levassor had only one bowl of soup, a couple of sandwiches and a glass of champagne by way of nourishment. This car has never been restored since it left the factory in Paris in 1895. Panhard & Levassor, one of the oldest car manufacturers in the world, was already offering a choice of some twenty car models before the turn of the century, including two-seaters, hunting cars and even buses.