Panther
Bob Jankel set up his company Panther Westwinds and started building his Panther cars, which were retro looking SS100 Jaguar in 1972, Panther being another big cat, not too unlike a Jaguar! The mechanical components of the J72 ( J for Jankel and 72 for the start 1972) were current Jaguar, which was an expensive car at £4,655, fitted with all aluminium bodywork. The J72 was followed by a number of other projects including the Panther Lima in 1976 utilising Vauxhall Viva and Magnum mechanicals, but this time clothed in fiberglass bodies. The Panther De Ville of 1974 was a 4 door prewar looking saloon, it was reported giving homage to the Bugatti Royale, and a surprising number were sold up to 1985. By 1980 the company was in receivership and was purchased by new Korean owners who kept Jankel on as Director. This allowed the J72, Lima and De Ville to resume production, to be joined later by the Panther Brooklands, with an updated version of the Lima which was called the Panther Kalista.
Tyre sizes used for the Panther car models are as below:
- Panther J72 (built 1972 to 1981) was fitted with tyre size 205/70VR15
- Panther Lima built 1976 to 1982) was fitted with either 13" or 14" wheels, fitting either 185/70R13 or 185/70R14 tyres.
- Panther Kalista (built 1982 to 1993) was fitted with 185/70VR13
- Panther DeVille (built 9174 to 1985) was fitted with 235/70VR15.
See full details of all these superb high speed rated tyres, covering all the sizes for every Panther model built (J72, Lima and Kalista) below:
