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.

Strolling in the park is something for which, at the end of the 19th century, a car is used sooner than for a trip from A to B. Especially in a car like this Panhard & Levassor, with its short wheelbase that makes it relatively easy to handle, and its elegant upholstery in fine woolen cloth. Even so, covering long distances is certainly possible: a car of this type wins the first car race in the world, a long-distance event of no less than 1,200 kilometers. This race, Paris-Bordeaux-Paris, is won on 13 June 1895 by designer Emile Levassor in an identical car, a two-cylinder 1.2-liter with hot-tube ignition. He covers the route at an average speed of 24 km/h in 48 hours and 48 minutes, finishing six hours ahead of the runner-up. During the journey Levassor consumes only one bowl of soup, a few sandwiches and a glass of champagne. This car, now more than 115 years old, has never been restored since it left the factory, which was then located on the avenue dIvry in Paris. Panhard & Levassor, one of the oldest car manufacturers in the world, was offering a choice of almost twenty car models even before the turn of the century, including two-seaters, touring cars and even buses.