Kempton Park Car Show

The recent Sportscar show at Kempton Park racecourse was a small event but attracted some interesting exhibits, both on show and in the car park.

There was a nice collection of Panthers there, consisting of two monster 'De Ville's and an array of the two seater Kallistas and Limas.

Panther ceased manufacturing some years ago with their last car being the innovative Solo. A fixed head coupe with Ford Cosworth Turbo running gear, it was a radical looking car. Unfortunately only a handful were made.

Also of note was the amazing Panther 6 made in the 1970's. An eight litre twin-turbo'd V8 provided ample power, and the styling was equally outrageous with four wheels at the front, all of which steered.

The 'Panther' name was sold to Daewoo and nothing has been seen since. However Rob Jankel, the former owner of the marque has recently bought the name back and is working on an exciting new car which should see the light of day early next year.

The four seater De Ville sports a 5.3 Jaguar V12 under the bonnet.

Power plants in the roadsters vary from a Ford V6 to Fiat Twin Cam.

Links

Jankel (includes picture of Panther 6)
Panther Enthusiasts Club

Panther also had a hand in the design of this hardtop for this Jenson Interceptor. This is one of only 39 models made, most of which were exported. It was the most expensive car in the range costing around $12,000 back in 1976 and one of the last cars produced. Based on the convertible it provided four seats, a boot and of course the best bit was a 7.2 litre Chrysler V8.

This particular car is fitted with a "Zemco Onboard Computer". Incredibly for 1976 this featured mileage readouts, temperature readings, a fuel consumption display and cruise control.

The TVR Car Club had a central location with a good selection of cars old and new.

This is the retro styled Ronart featuring a gorgeous 3.8 litre straight six from a Jaguar. It may look like something from the early end of this century but this beast has a tubular spaceframe chassis (including hidden roll bar), disc brakes all round and can make the dash to sixty in less than five seconds. Theoretically it's claimed that it should do around 180mph, but no-one's been brave enough to try it yet!

Cost? �14K DIY or around �25K built by Ronart (01733 268295).