Panther J72, De Ville, Rio, Lima and Kallista: family of felines

| 24 Jan 2025
Classic & Sports Car – Panther Westwinds: Robert Jankel’s family of felines

Form over function: it is – or, at least, it ought to be – anathema to any self-respecting vehicle designer. Form should follow function, most would agree.

And we’re not just talking about the most obvious exemplars, such as the Mini or Volkswagen Beetle.

It also extends to Rolls-Royces and Ferraris, whose expansive dimensions and rakish profiles have been born mainly from a need for superior accommodation or ultimate top speed.

The fact that they are so easy on the eye is, by and large, coincidental.

Classic & Sports Car – Panther Westwinds: Robert Jankel’s family of felines

The Panther De Ville (left) was inspired by the Bugatti Type 41 Royale, while the Lima (right) capitalised on Morgan’s long waiting lists

But for Robert ‘Bob’ Jankel, founder of Panther Westwinds, the form of each of his designs was their reason for being.

He tipped on its head the righteous ‘form follows function’ mantra, and turned the creation of a range of memorable neoclassic models in the 1970s and ’80s into an art form, one that successfully captured the outer edges of a niche but highly discerning market.

The Panthers gathered on these pages, representing all of the Robert Jankel-conceived models, are testament to one man’s swim against the tide of convention.

Classic & Sports Car – Panther Westwinds: Robert Jankel’s family of felines

The soft-riding Panther J72 (ahead) is more cruiser than the later and more agile Lima, but both are blustery roof-down

Born in 1938, Jankel was brought up in the East End of London.

His father, Alexander, ran a wholesale clothing business, and there was an assumption that Bob would join its ranks when he was old enough.

But at the age of 16 he built an Austin Seven Special, which fired his passion and led him to an automotive engineering course at Chelsea College.

Jankel was also a keen amateur racer, and, through an early association with Essex-based tuning firm Superspeed, he briefly campaigned a Ford Anglia 105E at club events.

Classic & Sports Car – Panther Westwinds: Robert Jankel’s family of felines

The aluminium-bodied Panther Rio was based on the Triumph Dolomite

But after meeting his future wife, Jennifer Loss – daughter of musician Joe Loss – racing came to an abrupt end.

According to his son, Andrew, Jankel was “told pretty clearly that if he was about to marry Joe’s daughter, then he had to put away his crash helmet”.

With racing off limits, and after a brief spell as a Ford salesman, Jankel reluctantly returned to his family’s fashion business during the 1960s.

And it was here that his sartorial flair (he designed children’s clothing ranges) soon gave way to an interest in car design and restoration.

Classic & Sports Car – Panther Westwinds: Robert Jankel’s family of felines

The J72 (closest) was the first Panther, named after the model’s official launch year (1972)

In 1970, this came to a head after Jankel rebuilt a 1930 Rolls-Royce to take on a family holiday to Spain, where a local bullfighter was so taken with the car that he offered £10,000 to buy it.

Inspired by this vote of confidence – as well as further requests to restore cars – Jankel began to develop a prototype whose design embraced his fascination with pre-war machinery, yet could be powered by a modern, more efficient powertrain.

What became the J72 was also the catalyst for Jankel leaving the family business the following year and forming Panther Westwinds – Panther being a good-hearted dig at Jaguar, and Westwinds from the name of his home in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey.

Classic & Sports Car – Panther Westwinds: Robert Jankel’s family of felines

The Panther J72 borrowed the Jaguar Mk2’s XK straight-six

Andrew recalls that one of his father’s great gifts was his way with people: “He once said that you achieve much more by listening and talking with people than being in opposition to them.

“Through these skills he built up good contacts with Jaguar over parts for the J72. He never understood the word ‘no’; he was very much a can-do kind of person.”

All of which augured well for the fledgling firm, which moved from a lock-up near Jankel’s home to an ex-BMW warehouse in Weybridge.

The design of the J72 – for Jankel 1972, its official launch year – was influenced by his fondness for the 1936 SS Jaguar 100.

Classic & Sports Car – Panther Westwinds: Robert Jankel’s family of felines

The Panther J72’s shallow doors leave you feeling exposed

Though not a replica, it bore a close resemblance and its hand-beaten aluminium body recalled the dying art of coachbuilding, with the structure sitting atop a separate tubular chassis.

Jaguar XJ6 componentry was used extensively, though the suspension layout differed considerably, with well-located beam axles, Panhard rods, coil springs and telescopic dampers front and rear (independent front suspension arrived in 1977).

The first J72s were powered by what was essentially the 3.8-litre XK straight-six from the Jaguar Mk2, giving net outputs of 190bhp and 200lb ft of torque.

Even in this guise (the 4.2-litre XJ6 unit was introduced the following year, plus an optional 5.3-litre V12), with a four-speed manual gearbox the 2504lb J72 could hit 60mph in a barely feasible 6.4 secs and top 114mph, according to Autocar.

Classic & Sports Car – Panther Westwinds: Robert Jankel’s family of felines

Large seats and Jaguar dials in the Panther J72

We’re unlikely to replicate those figures today, with Val Bridges’ ex-USA 4.2-litre car hampered slightly by its auto ’box.

Approach this J72 from any angle and it’s a bit like viewing an SS100 while on hallucinogens; the basic shape is familiar, but its extremities – wings and headlights, especially – give it a slightly phantasmagorical twist.

Enter the open cabin through the shallow driver’s door and you find yourself perched on a leather-trimmed seat that looks a little large for the car when seen from the outside.

But it’s a comfortable, well-trimmed environment, and the view over the double-humped, Jaguar-dialled dash and down the long bonnet is wonderfully evocative.

Classic & Sports Car – Panther Westwinds: Robert Jankel’s family of felines

The Panther 72 evokes the 1930s SS Jaguar 100

Less so the J72’s driving dynamics.

Even fitted with a self-shifting transmission, the J72 is no slouch, and the XK engine’s crisp timbre, delivered through an exhaust exiting just below your left elbow, presents a good approximation of an SS100’s soundtrack.

It’s actually quite a hoot, and tooling along our rural Bedfordshire test route, the J72’s power-assisted Burman steering is direct and accurate enough on smooth surfaces to make it easy to place on the road.

But drive along more broken, cambered Tarmac, and the front suspension and steering start to conflict quite badly, leading to some fight through the large, wood-rimmed wheel.

Classic & Sports Car – Panther Westwinds: Robert Jankel’s family of felines

The Panther De Ville (right) was the British marque’s most expensive model, while the Kallista (left) was its best-seller

Also, so exposed is the cabin, roof down, that buffeting makes travelling at much more than 50-55mph a feat of endurance.

Judged objectively, it would be easy to define the J72 by these admittedly negative first impressions.

Equally, though, fitness for purpose needs to be factored in; treat this Panther as the stylish cruiser Jankel originally conceived, trim your speed, savour the double-takes of passers-by, and it all begins to make much more sense.

While around 378 J72s were sold during the model’s 12-year life, it’s the far lower-selling De Ville that garnered the most fanfare for Panther.

Classic & Sports Car – Panther Westwinds: Robert Jankel’s family of felines

Panther’s De Ville provides leather-lined luxury

Launched at the ’74 Earls Court Motor Show and priced at £17,650 in basic form, the De Ville was the UK’s most expensive car – more than a Rolls-Royce Phantom VI, Lamborghini Countach or Ferrari Berlinetta Boxer.

Jankel had been a long-time admirer of Ettore Bugatti and the De Ville, with its outrageously long bonnet, inverted-horseshoe radiator grille and unashamedly decadent lines, was his homage to the Type 41 Royale.

Weighing nearly two tonnes, and measuring 17ft between its US-homologated, impact-absorbing chrome bumpers, the leviathan De Ville couldn’t match the displacement of the Royale’s 12,760cc straight-eight, but Jaguar’s 5.3-litre V12 was a credible substitute.

Classic & Sports Car – Panther Westwinds: Robert Jankel’s family of felines

The Panther De Ville has an 11ft 10in wheelbase

As with the J72, the De Ville employed a bespoke ladder-frame chassis with a hand-formed aluminium body, using – whisper it – Austin 1800 ‘Landcrab’ doors for the four-door Saloon, and those from a Jaguar XJC for the two-door Convertible.

Suspension was independent all round, by semi-trailing wishbones and coil springs up front with transverse links, radius arms and twin coils at the rear, representing a step forward from the J72 and mirroring the XJ’s set-up.

No item of interior equipment was too lavish for a De Ville, each of which took around nine months to emerge from Panther Westwinds’ Weybridge works.

Full leather trim and air conditioning were de rigueur, as were wool carpets and burr-walnut facings.

Classic & Sports Car – Panther Westwinds: Robert Jankel’s family of felines

The Panther De Ville got Jaguar’s smooth 5.3-litre V12 engine

But options extended to a telephone, cocktail cabinet, TV and VCR – and not forgetting the obligatory whitewall tyres for anyone resident in ’70s LA.

Peter Ward has owned his pristine, restored 1981 De Ville Saloon – one of 48 examples built up to 1985 – for nine years.

Its The Great Gatsby styling, broad running boards and large, domed wheelarches look at their most elegant when viewed from a front-three-quarter angle (in profile you can never quite unsee the BMC doors, once you know their origins).

Inside, the cabin is fairly narrow, with no space between the overstuffed front chairs.

Classic & Sports Car – Panther Westwinds: Robert Jankel’s family of felines

‘The Panther De Ville’s driving position makes you feel like the chauffeur in Sunset Boulevard. Norma Desmond would be impressed’

But the commanding driving position – sitting behind a curiously small four-spoke wheel and a canted-back instrument panel – does make you feel like Erich von Stroheim’s chauffeur character in Sunset Boulevard.

Norma Desmond would no doubt have been impressed by the De Ville. As it turns out, so am I.

The big Panther isn’t particularly wieldy on twisty B-roads, thanks to its near-12ft wheelbase, but it will hold 60mph without feeling at all out of its depth.

The ride is sublime and, given the bulk of its body-on-frame structure, it remains composed at most normal road speeds.

Classic & Sports Car – Panther Westwinds: Robert Jankel’s family of felines

This Panther Rio’s automatic gearbox blunts the performance of its Dolomite Sprint underpinnings

Performance is brisk if you want it to be, with the murmurings from one of the world’s finest V12 engines always kept in check.

You would never say that the De Ville was a driver’s car, but as a boulevardier it is surprisingly capable.

A brief roof-down run in Ray Bridges’ De Ville Convertible, which has also joined us, only reinforces that view.

A year after the De Ville’s launch, however, sales of all large-engined cars took a hit due to the looming energy crisis.

Jankel’s innovative solution to maintain car production at the Weybridge factory was the creation of a far smaller, 2-litre model intended for captains of industry who may have felt too conspicuous floating around in something as inappropriate as a Roller, but still craved the luxury trappings of such a car.

Classic & Sports Car – Panther Westwinds: Robert Jankel’s family of felines

The Panther Rio’s Triumph origins are clear inside, from the low scuttle to the basic instrument layout

The British press favoured the Triumph Dolomite at the time, so Jankel ordered one and, just nine weeks after it was delivered to the Panther Westwinds works, the car resurfaced as the new Rio.

In that time, redesigned 16-gauge aluminium body panels had replaced Triumph’s steel, and the familiar lip at the trailing edge of the donor car’s roof was removed.

You don’t have to look too hard at the front of a Rio to see from where it got the inspiration for its Doric-arch-style grille, either, framed by Mk1 Ford Granada headlights.

‘Our’ Especiale model is fitted with the optional 16-valve Dolomite Sprint engine, with the 1850cc unit powering the entry-level Rio.

Classic & Sports Car – Panther Westwinds: Robert Jankel’s family of felines

The Panther Rio has great handling

Inside, the seats were reupholstered in Connolly Luxan hide, the door panels refaced, and grey moquette headlining replaced the standard PVC trim.

Thick-pile carpeting was used throughout the cabin, and all-round electric windows, Sundym glass and a radio/cassette system were all standard.

Automatic transmission (as fitted to our test car), an electric sunroof and air conditioning were optional, but would have added 150kg to the Rio’s weight, which otherwise matched the Dolomite thanks to those aluminium panels compensating for the generous specification.

The problem was, at £8996 when launched, the Rio Especiale was around triple the price of a Dolly Sprint, and for near enough the same money you could have bought the new Mercedes-Benz 450SL, a Ferrari 308GT4 – or even a Jaguar XJ12 with three grand change.

Classic & Sports Car – Panther Westwinds: Robert Jankel’s family of felines

The Panther Rio’s 16-valve ‘four’ makes 127bhp

Which is perhaps why Peter Mayo’s 1977 car is one of only 18 Rios ever produced, and just six are thought to survive today.

There’s no disguising the Dolomite that lies beneath when you sit in the cabin.

The canted steering wheel – a Panther-embossed four-spoke affair – low scuttle and basic instrument layout would all be familiar to a Triumph driver, although the added overall sumptuousness of the cabin and its extra kit would not.

That the Rio also drove much like a Dolomite would have been the most difficult nut to crack: you would need to have been a highly ethical boss to sacrifice the delights of a new 2+2 Ferrari for this luxo-Triumph.

Classic & Sports Car – Panther Westwinds: Robert Jankel’s family of felines

About 900 Panther Limas were built between 1976 and ’82

High-geared steering and tidy, composed chassis dynamics are just what you’d expect, and Peter’s 37,000-mile example still feels alert and biddable on the road, though the auto ’box saps much of the Sprint engine’s urgency.

Importantly, it still feels well screwed together, and the fit and finish of the Panther makeover is highly commendable, justifying at least some of that outrageous asking price.

Laudable though the Rio’s intentions were, Jankel needed a volume-seller for Panther to remain viable.

He had spotted a gap in the traditional roadster market, partially created by Morgan’s long waiting lists, which led to the birth of the Panther Lima.

Classic & Sports Car – Panther Westwinds: Robert Jankel’s family of felines

Overdrive is useful with the Panther Lima’s big torque

Built across two generations, the first of this new model was based on a Vauxhall Magnum platform, complete with that model’s 108bhp, 2.3-litre slant-four engine, and a choice of Getrag four-speed or ZF five-speed manual gearboxes.

The neat, Morgan-esque body was formed from glassfibre, and the entire car was developed and launched in a barely believable five months.

Better still for Panther, Vauxhall, for whom the company had already completed some prototyping work, granted permission for its dealer network to sell the Lima with a factory warranty, leading to 600 sales.

Classic & Sports Car – Panther Westwinds: Robert Jankel’s family of felines

The Panther Lima’s slant-four engine is fitted with twin Dell’Ortos

But our test car, being a Mk2 version, has evolved considerably from the original.

While it was visually similar, Panther developed its own chassis, which created a more capacious cabin with a lower seating position, as well as being stiffer than the Magnum-based original.

James Dempster’s 1980 Lima is a rare DTV (Dealer Team Vauxhall) variant, with its Bedford CF van-based 2.3-litre, 160bhp slant-four fitted with a Blydenstein cylinder head, four-branch exhaust manifold, oil cooler and twin Dell’Orto carburettors.

On our test route, the Lima falls somewhere between a Morgan and a Caterham Seven in terms of driving dynamics.

Classic & Sports Car – Panther Westwinds: Robert Jankel’s family of felines

The Panther Lima is fun to drive

The snug cockpit is fine for my 5ft 7in frame, but taller drivers may struggle to get comfortable.

Moving off, the four-speed Getrag shift is typically vague, but the ratios are well chosen and a dashboard-mounted switch engages a usefully tall overdrive on third and fourth gears.

Accelerate hard and the warble from the twin Dell’Ortos is infectious, as is the deep well of torque from the big ‘four’, although this is not an engine that thrives on high revs.

Grip is commensurate with the Lima’s middling outputs, but control and composure are excellent, making this the most rewarding car to drive from our Panther set.

Classic & Sports Car – Panther Westwinds: Robert Jankel’s family of felines

The Panther Kallista has strong straight-line pace

Our final car is not, technically, a Jankel creation, although its design and basic chassis are closely related to the Lima’s.

After Jankel’s Panther Westwinds collapsed in 1980, it was purchased by Young Chull Kim’s South Korean Jindo Corporation.

While the new company restarted production of the J72 and De Ville, the higher-selling Lima was reimagined with Ford componentry as the Kallista, and launched at the British Motor Show in 1982.

Available with a variety of Ford engines, including the 1.6-litre unit from the Escort XR3 as well as the Capri’s Cologne V6 in both 2.8- and (later) 2.9-litre guises, a total of 1740 Kallistas were sold before production ended in 1990.

Classic & Sports Car – Panther Westwinds: Robert Jankel’s family of felines

The Panther Kallista’s fuel-injected Ford V6

Stephen Dunnett has owned his 1989 2.9-litre car from new and has covered nearly 100,000 miles in it during that time.

Compared with the Lima, the Kallista’s Cortina-derived front suspension and Capri-based rear end provide a slightly retrograde driving experience, though Stephen admits that the car’s recently fitted Gaz dampers have yet to be properly set up.

As a result, the rear suspension’s excessive vertical movement, combined with a very quick steering ratio, prove quite exciting on our test route.

But the Kallista’s Ford Type 9 five-speed gearbox is a joy to use and the V6 engine makes it an epic performer in a straight line.

Classic & Sports Car – Panther Westwinds: Robert Jankel’s family of felines

The 1980s-era cabin of the Panther Kallista

You can easily see why it became Panther’s best-selling model by some margin.

Could Panther exist again with its flamboyant neoclassic creations? Probably not.

The core appeal of Robert Jankel’s designs aligned with a ’70s and ’80s culture that, while nostalgic today, wouldn’t chime with a 21st-century aesthetic.

But as a final bastion of British coachbuilding excellence and entrepreneurial pluck, Panther Westwinds knew no equal.

Images: Max Edleston

Thanks to: Panther Car Club


Factfiles

Classic & Sports Car – Panther Westwinds: Robert Jankel’s family of felines

Panther J72

  • Sold/number built 1972-’84/378
  • Construction rectangular steel ladder chassis, aluminium body
  • Engine iron-block, alloy head, dohc 3781/4235cc straight-six, twin SU carburettors
  • Max power 205bhp @ 5000rpm
  • Max torque 236lb ft @ 3750rpm
  • Transmission four-speed manual, RWD
  • Suspension: front beam axle, leading arms rear live axle, trailing arms; Panhard rod, coil springs, telescopic dampers f/r
  • Steering Burman power-assisted recirculating ball
  • Brakes 11in (279mm) front, 11⅖in (290mm) rear discs, with servo
  • Length 13ft 4in (4064mm)
  • Width 5ft 5½in (1663mm)
  • Height 4ft 5in (1346mm)
  • Wheelbase 9ft 1in (2768mm)
  • Weight 2504lb (1140kg)
  • Mpg 14.3 (3.8-litre)
  • 0-60mph 6.4 secs (3.8-litre)
  • Top speed 114mph (3.8-litre)
  • Price new £9874 (1975)
  • Price now £40-60,000*

 

Panther De Ville Saloon

  • Sold/number built 1974-’82/57 (Saloon and Convertible)
  • Construction rectangular steel ladder chassis, aluminium body
  • Engine all-alloy, sohc-per-bank 5343cc 60° V12, Lucas-Bosch fuel injection
  • Max power 285bhp @ 5750rpm
  • Max torque 294lb ft @ 3500rpm
  • Transmission GM400 three-speed automatic, RWD
  • Suspension independent, at front by semi-trailing double wishbones, coil springs rear lower wishbones, upper links, radius arms, twin coil springs; telescopic dampers f/r
  • Steering power-assisted rack and pinion
  • Brakes 11⅕in (284mm) front, 10⅖in (264mm) rear discs, with servo
  • Length 17ft (5190mm)
  • Width 5ft 11in (1800mm)
  • Height 5ft 1in (1550mm)
  • Wheelbase 11ft 10in (3610mm)
  • Weight 4360lb (1973kg)
  • Mpg 12
  • 0-60mph 9.6 secs
  • Top speed 128mph
  • Price new £17,650
  • Price now £60-80,000*

 

Panther Rio Especiale

  • Sold/number built 1975-’77/18
  • Construction steel monocoque, aluminium body panels
  • Engine iron-block, alloy-head, sohc, 16v 1998cc ‘four’, twin Stromberg carburettors
  • Max power 127bhp @ 5700rpm
  • Max torque 122lb ft @ 4500rpm
  • Transmission four-speed manual or three-speed automatic, RWD
  • Suspension: front independent, by double wishbones rear live axle, trailing and semi-trailing arms; coil springs, telescopic dampers, anti-roll bar f/r
  • Steering rack and pinion
  • Brakes discs front, drums rear, with servo
  • Length 13ft 6in (4122mm)
  • Width 5ft 2½in (1588mm)
  • Height 4ft 7in (1395mm)
  • Wheelbase 8ft ⅝in (2454mm)
  • Weight 2295lb (1041kg, est)
  • Mpg 24
  • 0-60mph 8.4 secs (manual)
  • Top speed 116mph (manual)
  • Price new £8996
  • Price now £15-25,000*

 

Panther Lima S1

  • Sold/number built 1976-’82/c900 (all)
  • Construction unitary, with unstressed glassfibre body (steel monocoque with square-tube superstructure for Mk2)
  • Engine all-iron, sohc 2279cc slant-four, twin Zenith-Stromberg carburettors
  • Max power 108bhp @ 5000rpm
  • Max torque 138lb ft @ 3000rpm
  • Transmission four-speed manual with overdrive, RWD
  • Suspension: front independent, by unequal-length wishbones, anti-roll bar rear four-link live axle; coil springs, telescopic dampers f/r
  • Steering rack and pinion
  • Brakes 10in (254mm) discs front, 9in (229mm) drums rear, with servo
  • Length 11ft 10in (4334mm)
  • Width 5ft 10½in (1790mm)
  • Height 4ft ⅜in (1180mm)
  • Wheelbase 8ft 1in (2530mm)
  • Weight 1950lb (885kg)
  • Mpg 21.8
  • 0-60mph 6.7 secs (DTV)
  • Top speed 115mph (DTV)
  • Price new £4997 (1977)
  • Price now £10-20,000*

 

Panther Kallista
(details for 2.8i)

  • Sold/number built 1982-’90/1740
  • Construction steel monocoque, with square-tubular superstructure and unstressed glassfibre body
  • Engine all-iron, sohc-per-bank 2792cc, 60° V6, Bosch K-Jetronic fuel injection
  • Max power 150bhp @ 5700rpm
  • Max torque 159lb ft @ 4000rpm
  • Transmission five-speed manual, RWD
  • Suspension: front independent, by double wishbones rear live axle; coil springs, telescopic dampers f/r
  • Steering rack and pinion
  • Brakes 9¾in (248mm) discs front, 9in (229mm) drums rear, with servo
  • Length 12ft 7⅝in (3850mm)
  • Width 5ft 6¾in (1695mm)
  • Height 4ft 2in (1270mm)
  • Wheelbase 8ft 4½in (2552mm)
  • Weight 2061lb (935kg)
  • Mpg 24.4
  • 0-60mph 7.7 secs
  • Top speed 109mph
  • Price new £9625 (1984)*

*Prices correct at date of original publication


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