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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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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Simon Hucknall
Simon Hucknall is a senior contributor to Classic & Sports Car