A superb and rare photo, made from what we believe is the original negative, of the magnificent Panhard rally car in 1956.

Panhard was originally called Panhard et Levassor, and was established as a car manufacturing concern by René Panhard and Émile Levassor in 1887. Their first car (based on a Daimler engine licence), was offered in 1890. Levassor obtained his licence from a friend who already had one, Sarazin. Upon Sarazin's death in 1887, Sarazin's widow married Levassor, and the deal was cemented. Daimler and Levassor became fast friends, and shared improvements with one another. These first vehicles set many modern standards, but each was a one-off design. They used a clutch pedal to operate a chain-driven gearbox. The vehicle also featured a front-mounted radiator. An 1895 Panhard is credited with the first modern transmission. In 1891, the company built their first all-Levassor design, a "state of the art" model: the Systeme Panhard consisted of four wheels, a front-mounted engine with rear wheel drive, and a crude sliding-gear transmission, sold at 3500 francs. (It would remain the standard until Cadillac introduced synchromesh in 1928.) This was to become the standard layout for automobiles for most of the next century. The same year, Panhard shared their Daimler engine license with bicycle maker Armand Peugeot, who formed his own car company. In 1895, 1205 cc (74 ci) Panhards finished 1-2 in the Paris-Bordeaux-Paris Rally, one piloted solo by Levassor, for 48¾hr. Arthur Krebs succeeded Levassor as General Manager in 1897, and held the job until 1916. He turned the Panhard-Levassor Company into one of the largest and profitable manufacturer of automobiles before World War I. Panhards won numerous races from 1895 to 1903. Panhard developed the Panhard rod, which became used in many other types of automobiles as well. From 1925 the motors used Knight sleeve valves. That year a 4.8 litre (292ci) model set the world record for the fastest hour run, an average of 185.51 km/h (115.26 mph). Panhard also produced railbuses, including some for the metre gauge Chemin de Fer du Finistère. After World War II the company produced light cars such as the Dyna X, Dyna Z, PL 17, 24 CT and 24 BT. The company managed to get around a steel-saving government regulation forbidding new car models by making the bodies and several other components out of aluminum; the Dyna X and Z 1 had aluminum bodies. The later Dyna Z and the PL 17 bodies were steel. The styling was smooth and rounded, which stood out in any post-war parking lot. The 24 CT was a beautiful 2+2 seater; the 24 BT with a longer wheelbase had space for four. The Panhard-based Deutsch Bonnets ("DB Panhard") dominated the "Index of Performance" class at Le Mans and other small-engine racing classes. The last Panhard passenger car was built in 1967. From 1968 on, Panhard has only made armored vehicles—the civilian branch was absorbed by Citroën in 1965, and the marque was retired. Famous Panhard models were the Panhard Dyna X (1945–1954), Panhard Junior (1951–1956), Panhard Dyna Z (1953–1959), Panhard PL 17 (1959–1965), Panhard CD (1962–1965), Panhard 24 (1963–1967). The following models were constructed with Panhard technology: the Dyna Veritas 1949–1954, Rosengart Scarlette 1952, DB HBR 5 1954–1961, DB Le Mans 1958–1964, Sera-Panhard 1959–1961.

This is a very nice and very rare photo that reflects a wonderful era of Panhard ‘s automotive history in a wonderful way. This is your rare chance to own this photo, therefore it is printed in a nice large format of ca. 8" x 12" (ca. 20 x 30 cm).  It makes it perfectly suitable for framing.