Tatra87 has already written his paean to the Panhard 24 B and CT coupes, but after three years, I’m more than ready to wallow in some more Panhard goodness. Corey Behrens shot this superb 24 CT in Heemskerk, NL, so let’s indulge ourselves. The 24 CT was the short wheelbase 2+2 coupe; the 24 B was the two-door sedan with a longer wheelbase.
The styling influence of the 1960 Corvair is of course obvious, but Panhard took the Corvair four-door sedan’s “flying wing” roof and rear window and applied it beautifully to the coupe.
Early on, in 1958, Chevrolet toyed with the idea of putting the flying wing roof on the coupe too, but abandoned that in favor of a more close-coupled coupe roof. Just as well, as this was a bit too exaggerated. The two wrap-around windows were likely a bridge too far too.
The front end deviated from Corvair influence, for improved aerodynamics, which was of paramount concern given its small air-cooled 848cc boxer twin, driving the front wheels.
With all of 50 hp, it was still able to propel the 24CT to right around 100 mph (160 km/h). Not bad, for 850 cc.
Among other features, there were finned aluminum drum brakes, fully exposed to the cooling air and surrounded by a trim ring. Shades of Pontiac’s famed eight-lug wheels.
The 24’s sheer efficiency and the looks to go with that make it one of the more extraordinary cars of its times, or any time.
Absolutely amazing car.
Enzo famously said that aerodynamics is for those who can’t build engines. But this little engine is mighty and inherently balanced. Boxer engines seem to have only one or two inherent disadvantage(s): since the pistons pull back at the same time they increase the crankcase pressure und thus put the brakes on maximum rev numbers. For practical transportation purposes this hardly matters.
The second one is related to extra parts for timing and cooling of two cylinder banks vs one in inline designs.
These Citroen boxers required high octane gasoline. Even though the fuel was (is) more expensive than regular it made operation more cost effective than a lower compression ratio tune would have been.
The headlights remind me of the Citroen DS/ID design.
A third inherent disadvantage, well known to many a Subaru owner, is that repair and maintenance tasks that require getting at the heads become engine-out jobs.
Always admired these, and their non-conformist thinking. An on-the-road example is rare, and this looks a stunner.
From a French car show a few years ago
Many years ago 24CTs bodies were made in Uruguay in GRP. A cloak-and-dagger story involving an original 24CT owned by a teacher at the Alliance Francaise in Montevideo, some enterprising guys who owned a repair shop and took the car in for repairs, disassembled it and made the molds. At the time you could still buy Panhard spares including engines.
A beautiful car indeed.
Forgot the photo. This car used to be next door to my place in Piriápolis-.
I remember seeing a red one in Montevideo often decades ago? The same? Who knows? Might be. It wasn’t as if they sold by the dozen. However, the one I remember best was a white one with a black roof, driven by an older gentleman in the late ‘70s. Given the condition, he was probably the original owner and parked daily round my corner. Oddly, in the same block also parked a Panhard sedan, a late fifties model.
Any chance the teacher would be the gentleman I mention? I’d say he was around 65 in 1980. I had never heard that story.
Does any other car have symmetrical A and C pillar angles?
VW Beetle and Bus.
Zundapp Janus
There must be something made in the late ’50s that had symmetrical reverse A and C pillars.
One of the best looking cars ever made IMO, although I prefer the longer-wheelbase 24BT version for both looks and practicality. The interior isn’t quite as nice as the outside, and the 2 stroke engine has some downsides, but I could easily see this as my daily driver if I was car shopping in the mid-’60s. Sad this was Panhard’s last car – did any automaker go out with a bang quite this impressive?
At first I thought that Corvair pic was just a Photoshop job, smudged out and with the outline of the sedan rear window moved to the coupe to show how closely the Panhard copies the Corvair look, but then realized it was a real clay mockup when I clicked on the link. I didn’t even notice the flying butress, thinking it was just a reflection or something. (Also, the green 1963 Pininfarina design study shown on the linked page is the missing link between the Corvair and the Panhard 24CT, as well as the missing link between 1st and 2nd gen Corvairs.)
As cool as this whole car is, my favorite part of the Panhard 24 will always be the wipers of all things. These don’t just clean your window; they do a hypnotic, mesmerizing, carefully choreographed dance across your windshield.
That wiper motion is really something.
The French, more than just about anyone, did things their own distinctive way, for their own reasons. The internationalization of car design and styling has managed to lose those distinctions, over time.
The front reminds me of the later Citroen DS with the faired in headlamps. Though, in this case, Panhard did it first, and the revised Citroen front end came later.
The engine is a four-stroke, quite unique with roller bearings in the crankshaft and torsion-bar springs for the valves. VERY hard to repair today; attempts have been made at adapting a BMW opposed-cylinder motorcycle engine.
Oops, was thinking two-cylinder and wrote two-stroke. Got the “2” part right at least…
I think those wipers would drive me batty. Fascinating car, for sure.
I’d probably drive myself batty looking for excuses to use the wipers, if only to marvel at their action each time I turn them on.
The wheel is a good example of “doing things their own way”. The trim ring is fastened to the rim with phillips screws. The lugs pass through the trim ring. So the ring would simply come off with the rim when you change a tire. The drum directly carries the literal hubcap, also fastened with one phillips screw.
Someone has to figure out how to put a modern bmw flat 2 in one of these cars to really see proof of concept!
Heemskerk is the place where Peter Breed has a workshop, he is THE Dutch Panhard specialist, I sold my 24BT to him
The design of the 24 Panahrd is from the hands of Louis Bionnier, who,was in his eighties back then. He is also responsible for the design of the Panhard Dynamique a spectacular car from the thirties an art deco monument. And yes he did admire the design of the Corvair, sleek, wide and a ‘floating roof’
Actually many design features of the third series Citroen DS were shamessly stoken from the 24 series: the 4 headlights behind one glass, the integrated doorhandles, Citroën had no interest in Panhard at all, they needed the production capacity to build 2CV Vans and they were already working on what we now know as the Citoren GS.
Did I mention that the B(erline)Tigre and the C(oupé)T(igre) have the most formidable dashboards with Jaeger gauges and a temperature gauge for the cabin in the lid of the glove box.
They drive great thanks to the low placed flat twin engine. But the engines are quite temperamental and you really need to revv them to get powerr as they have very little torque. I always.thought that a 1600 Subaru flat four would make the 24 Series the perfect car.
I wonder if the GS air cooled flat 4 would fit?
That back! I can’t stop staring. Like pervert level staring.
formidable
Who knew the wipers on that old school bus I rode in 9th/10th grade were supposed to run like they did?
Can we also take some time and admire the ’24’ font used throughout this brochure?
OK! Let’s!
https://www.veikl.com/d/Panhard-24-Brochure-1966-FR-47300
So very mod.
I don’t think the Corvair had much to do with the Panhard Dyna, it seems like original French weirdness of the sort that had produced the Citroen DS.
The NSU Prinz and its Russian knockoff the Zaporozhets seem much more Corvair like.
The Corvair influence was acknowledged and even celebrated by the Panhard design team at the time. Not that they didn’t adapt it – it’s less obvious than the NSU, for instance. But that’s also due to engine placement and aerodynamic considerations, the latter being high on Panhard’s list of priorities.
Still the best-looking French car of the 60s by a kilometre and a half.
How nice to see my new love featured here! I bought the car at Citrombile in Twenthe from an active NL member of the Panhard club. It is now at Peter for final mechanical sorting, new carpets and new 145/15 tyres (after 40 years). It is a very special experience to drive this.
Congrats happy to see Peterand his six-wheel CX car transporter are still in business!
And the front license plate is in the correct place, some install it below the front bumper, de gruwel !
And everything on the B 24’s has been designed to get the lowest possible drag as the engineers knew that the engine was not really capable.
I took some pics of this car at CitroClassica in April. Wonderful car.
Congrats with your purchase!
I was at the Citroën Rendezvous in Saratoga Springs in 2014 and there were 3 Panhards there, including a white 24B sedan. I had misfiled my photos, so it took me a while to find them, but here is one with lots of Citroëns in the background.
It didn’t pick up the phot, so I will try again.