Panhard X87 Dolomites 1953 Red/Cream

Panhard X87 Dolomites 1953 Red/Cream by Autocult

Elegant with proven Technology  
At the beginning of the 1950s, the two men Bernhard Pichon and Andre Parat entered the stage of the French automobile tuners. Their preference was the construction of new car bodies basing on the technology of proven chassis. In 1951, at their own stand at the Paris Motor Show, they presented a version based on a Ford Vedette and a Renault 4CV. Especially the conversion based on the substructure of the Ford enjoyed great popularity and found almost 300 buyers in the following years. The two partners with their factory in Sens, France, proved to have a very happy hand in the design of their car bodies. Pichon and Parat also came along the chassis of the Panhard Dyna in their search for suitable vehicle substructures. In addition to the small but powerful boxer engine, it was probably also the success achieved since 1950 in the endurance race of the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the discipline of efficiency that aroused the interest of the body makers, especially Berhard Pichon himself was very interested in motorsports.   The idea of turning the Panhard Dyna into a small, nimble sports car was so fascination that they put their idea into practice and presented it for the first time under the designation Panhard X86 Dolomites at the Paris Motor Show in October, 1953.   The initial demand faded away and only a very few Dolomites left the production of the body makers. Nevertheless, the production was never fully ceased in the next few years, but after only one car left the assembly in November, 1955 and the total number of produced copies counted only 15 Dolomites sports cars, it can be concluded that the model never met the expectations of the sports scene.