Panther Solo
Encyclopedia
The Panther Solo is a mid-engined
sports car
that was made by the British company Panther Car Company
. It was available as a two-seat coupé
, with the option of additional rear seats to make it a 2+2. SsangYong Motor Company
, which had become the owner of Panther Westwinds, made a concept car called the SsangYong Solo 3 as a tribute to the original Solo and Solo 2, as well as a racing version called the SsangYong Solo Le Mans.
1.6 CVH Engine (as fitted in the Ford Fiesta XR2
), and was designed as a replacement for the marque's volume model, the Panther Kallista
. The car used relatively simple technology, had contemporary styling and was clad in a fibreglass body in order to save weight. However, Toyota launched their new MR2
around the same time, and the Solo was unable to compete with this Japan
ese rival.
The South Korean original owner of Panther Mr Y. C. Kim made the decision to amend the Solo after taking a vacation in Guam where he saw one of the early MR2"s. A new styling design for the Solo was created by Mr Ken Greenley of the London RCA vehicle styling school : with a slightly larger 2+2 layout with a composite upper body, permanent four wheel drive
and the engine being mid mounted from a Ford Sierra Cosworth
. This would be called the "Solo 2".
The body engineering designers involved were :- Martin Freestone (composites), Keith Hunter (underbody & structure), William "Bill" Davies (details), Mert Wreford (making coffee).
1993 cc engine with twice the horsepower of the Solo 1. It was mated to the Borg-Warner
T-5 (same as in the RS), which drove a Ferguson
four-wheel drive
system modified by Panther to use XR4x4 components, including both differentials. The company decided also to stretch the wheelbase to accommodate 2+2 seating, which was partly done by ex-Ford Europe engineers who had worked on the Sierra Cosworth and XR4x4. March
did the aerodynamics
, producing a Cd
of 0.33, as well as producing the composite construction, encouraged by March chairman Robin Herd
. One of the development cars had a twin turbo setup due to the know turbo lag issues. The theory was that two smaller turbos would eliminate the lag of one larger turbo.
A troublesome area was with the 4 wheel drive transfer box. This was a custom made part, the internals were chain driven and the chains had a habit of self destructing when abused.
The lower body of the Solo 2 was a space frame
made primarily of steel with the upper body being made from aluminium
honeycomb sandwiched between multiple sheets of impregnated glass fibre bonded with epoxy . The upper body was to be glued using an aerospace adhesive to the lower chassis. No rollbar was needed. Suspension
used Escort struts in front, while the disc brake
s were fitted with Scorpio
-derived ABS
.
It is not known exactly how many vehicles were built (however it was between 12 and 25), as sometimes Panther would change the chassis number of prototype cars. All but three Solos were sold to the public, two were destroyed, and one is still owned by the then owner of Panther.
One vehicle was written off by a motoring journalist who walked away unhurt from the wreckage.
As of 2011, eight examples survive in the UK, but all are listed as SORN, with the last licenced example registered until 2010.
MR layout
In automotive design, a RMR or Rear Mid-engine, Rear-wheel drive layout is one in which the rear wheels are driven by an engine placed just in front of them, behind the passenger compartment. In contrast to the rear-engined RR layout, the center of mass of the engine is in front of the rear axle...
sports car
Sports car
A sports car is a small, usually two seat, two door automobile designed for high speed driving and maneuverability....
that was made by the British company Panther Car Company
Panther Westwinds
Panther Westwinds was a manufacturer of niche sports cars and luxury cars, based in Surrey, United Kingdom. Founded in 1972 by Robert Jankel, the Panther company enjoyed success throughout the 1970s with retro-styled cars based on the mechanical components of standard production cars from other...
. It was available as a two-seat coupé
Coupé
A coupé or coupe is a closed car body style , the precise definition of which varies from manufacturer to manufacturer, and over time...
, with the option of additional rear seats to make it a 2+2. SsangYong Motor Company
SsangYong Motor Company
SsangYong Motor Company is the fourth largest South Korean automobile manufacturer. The name SsangYong means double dragons.SsangYong was acquired by India's Mahindra & Mahindra Limited in February 2011, after being named the preferred bidder in 2010 to acquire the bankruptcy-protected company...
, which had become the owner of Panther Westwinds, made a concept car called the SsangYong Solo 3 as a tribute to the original Solo and Solo 2, as well as a racing version called the SsangYong Solo Le Mans.
Solo 1
The first Solo, the Solo 1, was a simple mid-engined rear wheel drive car. It had a FordFord Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
1.6 CVH Engine (as fitted in the Ford Fiesta XR2
Ford Fiesta
The Ford Fiesta is a front wheel drive supermini/subcompact manufactured and marketed by Ford Motor Company and built in Europe, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Venezuela, China, India, Thailand and South Africa...
), and was designed as a replacement for the marque's volume model, the Panther Kallista
Panther Kallista
The Kallista replaced the Panther Lima as Panther Car Company's volume model for the 1980s. Unlike the Vauxhall-based Lima, the Kallista used Ford mechanicals, including a range of engines from 1.6 L straight-4 to 2.9 L Cologne V6. The later SsangYong-built models of the 1990s used a...
. The car used relatively simple technology, had contemporary styling and was clad in a fibreglass body in order to save weight. However, Toyota launched their new MR2
Toyota MR2
The Toyota MR2 is a two-seat, mid-engined, rear wheel drive sports car produced by Central Motors, a part of Toyota, from 1984 until July 2007 when production stopped in Japan...
around the same time, and the Solo was unable to compete with this Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese rival.
The South Korean original owner of Panther Mr Y. C. Kim made the decision to amend the Solo after taking a vacation in Guam where he saw one of the early MR2"s. A new styling design for the Solo was created by Mr Ken Greenley of the London RCA vehicle styling school : with a slightly larger 2+2 layout with a composite upper body, permanent four wheel drive
Four Wheel Drive
The Four Wheel Drive Auto Company, more often known as Four Wheel Drive or just FWD, was founded in 1909 in Clintonville, Wisconsin, as the Badger Four-Wheel Drive Auto Company by Otto Zachow and William Besserdich.-History:...
and the engine being mid mounted from a Ford Sierra Cosworth
Ford Sierra
The Ford Sierra is a large family car that was built by Ford Europe from 1982 until 1993. It was designed by Uwe Bahnsen, Robert Lutz and Patrick le Quément. The code used during development was "Project Toni"....
. This would be called the "Solo 2".
The body engineering designers involved were :- Martin Freestone (composites), Keith Hunter (underbody & structure), William "Bill" Davies (details), Mert Wreford (making coffee).
Solo 2
The Solo 2 used the Ford Sierra RSFord Sierra RS Cosworth
The Ford Sierra RS Cosworth was a high-performance version of the Ford Sierra. It was the result of a Ford Motorsport project with the purpose of producing an outright winner for Group A racing in Europe.- Development :...
1993 cc engine with twice the horsepower of the Solo 1. It was mated to the Borg-Warner
BorgWarner
BorgWarner Inc. is a United States-based worldwide automotive industry components and parts supplier. It is primarily known for its powertrain products, which include manual and automatic transmissions and transmission components, , turbochargers, engine valve timing system...
T-5 (same as in the RS), which drove a Ferguson
Ferguson Research Ltd.
Harry Ferguson Research Limited was a British company founded by Harry Ferguson who was mostly known as "the father of the modern farm tractor"...
four-wheel drive
Four-wheel drive
Four-wheel drive, 4WD, or 4×4 is a four-wheeled vehicle with a drivetrain that allows all four wheels to receive torque from the engine simultaneously...
system modified by Panther to use XR4x4 components, including both differentials. The company decided also to stretch the wheelbase to accommodate 2+2 seating, which was partly done by ex-Ford Europe engineers who had worked on the Sierra Cosworth and XR4x4. March
March Engineering
March Engineering was a Formula One constructor and manufacturer of customer racing cars from the United Kingdom. Although only moderately successful in Grand Prix competition, March racing cars enjoyed much better achievement in other categories of competition including Formula Two, Formula Three,...
did the aerodynamics
Automotive aerodynamics
Automotive aerodynamics is the study of the aerodynamics of road vehicles. The main concerns of automotive aerodynamics are reducing drag , reducing wind noise, minimizing noise emission, and preventing undesired lift forces and other causes of aerodynamic instability at high speeds...
, producing a Cd
Drag coefficient
In fluid dynamics, the drag coefficient is a dimensionless quantity that is used to quantify the drag or resistance of an object in a fluid environment such as air or water. It is used in the drag equation, where a lower drag coefficient indicates the object will have less aerodynamic or...
of 0.33, as well as producing the composite construction, encouraged by March chairman Robin Herd
Robin Herd
Robin Herd is an English engineer, designer and businessman.Herd graduated from St Peter's College, Oxford with a double first in physics and engineering, before joining the Royal Aircraft Establishment in 1961 as a design engineer on the Concorde supersonic aircraft project...
. One of the development cars had a twin turbo setup due to the know turbo lag issues. The theory was that two smaller turbos would eliminate the lag of one larger turbo.
A troublesome area was with the 4 wheel drive transfer box. This was a custom made part, the internals were chain driven and the chains had a habit of self destructing when abused.
The lower body of the Solo 2 was a space frame
Space frame
A space frame or space structure is a truss-like, lightweight rigid structure constructed from interlocking struts in a geometric pattern. Space frames can be used to span large areas with few interior supports...
made primarily of steel with the upper body being made from aluminium
Aluminium
Aluminium or aluminum is a silvery white member of the boron group of chemical elements. It has the symbol Al, and its atomic number is 13. It is not soluble in water under normal circumstances....
honeycomb sandwiched between multiple sheets of impregnated glass fibre bonded with epoxy . The upper body was to be glued using an aerospace adhesive to the lower chassis. No rollbar was needed. Suspension
Suspension (vehicle)
Suspension is the term given to the system of springs, shock absorbers and linkages that connects a vehicle to its wheels. Suspension systems serve a dual purpose — contributing to the car's roadholding/handling and braking for good active safety and driving pleasure, and keeping vehicle occupants...
used Escort struts in front, while the disc brake
Disc brake
The disc brake or disk brake is a device for slowing or stopping the rotation of a wheel while it is in motion.A brake disc is usually made of cast iron, but may in some cases be made of composites such as reinforced carbon–carbon or ceramic matrix composites. This is connected to the wheel and/or...
s were fitted with Scorpio
Ford Scorpio
The Ford Scorpio is an automobile that was produced by the Ford Motor Company from 1985 through to 1998.It was the replacement for the European Ford Granada line...
-derived ABS
Anti-lock braking system
An anti-lock braking system is a safety system that allows the wheels on a motor vehicle to continue interacting tractively with the road surface as directed by driver steering inputs while braking, preventing the wheels from locking up and therefore avoiding skidding.An ABS generally offers...
.
It is not known exactly how many vehicles were built (however it was between 12 and 25), as sometimes Panther would change the chassis number of prototype cars. All but three Solos were sold to the public, two were destroyed, and one is still owned by the then owner of Panther.
One vehicle was written off by a motoring journalist who walked away unhurt from the wreckage.
As of 2011, eight examples survive in the UK, but all are listed as SORN, with the last licenced example registered until 2010.
Cars
| Chassis Number | Colour | Owner | Country | Registration Number |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 012 | Blue | - | South Korea South Korea The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south... |
F59SWC |
| 013 | Crash test vehicle | Crash test vehicle | Crash test vehicle | Crash test vehicle |
| 014 | Red | Y C Kim, passed on to his son | South Korea South Korea The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south... |
G846 WEV |
| 015 | Silver | Andie Wills | United Kingdom United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages... |
D15 OLO (formerly G521 FNO) |
| 016 | Red | - | South Korea South Korea The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south... |
- |
| 017 | Red | Scott McDonagh | - | - |
| 018 | Red | Stephen Allan Vine | United Kingdom United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages... |
G308 XAR (formerly SPC 21) |
| 019 | Metallic Red | Bruno Eismark | United Kingdom United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages... |
G307XAR (formerly RT 40) |
| 020 | No car produced | No car produced | No car produced | No car produced |
| 021 | No car produced | No car produced | No car produced | No car produced |
| 022 | Metallic Blue | Jamie MacRae | - | G99 EDA |
| 023 | Red | Vince Jones | - | H736 HEV |
| 024 | Metallic Green | David Carter | United Kingdom United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages... |
H732 HEV |
| 025 | Yellow | - | Japan Japan Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south... |
G559VYW |
| 026 | Red | Simon Rowell | United Kingdom United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages... |
D5 OLO (formerly H731 HEV) |
| 027 | Metallic Silver | Robin Tracy | United Kingdom United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages... |
BNZ 5010 (formerly 11 JKP) |
| 028 | Green | Kenny Rogers | Spain Spain Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula... |
H733 HEV |
| 029 | Red | - | California, USA | - |
| 030 | Metallic Red | Mr Wooton | - | H75 OLO |
| 031 | Red | George Forrest | - | H734 HEV |
| 032 | Grey | - | South Korea South Korea The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south... |
- |