125 years of Panhard traces

On the first weekend of October, there will be a get together with more than 100 Panhard (et Levassor) cars in Compiegne to celebrate the 125th anniversary of the grand marque.
It is during Rallye des Ancetres, organised by Club de Teuf Teuf of France, so a good reason to visit Compiegne that weekend. For the occasion we invited french car historian Fons Alkemade to show us traces the famous make has left in the streets of Paris.

One can doubt whether the first Panhard & Levassor car was built 125 or 126 years ago, but for now let’s focus on something else: where can a visitor to Paris still find traces of this automotive pioneer.

The history of Panhard is closely related to the avenue d’Ivry. Here at numbers 17 and 19 the company Perin Panhard et Cie., making wood-working machines, erected a new factory in 1874. And it was here that René Panhard and Émile Levassor started to build the first gas engines, under German licence, in 1876. P&L became the authorized builders of the Daimler engines and then, in 1890, the very first voiture automobile was born and the avenue d’Ivry – it is hard to imagine now – became one of the first streets in Paris where cars could be watched in some numbers.

Remarkably, parts of the old factory are still there. Up to the very end, 1967, Panhard luxury cars were produced here. From 2007 to 2013 important reconstruction activities took place and the huge factory hall was transformed into offices, a kindergarten and a daycare house for the homeless. Walk around the block, close your eyes and imagine what impact the very first Panhards which were leaving the factory gate must have made on the Parisians.

When visiting Paris, one should at least see the monument erected for Émile Levassor to commemorate him and especially his incredible victory in the 1895 Paris-Bordeaux-Paris race (48 hours and 47 minutes). Unfortunately, it is not that easy to find the monument. Due the permanent reconstruction of Paris in the last 100 years the impressive piece of stone has been put in the Square Alexandre-et-René-Parodi (near metro station Porte Maillot). If you have found the entrance of this little park, you can read (I must admit that the city of Paris is very good in hanging texts everywhere) that the monument was erected in 1907 and has been sculptured by Camille Lefebvre (1853-1933) after a sketch by Jules Dalou (1838-1902). My photo was made in 1998 and I hope the monument is still looking this fresh.

If you want to see a really old Panhard & Levassor car in a public place in Paris you have to go the Musée des Arts et Métiers (there are no specific automotive museums in Paris anymore…). In the former chapel several very early vehicles can be admired (e.g. the Cugnot machine) and if you do not suffer from height fear you can climb some stairs to find a 1896 P&L with a nice canopy on top.
 

Another very early Panhard is still – as far as I know - in the entrance hall of the Automobile Club de France at the place de la Concorde. But for most of us it is practically impossible to enter this bastion containing so many traces of automotive history. Only if you join the annual diner in February organised by the Society of Automotive Historians you are able to spot some parts of this huge building. Jean Panhard, who died in 2014 at the age of 101, was president of the ACF from 1977 to 1989.

And in case you just want to stroll around some Parisian streets why not try the quai Panhard & Levassor (near de Pont de Tolbiac) or the tiny rue René Panhard or the rue Émile Levassor (passing the École E. Levassor). Also a nice place to make a walk (with some serious climbing) is the cemetery Père Lachaise. In division 36 one can find the huge family tombe of the Panhards (which is in much better condition than most other tombes nearby).

photos and words Fons Alkemade