The Six-Wheeled Convertible With An 8.2-liter Cadillac V8

Gearheads have wild imaginations and think up the most far-reaching designs that remain flights of fancy and could never be turned into reality. Think about the pink six-wheeled Thunderbird cruiser, or perhaps a James Bond-inspired Aston Martin supercar with all the villain-slaying weapons you could ever need on board. Most manufacturers will never build cars like these though, as they end up being unsafe, way too expensive, and, frankly, unsuitable for public roads. We might dream big, but in the real world, we drive F-150s and RAV4s.

Cadillac

Cadillac is a luxury automotive brand that is a part of General Motors. Founded in 1902, it has a long history as a premium luxury brand. Its current lineup includes both sedans and SUVs with a variety of propulsion systems, including a growing number of electric vehicles. In addition to luxury, Cadillac also focuses on performance, particularly with its V-Series vehicles.

Founded

1902

Founder

Henry Leland

Headquarters

Warren, Michigan

Owned By

General Motors

Current CEO

Johan de Nysschen

That doesn’t mean some don’t get close though, and one obscure British manufacturer liked to do things a bit differently. Primarily active during the 1970s, it even developed a six-wheeled beast with a huge Cadillac V8 slotted under the hood.

Panther Liked To Develop Niche Cars For Drivers With Deep Wallets

The brand in question is called Panther Westwinds, and it was first established by Robert Jankel in 1972. He had already crafted an enviable reputation in the automotive industry thanks to his Jenkel Group coachbuilding firm, which built specialist automobiles for brands like Mercedes-Benz and Land Rover to sell on to customers looking for something unique. He’d set up that business in 1955, and it had grown to the point where Jenkel could justify running another company that would sell his own wacky designs the manufacturers weren’t interested in.

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In the early days of the business, he offered the J72 roadster, which was a 1930s-inspired roadster that was powered by a range of Jaguar inline-six and V12 powerplants, as well as the Rio sedan. This was based on a British-built Triumph Dolomite, and was designed to take the fight to Rolls-Royce. Panther’s most extreme creation made its debut in 1977.

Panther Wanted To Build A Performance Luxury Car For Rich Gearheads

Having developed the luxurious Rio, Panther’s next project was christened the 6. As the name suggests, its headline feature was the fact it had six wheels, four smaller wheels at the front, and two normal-sized ones at the rear. It was inspired by the famous Tyrell P34 Formula 1 car, a vehicle even The Stig has piloted, which had broken ground a year earlier. Aside from boasting supercar-chasing performance, the 6 was also designed to offer all the luxury needed to complete long trips in perfect comfort. It was also designed as a convertible, allowing owners to enjoy the wind in their hair as they carved their way down to the South of France.

The Panther 6 Utilized Six Wheels To Beat The Competition

In Formula 1, Tyrell developed the six-wheeled P34 for a number of reasons. The smaller front wheels would help to reduce drag around the front of the vehicle, while they would also better distribute weight across the front axle and put the four wheels under less strain than if just two were present. This would help to keep the vehicle balanced, while having four smaller tires working in unison would also improve braking efficiency. General grip would also be higher, as four small tires offered a greater contact patch than two conventionally sized ones.

The same theory applied to the Panther, and the firm hoped this arrangement would help it take on its luxurious offerings from storied marques like Maserati and Aston Martin. With the idea greenlit, the next job was to find a way to get the thing up to the kind of speeds where the six-wheeled configuration could work its magic.

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Panther Looked Stateside To Source The Panther’s Bite

In a departure from its earlier models, which used engines sourced from British manufacturers, Panther decided to take a trip across the Atlantic to find a powerplant for the 6. It eventually settled on a huge 8.2-liter big block V8 supplied by Cadillac, the luxury arm of General Motors, though Panther bolstered it with a pair of turbochargers. While details are thin on the exact amount of grunt Panther managed to extract from the mid-mounted unit, it was claimed it produced around 600 hp and could power the 6 to a top speed of over 200 mph. Reflecting its luxury focus, the V8 was mated to a three-speed automatic transmission.

The 6’s Blend Of Pace And Luxury Didn’t Translate To Sales

Alongside the grunt, the 6 was graced with a plush leather interior, which was fully loaded with extras like a powerful air-conditioning system, an onboard telephone, and even a dash-mounted TV. The 6 was unlike anything else on the road, though sadly it failed to take off. While its design may have been a little extreme for some, its price was its bigger deterrent. It was priced at a shade under £40,000 at the time, which translates to nearly $300,000 today. This made it significantly more expensive than models offered by other high-end brands like Lamborghini and Aston Martin.

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Despite this, Panther managed to secure 15 orders for the car. This never happened though, as Pirelli, the company that developed the 6s unusually sized 205/40 VR13 front tires and currently supplies rubber for F1, refused to put them into production in the end. As a result, just two examples of the 6 were ever produced. One was completed and delivered to a customer, while the other was initially left uncompleted as the company collapsed in 1980 due to financial troubles. The second car was eventually completed by a Panther historian, and sold on.

The 6 Isn’t Worth As Much As You’d Think

Despite the 6’s crazy design and extreme rarity, you’d expect it’d be worth a fortune these days. This isn’t necessarily true though, as the later example was sold through Bonhams Auctions in 2011. It fetched just 41,000 euros on the day, which is equivalent to $60,000 in today’s money. For such an exclusive machine, this sounds like a bit of a bargain. Given just the two exist though, good luck tracking one down.

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Panther Later Built A Mid-Engined Sports Car

Panther Solo 1

Following Panther’s initial collapse, it was purchased by South Korean businessman Young Chull Kim. He kickstarted production of the J72 and De Ville models once more, but also wanted to develop a new two-door, mid-engined sports car. Named the Solo, it eventually made its debut in 1989. Two variants of the car were built, with the first coming with a 1.6-liter CVH four-cylinder engine sourced from the Ford Fiesta XR2 hot hatch.

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Panther Solo 2

The Solo 2 was unleashed in 1990, and featured performance on another level from that of the initial build. Panther equipped it with the turbocharged Cosworth YB four-pot unit used in the legendary Sierra RS Cosworth, which was combined with its five-speed manual gearbox and the all-wheel-drive system from the Sierra 4×4. With 204 hp on tap, the Solo could manage a top speed of 142 mph. The Solo was constructed with advanced techniques too, as it came with a lightweight composite body and a double-wishbone front suspension setup.

Despite its promising design, Panther is thought to have only sold a total of 13 cars to customers. The company was sold to SsangYong in 1987, and Panther’s projects were wound down in 1990 after its owner was absorbed by Daewoo. Its projects may not have proven a financial success on the whole, but Panther should be applauded for treading down a different path than most marques ever dare to tread.

Sources: Bonhams, Ford