1901 Clément Panhard 4.5 HP

The person selling this car is very well known to us and has an excellent reputation in the world of classic vehicle restoration and curation.

He is selling it on behalf of a friend who has owned the vehicle since 2015 and spent the years between then and now having it restored to the very highest standards by experts in Paris, Turin and elsewhere.

The vehicle is in fabulous restored condition, both cosmetically and mechanically, as confirmed by its successful completion of the London-Brighton Veteran Car Run in 2022.

Incredibly, while the engine has been rebuilt and much of the vehicle refurbished, the vast majority of it is entirely original.

The vendor thinks that only a few seat parts, the front of the body and the engine cover have needed to be re-fabricated from scratch – and even then the work was carried out by acknowledged experts working from original drawings and designs.

Perhaps the most extraordinary aspect of this car’s history is the fact that it was part of the same family for over 80 years.

The registration records for the car prior to 1921 were lost in a fire, so its history effectively starts in 1921, when it was registered with the Department of Lower Seine to a Mr. Alphonse Mass and given the plate number 8596-Y6.

The original plates are not mounted but are still with the car today.

The car was modified by the Mass family for use as an agricultural vehicle serving their cider apple mill business.

Much of the bodywork and the mudguards were removed to help the car carry out its rural workload more effectively.

Incredibly, these parts were stored and are still with the car today, as you can see in the photographs.

Once the car’s years of agricultural service were deemed to be at an end, it was put into well-earned retirement by the family and kept in a partially disassembled state until the early 2000s, when it was sold by family member Joseph Mass, a former employee of the Delage company, to Dr. Daniel Cabart.

Dr. Cabart, a highly respected French automotive historian and the author of books on the Ballot and Delage marques, began a long restoration process - but limited to the chassis and mechanics - finally selling the car to the vendor’s friend in April 2015.

The vendor’s friend, we are reliably informed, purchased the vehicle for around €40,000 and promptly embarked upon a comprehensive body, chassis, mechanicals and engine restoration that cost in excess of €35,000.

He was prepared to invest so much time and money in this huge project because he wanted to fulfil a life-long dream of competing in, and completing, the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run – a goal he achieved in this very car last year.

There is ample photographic documentation of the state of the car at the time of purchase and throughout the various stages of restoration.

The car has a Veteran Car Company Passport attesting to its eligibility for the London - Brighton Veteran Car Run.

It also has FIVA papers.

Look at the pictures of the car disassembled and during restoration.

Then look at the pictures of it now.

Clearly, what you’re looking at is some serious craftsmanship, a great deal of expertise and a refusal to accept or even consider anything but the very highest standards – regardless of cost.

The panels and shut lines are crisp and clean.

The light blue paintwork gleams nearly as brightly as the car’s lustrous brass.

But this isn’t some prima donna that spends all day just looking pretty in a museum.

This car has completed one of the toughest challenges open to this class of vehicles – the London-Brighton.

So, yes, it has a stone chip here and a scratch there.

At 122 years’ old, we think it’s more than earned them.

It’s a similar story on the ‘inside’, where the attention to detail is every bit as thorough and impressive as on the outside.

All of the fixtures and fittings present beautifully and the steering wheel and other controls all appear to be original and lovingly restored to their former glory.

Everything is solid, properly screwed-together and executed without compromise.

The vendor tells us that, as far as he’s aware, everything does what it’s supposed to do.

Everything in the shiny, bright, clean and decidedly eccentric engine bay appears to be as right and proper as you could wish.

The undersides of the car seem to have plenty of structural integrity and there are no signs of anything to worry about whatsoever, as far as we can see.

Queen Victoria was still on the throne in the year this car was built.

Last year it completed the London-Brighton Veteran Car Run - without mishap or incident.

It has been owned by one family for over 80 years and been restored to an exceptional standard by the people best qualified to do so.

It has great provenance and an extensive photographic record of its restoration.

Best of all, and quite amazingly, it is still largely original.

Only around 500 of these were ever made.

122 years-or-so later, it’s hard to imagine that there are many of them alive and well and still going about their intended business.

And it’s virtually impossible to imagine ever finding a better example than this.

This is a truly extraordinary vehicle and we like it a great deal.

Viewing is always encouraged, and this particular car is located with the seller. To arrange an appointment please use the Contact Seller button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.