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,[1] as well as a racing version called the SsangYong Solo Le Mans,[2] a rebadged WR LM94.[3]
| Panther Solo | |
|---|---|
 Panther Solo 2 | |
| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | Panther Car Company |
| Production | 1989 - 1990 between 12 and 25 produced |
| Assembly | Weybridge, England |
| Designer | Ken Greenley |
| Body and chassis | |
| Class | Sports car |
| Body style | 2-door coupé 2-door 2+2 coupé |
| Layout | RMR layout / RM4 layout |
| Dimensions | |
| Wheelbase | 99.6 in (2,530 mm) |
| Length | 171.0 in (4,343 mm) |
| Width | 70.1 in (1,781 mm) |
| Height | 46.5 in (1,181 mm) |
| Curb weight | 2,954 lb (1,340 kg) |
Solo 1
editThe first Solo, the Solo 1, was mid-engined rear wheel drive car, powered by a Ford 1.6 CVH engine producing 105 hp (78 kW) (as fitted in the Ford Fiesta XR2). and designed as a replacement for the marque's volume model, the Panther Kallista. The car used relatively simple technology, had contemporary styling and was manufactured with a fibreglass body to reduce its weight. However, Toyota launched its second generation MR2 around the same time, and the Solo was unable to compete with its rival.
The South Korean owner of Panther, Y. C. Kim, made the decision to amend the Solo after taking a vacation in Guam where he saw one of the early MR2s. A new styling design for the Solo was created by Ken Greenley of the London RCA vehicle styling school. The restyled car featured a slightly larger 2+2 layout with a composite upper body, permanent four wheel drive and a mid-mounted engine from a Ford Sierra Cosworth. This would be called the "Solo 2". The body engineering designers involved were Martin Freestone (composites), Keith Hunter (underbody and structure) and William "Bill" Davis (engineering).
Solo 2
editThe Solo 2 used the 1,993 cc (121.6 cu in) turbocharged engine from the Ford Sierra RS[4] producing 204 hp (152 kW) at 6000 rpm and 200 lb⋅ft (271 N⋅m) of torque at 4500 rpm, around twice the horsepower of the Solo 1.[4][5] It was mated to a Borg-Warner T-5 5-speed manual transmission (same as in the RS),[6] which drove a Ferguson four-wheel drive system modified by Panther to use XR4x4 components, including both differentials.[6] The company decided also to stretch the wheelbase to accommodate 2+2 seating,[4] which was partly done by ex-Ford Europe engineers who had worked on the Sierra Cosworth and XR4x4.[7] March did the aerodynamics, producing a Cd of 0.33,[8] as well as producing the composite construction, encouraged by March chairman Robin Herd.[8] One of the development cars had a twin turbo setup due to the known turbo lag issues.
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 propensity for self-destruction under heavy engine load.
The lower body of the Solo 2 was a space frame[8] 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.[8] No rollbar was needed.[8] The suspension used Escort struts in front, while the disc brakes were fitted with Scorpio-derived ABS.[6]
It is not known exactly how many vehicles were built (believed to have been 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 owner of Panther. One vehicle was written off by a motoring journalist who walked away unhurt from the wreckage.
As of 2020, 11 examples survive in the UK, with all but one listed as SORN (Statutory Off Road Notification, to legally notify the government that the vehicle will not be driven on public roads).[9]
| Chassis Number | Colour | Owner | Country | Registration Number |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 012 | Blue | - | South Korea | F59SWC |
| 013 | Crash test vehicle | |||
| 014 | Red | Y C Kim, passed on to his son | South Korea | G846 WEV |
| 015 | Silver | Andie Wills | United Kingdom | D15 OLO (formerly G521 FNO) |
| 016 | Red | - | South Korea | - |
| 017 | Red | Scott McDonagh | - | - |
| 018 | Red | Stephen Allan Vine | United Kingdom | G308 XAR (formerly SPC 21) |
| 019 | Metallic Red | Bruno Eismark | United Kingdom | G307XAR (formerly RT 40) |
| 020 | No car produced | |||
| 021 | No car produced | |||
| 022 | Metallic Blue | Jamie MacRae | - | G99 EDA |
| 023 | Red | "Athan Athanasiou" | United Kingdom | H736 HEV |
| 024 | Metallic Green | David Carter | United Kingdom | H732 HEV |
| 025 | Yellow | - | Japan | G559VYW |
| 026 | Red | Justin Ross | United States of America | D5 OLO (formerly H731 HEV) |
| 027 | Metallic Silver | Robin Tracy | United Kingdom | BNZ 5010 (formerly 11 JKP) |
| 028 | Green | Kenny Rogers | Spain | H733 HEV |
| 029 | Red | - | California, USA | - |
| 030 | Metallic Red | J Wootton | United Kingdom | H75 OLO |
| 031 | Red | George Forrest | - | H734 HEV |
| 032 | Grey | - | South Korea | - |
Sources and further reading
edit- ^ [1] Archived 20 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ [2] Archived 17 May 2006 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Ouaknine, Joest Jonathan (10 June 2007). "Brève rencontre: Ssangyong dans la course". Leblogauto.com (in French). Retrieved 17 August 2023.
- ^ a b c Hutton, Ray. "Preview: Panther Solo 2", in Car and Driver, 1/88, p.125.
- ^ "Panther Solo Road Test 1990". Autocar. 8 August 1990.
- ^ a b c Hutton, p.127.
- ^ Hutton, pp.125-6.
- ^ a b c d e Hutton, p.126.
- ^ Olly Smith. "PANTHER SOLO - How Many Left?". Howmanyleft.co.uk. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
- ^ [3] Archived 7 November 2007 at the Wayback Machine