A 1901 Panhard et Levassor with an unusual Cab Phaeton body and a driver's position ahead of the passenger compartment sold for £460,000 at Bonhams' London auction on 30 October 2026. The figure includes the buyer's premium. Its pre-sale estimate was £300,000-£350,000, although that estimate and the final price including fees are not directly comparable.
The car, chassis number 624, is a rare four-cylinder example from one of the industry's pioneering manufacturers. Its coachwork, attributed rather than definitively credited to the Parisian firm Kellner, follows the form of a Hansom Cab. The chauffeur sits at an exposed forward control position, while passengers occupy a sheltered rear compartment with drop-down windows, a leather apron and upholstered seats. The arrangement reflects the early motorcar's close relationship with horse-drawn private transport.
A 2.4-litre inline-four provides the power, delivered to the rear wheels through a four-speed gearbox and side chains. The most unusual detail is the electrically operated gear selection: a ring beneath the steering wheel controls the changes. Braking combines bands acting on the rear wheels with mechanisms that press against the rear tyres themselves. These details place the car firmly in the experimental years before modern automotive layouts and controls became standardized.
Bonhams traces the car's first delivery through factory records. It went to a Parisian performer identified as Mademoiselle Thorcy on 22 April 1901 and subsequently passed to art collector Arthur Weil-Picard. At some point early in its life, the driving controls were moved back inside the passenger compartment, giving the vehicle a more conventional layout. A later owner restored the original forward driving position, which is how it was presented at the sale.
Its later history is unusually well documented. The Panhard spent many years on display in a French museum and was owned by former Veteran Car Club president Brian Moore. It participated in the London to Brighton run in 1996 and appeared at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance in 2008. It was offered from a substantial private collection in the Netherlands, where it had been kept since around 2021.
For an early car, the appeal extends beyond its rarity. The surviving paperwork, restored driving arrangement and unconventional electrical gear control provide a tangible record of how rapidly car design was changing at the turn of the twentieth century.