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Revision as of 15:45, 16 March 2007
Robert Jankel (January 1, 1938 – May 25, 2005) was arguably the world's most famous designer of limousines, armored cars and other specialty vehicles. He also founded the automotive company Panther Westwinds.
Early life
Born in London in 1938, Jankel was educated at St Paul's School and studied engineering at Chelsea College. He was an avid sportsman and a member of the St. Paul's rowing team. Jankel built his first car in 1954: a wrecked Austin Seven which he rebuilt and customized. After an unsuccessful attempt at selling cars he agreed to join the family fashion business, Goldenfelds. During his time as a fashion designer, he still worked on cars, including a classic 1930 Rolls-Royce, which he completely rebuilt in 1970. On a trip to Spain, a bullfighter offered Jankel £10,000 for the Rolls-Royce. It was this sale that inspired Jankel to found a legitimate automobile company.
Jankel married his wife Jennifer Loss, daughter of bandleader Joe Loss, in 1962. The couple had three sons and a daughter.
Panther Westwinds
In 1972, Jankel left the fashion industry to found auto company Panther Westwinds in Weybridge, Surrey, England. The company was named "Panther" because of its similarity to Jaguar and "Westwinds" after the Jankel family's home. The company's first car, a prototype two-seater called the Panther J72, was powered by a Jaguar engine and modeled after the Jaguar SS100. Although the asking price for the J72 was around twice that of contemporary Jaguar models, magazine advertisements generated enough interest for Jankel to produce one J72 a week during the car's production. Roughly 300 were produced.
In 1975, Jankel produced the Panther De Ville, powered by a Jaguar V12 engine and modeled after the Bugatti Royale. The De Ville cost twice as much as a Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow, and only the wealthiest of collectors could afford it. The Panther Rio, launched the same year, was based on the Triumph Dolomite. The luxurious saloon cost three times as much as a Dolomite, however, and only 40 were produced.
The Panther Six, a two-seater roadster outfitted with six wheels, followed in 1977, but because of its high cost, unconventional design and relative obscurity, only two were produced.
Jankel's most successful vehicle was the Panther Lima. The Lima was styled like a 1930s roadster but used modern fibreglass technology for the body, which was built around a steel framework and chassis. More than 1,000 of the two marks of this popular model were built.
The Jankel Group
Despite the success of the Lima, Panther Westwind went bankrupt in 1979, and it was subsequently sold to South Korean businessman Young Kim. Jankel then turned his focus to the Jankel Group, a coachbuilding firm he had founded in 1955. Until Jankel lost Panther Westwind, however, the firm had been little more than a hobby.
For the Jankel Group, Jankel concentrated on building specialist versions of cars for other high-end manufacturers, mostly Rolls-Royce, Bentley, Mercedes-Benz and Jaguar. From 1983 to 1989, Jankel was the exclusive subcontractor to Rolls-Royce to build more than 100 units of the Silver Spur Limousine. For Range Rover, he built a number of specialist hunting and all-terrain vehicles for Middle East customers.
Most of Jankel's work from the 1990s to his death in 2005 was dedicated to building police vehicles, high-protection armored cars and exotic luxury stretch limousines. In 1995, Jankel produced armoured cars for law enforcement agencies, including the Metropolitan Police. All of Jankel's police vehicles were built on GM and Ford chassis. Jankel bought back the Panther name in 2001 and was working on a new Panther sports car when he died.
Jankel was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2001, but remained an active member of the Jankel Group until his death on May 25, 2005. The Jankel Group continues to build made-to-order specialty vehicles to this day.