Robert Jankel
 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification.(July 2008) |
Robert Jankel(1 January 1938 – 25 May 2005) was a British designer oflimousines,armoured cars,and other speciality vehicles. He also founded the automotive companyPanther Westwinds.
Early life[edit]
Born inLondonon 1st January 1938, Jankel was educated atSt Paul's School,he enjoyed sport especially rowing.[1]He studied engineering atChelsea College.[1]
Jankel built his first car in 1954: he rebuilt and customised a wreckedAustin 7.[1]After an unsuccessful attempt at selling cars, he agreed to join the familyfashionbusiness, Goldenfields. During his time as a fashion designer, he still worked on cars, including a classic 1930Rolls-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 an automobile company.
Panther Westwinds[edit]
In 1972, Jankel left the fashion industry to found motor company Panther Westwinds inWeybridge,Surrey,England.The company was named "Panther" because of its similarity toJaguarand "Westwinds" after the Jankel family's home. The company's first car, a prototype two-seater called thePanther J72,was powered by a Jaguar engine and modelled after theJaguar 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 500 were produced.
In 1974, Jankel produced thePanther De Ville,powered by a Jaguar engine and modelled after theBugatti Royale.The De Ville cost twice as much as aRolls-Royce Silver Shadow,and only the wealthiest of collectors could afford it. ThePanther Rio,launched after one year, was based on theTriumph Dolomite.The luxurious saloon cost three times as much as a Dolomite, however, and only 38 were produced.[2]
ThePanther 6,a two-seaterroadsteroutfitted with six wheels, followed in 1977, but because of its high cost (US$96,000[3]) and unconventional design, only two were produced: one black and one white. The cars were fitted with a powerful Cadillac V8 Turbocharged engine, a detachable hard top and convertible soft top, electronic instruments, a 17,000 BTU air conditioner,[3]an automatic fire extinguisher, electric seats and windows, a telephone and a dashboard-mounted television set.
Jankel's most successful vehicle was thePanther Lima.The Lima was styled like a 1930s roadster but used modernfibreglasstechnology for the body, which was built around a steel framework and chassis. More than 1,000 of the two marques of this model were built.
The Jankel Group[edit]
Panther Westwind went bankrupt in 1979, and it was subsequently sold toSouth Koreanbusinessman Young Kim. Jankel then turned his focus to the Jankel Group, a coachbuilding company he had founded in 1955 but the firm had been little more than a hobby.
Forthe Jankel Group,Jankel concentrated on building specialist versions of cars for other high-end manufacturers, mostly Rolls-Royce,Bentley,Mercedes-Benzand Jaguar. From 1983 to 1989, Jankel was the exclusive subcontractor to Rolls-Royce to build more than 100 units of theSilver SpurLimousine. ForRange Rover,he built a number of specialist hunting and all-terrain vehicles for Middle Eastern customers.
In 1992, he built the Jankel Tempest, aChevrolet Corvette-based super car, with ultra-luxury interior and 6.7 litresuperchargedV8,which produced 535 bhp and was capable of 200 mph, as well as holding the 1992Guinness Book of Records0-60 mph acceleration record of 3.89 seconds.
Most of Jankel's work from the 1990s to his death in 2005 was dedicated to building police vehicles, high-protection armoured cars and exotic luxury stretch limousines. In 1995, Jankel produced armoured cars for many police services, including theMetropolitan Police.All of Jankel's police vehicles were built onGMandFordchassis. Jankel bought back the Panther name in 2001 and was working on the design of a new Panther sports car when he died in 2005.
The Jankel Group continues to build made-to-order speciality vehicles.[4][5]
Personal life[edit]
Jankel marriedJennifer Loss,daughter of bandleaderJoe Loss,in 1962. They had four children together: a daughter and three sons.[1]
Jankel was an avid deer farmer.[1]He and his wife were founding members of North West Surrey Synagogue.[1]
Robert Jankel was diagnosed withpancreatic cancerin 2001. He remained an active member of the Jankel Group until his death in Weybridge on 25 May 2005.[1]
References[edit]
- ^abcdefg"Robert Jankel".The Independent.7 June 2005.Retrieved30 January2023.
- ^Davis, Tony (2005).Extra Lemon!.Bantam. p. 77.ISBN1-86325-550-8.
- ^ab"Wheels: Two for the Show".Playboy.April 1978. p. 247.
- ^"THE JANKEL GROUP LIMITED overview".find-and-update pany-information.service.gov.uk.Retrieved30 January2023.
- ^"Robert JANKEL personal appointments".find-and-update pany-information.service.gov.uk.Retrieved30 January2023.
