page_title: Panhard 24
section_title: Chronology
hierarchical_section_title: Panhard 24 / Chronology
caption_attribution_description: Photographed at the Cité de l’Automobile, France. OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
context_page_description: The Panhard 24 is a compact two-door coupé automobile produced between 1964 and 1967 by French manufacturer Panhard. It was powered by a front-mounted air-cooled two-cylinder boxer motor: the basic design of this unconventional engine dated back to the 1940s. In 1965 a lengthened Panhard 24 was launched and promoted as a two-door four- or five-seat saloon. Plans for a four-door version which might have enabled the car more effectively to replace the commercially successful Panhard PL 17 saloon were never implemented, however.
  Although the 24 had no Panhard badged successor, a number of the features of the Citroën GS which appeared in 1970 respected Panhard traditions. The Panhard 24 may be thought of as the swan song of Panhard automobile production.
context_section_description: The car received a memorable press launch on 23 June 1963. A two-tone Panhard 24 CT coloured in plum and grey was presented (although two-tone paintwork would "not" be a regular feature of the production versions). Journalists were shown the car in a large garden near Montlhéry, with a backdrop of antique statues and rose bushes, complemented by imaginative lighting effects.
  Two versions were offered from 1964, being the 24 C and the 24 CT. They were promoted respectively as a four-seater and as a 2+2, but they shared a wheelbase of 2,290 mm (90.2 in) and the same interior dimensions. The C had a relatively basic interior and an advertised engine output of 42 bhp (DIN) equating to 50 bhp (SAE): relatively few were sold and this version was dropped after a year. The CT was more luxuriously equipped and boasted an engine output of 50 bhp (DIN) equating to 60 bhp (SAE). The CT would prove more popular: it continued in production until 1967.
  It seems that overall sales volumes were from the start lower than Panhard had anticipated for the car, which may have contributed to arguments against progressing development of the four-door version that had been envisaged. Although mid-size two-door saloons sold in reasonable numbers in Germany and the Alpine countries, a glance at the sales data suggests that in the French market four doors were a precondition for healthy sales volumes.
  In 1965, the 2,550 mm (100.4 in) wheelbase versions became available, offering space for four or five, but still only with two doors. These were designated the Panhard 24 B and the Panhard 24 BT. Equipment levels and engine options were as for the shorter C and CT versions.
  In 1966, possibly in a belated bid for the mass market, a stripped down basic version, the Panhard 24 BA was offered. In contrast to the 24s offered for sale thus far, this one had a very basic interior. Even the lidded glove box was replaced by an open shelf. Very few 24 BAs were produced, although enthusiasts have suggested that they nevertheless compromised the upmarket image of the more expensive versions.
  Production of the Panhard 24 officially ended on 20 July 1967.
  Citroën, having been an influential shareholder with a 25% holding since 1955, assumed full control of Panhard's automotive business in April 1965. During 1964 and 1965 Panhard had produced approximately 10,000 24s per year: 1966 saw that rate approximately halved. Still desperately short of production capacity, Citroën faced a choice between developing the Panhard 24 and perpetuating the Panhard brand or using the capacity of the Ivry plant to increase further the output of the popular 2 CV vans. The vans won. It is hard to establish how far plans for a four-door Panhard 24, for an estate version and for a cabriolet were permitted to progress: clearly, however, these range extending variants never saw the light of day.
  There had been no medium-sized sedan bearing the Citroen name since the 1930s. The Citroën GS introduced in 1970 finally plugged that gap in the Citroen range, and in the process paid tribute to the Panhard heritage. The GS was an exceptionally aerodynamic, modern and spacious medium-sized sedan with a compact air-cooled four-cylinder boxer motor driving the front wheels. Apart from the number of cylinders, that description fits pretty well with the car the Panhard 24 would have become had Panhard been permitted to build the range into a more direct replacement for the Panhard PL 17.
caption: 1964 Panhard 24CT, the short wheelbase version
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