The Panther J.72 was an ultra-exclusive

luxury Luxury may refer to: *Luxury goods, an economic good or service for which demand increases more than proportionally as income rises *Luxury tax, a tax on products not considered essential, such as speedboats or diamonds. **Luxury tax (sports), a ...

roadster, the first production vehicle of the

Panther Westwinds Panther Westwinds (commonly known as Panther) was a manufacturer of niche sports cars and luxury cars, based in Surrey, England between 1972 and 1990. History Founded in 1972 by Robert Jankel, the Panther company initially manufactured retro-s ...

company. Styled to evoke the

Jaguar SS100 The SS Jaguar 100 is a British 2-seat sports car built between 1936 and 1939 by SS Cars Ltd of Coventry, England. The manufacturer's name 'SS Cars' used from 1934 maintained a link to the previous owner, Swallow Sidecar, founded in 1922 by ...

and sold from 1972 to 1981, it used mechanicals from the

Jaguar XJ The Jaguar XJ is a series of mid-size/full-size luxury cars produced by British automobile manufacturer Jaguar Cars (becoming Jaguar Land Rover in 2013) from 1968 to 2019. It was produced across four basic platform generations (debuting in 1968 ...

, including its 5.3 L

V12 engine A V12 engine is a twelve-Cylinder (engine), cylinder Internal combustion engine#Reciprocating engines, piston engine where two banks of six cylinders are arranged in a V engine, V configuration around a common crankshaft. V12 engines are more c ...

. It was also offered with Jaguar's 3.8 L and 4.2 L XK engines. The J.72 was a success for the small company, with its Connolly leather upholstery, and aluminum coachwork. The car was purchased by a celebrity clientele, including comedian Redd Foxx, Freddy Mercury, and Elizabeth Taylor. A total of 368 units were produced.The first units were assembled at Michael Walker's garage, Woking. The chassis was supplied by Geoff Jago near Chichester, The engines and gearboxes came from Forward Engineering, Coventry. The chassis was built up then sent away to have the body fitted, returned for Engine fitting, then sent to the trimmers for the interior and hood. Final work and start-up was carried out at Michael Walkers, Woking, including test drives around the local country roads. A custom made J72 was ordered to be made using a

V-12 engine A V12 engine is a twelve-cylinder piston engine where two banks of six cylinders are arranged in a V configuration around a common crankshaft. V12 engines are more common than V10 engines. However, they are less common than V8 engines. The f ...

. In 1973 it was shown at The Frankfurt Motor Show, it was popular, and the V12 became a regular

upgrade Upgrading is the process of replacing a product with a newer version of the same product. In computing and consumer electronics, an upgrade is generally a replacement of hardware, software or firmware with a newer or better version, in order to ...

option for an extra £4,000. On 26 May 1976, Robert Jankel wrote to the Office of Compliance,

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA ) is an agency of the U.S. federal government, part of the Department of Transportation, focused on automobile safety regulations. NHTSA is charged with writing and enforcing Feder ...

in the US to comply with Part 578 of the Defect Report procedure. Six vehicles had a defect with the fuel tank which, in the event of a crash, was at risk of being pierced by the rear body mounting bolts. If this happened fuel would spill out and could cause a fire. Panther Westwinds Ltd notified the dealers and the first purchasers of the defect and told them what modifications were needed to fix the problem. File:1976 Panther J72.jpg, 1976 Panther J72 File:1980 Panther J72.jpg, 1980 Panther J72 File:Panther J72 cockpit.jpg, Panther J72 interior

Sources and further reading

{{Panther Westwinds J72 Retro-style automobiles Roadsters Luxury vehicles Cars introduced in 1972 1980s cars Cars discontinued in 1981