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The Ro-80 was a truly advanced front-wheel drive saloon. It combined the first commercially developed twin-rotor Wankel engine with front-wheel drive and semi-automatic transmission, a spacious interior, and a low-drag body shape. With its four wheel disc brakes and excellent suspension, the Ro-80 was praised as the car of the future and was named car […]

The Wankel-Spider was the world’s first rotary-engined production car. NSU had been experimenting with Wankel-patent rotary engines since the mid-1950s. The Wankel-Spider is a roadster version of the Sports-Prinz, aimed at the more sporting driver. Apart from the removal of the top, the only outward styling difference was the two-piece grill added to the front.

This French manufacturer built its first motorcar in 1891. In the early days of the automobile, the company led the way in French car design and motor racing. By the 1930s, Panhard had become known for its medium sized and touring cars. Following 1945, Panhard concentrated on building cheaper models typically owned by family motorists.

This car is a one-off prototype built by Ghia-Aigle of Lugano, Switzerland for the 1954 Geneva Auto Show. The body is hand-formed aluminum and the chassis and drivetrain are identical to the Panhard Dyna Jr found nearby. This car was originally purchased by Seymour Northrop of Spokane, Washington and has spent its entire life in

René Panhard and Emilé Levassor built their first car in 1890, a mid-engined, back-to-back horseless carriage. The following year, they built what many consider to be the first modern car, in terms of architecture: front mounted engine, clutch mounted between the engine and gearbox, and a driven rear axle. Almost all automobiles would follow this layout

In 1891, Panhard built a batch of 4 identical cars, followed by series after series of increasing numbers. Although Benz and Daimler built cars earlier, they were isolated examples. Chronologically, this makes Panhard-Levassor the world’s first make of car in continuous production. During WWI, Panhard-Levassor produced cars, trucks, marine and aircraft engine, tractors, tools, machine

The main business of Peel Engineering Company, located on the Isle of Man, was making fiberglass molds for motorcycle fairings and boat hulls. In 1955, the company entered the car market. Peel is most famous for the P50–introduced in 1962 and certainly the world’s smallest ever passenger car. In Peel’s literature, it stated that the

Peel Engineering holds a unique place in automotive history for producing the world’s smallest car (P-50) and the world’s smallest 2-seater car (the Trident). The Peel Trident was an evolution of the P-50. It was made slightly larger to accommodate two modest-size adults. The Peel Trident is not very roomy, and when two people sit

Most people associate Peel Engineering with the building of fiberglass bike fairings and microcars. Peel also made a couple of different car models based on then-current production cars’ running gear. The car seen here is a Peel Viking, which is one of only seven left known to exist. Peel actually never produced the whole car;