Louis-René Panhard and Émile Levassor partnered to build automobiles in 1890 using engines licensed from Daimler. Arthur Krebs, a pioneering French aeronautics and automotive engineer, joined the firm in 1897 as general manager and continued with the company through 1916. By 1908, both founders had died and the business passed to Panhard’s son Hippolyte and nephew Paul.

Their earliest designs featured a front-mounted radiator, with the engine directly behind, moved from the popular centrally mounted engine location used by others. By combining this new configuration with a centrally located transmission, driveshaft, and rear-wheel drive, they achieved better balance and improved steering, setting the standard layout of the System Panhard that was to last for decades. By 1910, the firm moved to the Knight sleeve-valve technology patented by American Charles Knight.

Panhard was the first automobile in full production in France, with over 1,000 units per year before the onset of WWI. During the war, their cars were in demand by the military and political elite, sharing factory space with the munitions required for the war. When peacetime returned in 1919, the firm’s next models, including the 10 CV (hp) series were introduced. By then, Panhard plants covered an area of nearly 80,000 square meters, with a staff totaling 6,800, which placed them among the most important French firms of the time.

New models of the four-cylinder 10 CV were launched with progressive improvements as the X19, X37, and X44. The next upgrade to the X47, shown here, provided a larger engine – now 1.5 liters – and a more tapered grille. It was priced at around 40,000 French francs when new.

Featuring Weymann coachwork, this X47 Limousine was purchased from the Prince of Monaco by the Mullin Collection in 2012. It had been kept for years in the family’s museum in the principality as part of a collection assembled over roughly 30 years by Prince Rainier III, who passed away in 2005. The X47 is believed to retain its original Weymann coachwork, with the interior having been restored in gray cloth. It is a finely finished example of a high-quality French automobile from a storied marque.

*Please note that all of the Lots in this Auction have been in long-term static storage at the Mullin Automotive Museum and may not be currently operational. They will require mechanical attention and in some cases significant restoration prior to any road use.