One hundred and twenty-seven years ago, this Panhard-Levassor lined up to compete at the latest of the arduous tests for the incubatory automobile industry: the city-to-city races. This particular race – from Paris to Amsterdam and back – was the most ambitious.

The event was held over seven days, split into categories of racing, touring, and motorcycles, and the vehicles were to make a series of daily journeys or races. The Panhard-Levassor journeyed from Paris to the Chateau d’Ardennes (294 km), then onto Nimegue (251 km), arriving in Amsterdam (112 km) on July 9th, where the fleet of racers rested for three days. For the return, they traversed to Liège (270 km), through Luxembourg to Verdun (260 km) and arrived back in Paris on Bastille Day (243 km). For the touring cars, a less arduous 11-day route was planned.

In eight short years, Panhard et Levassor had grown from building a handful of cars a year to supplying passenger and commercial vehicles, but its most innovative edge was in racing. After four years of experience in racing and tours, the company carefully honed a format which would become the industry standard – the Système Panhard.

The cars entered at the Paris-Amsterdam were specifically refined in a number of key respects. Firstly, they were immediately distinguishable from any that preceded them, for they debuted a steering wheel in place of the tiller steering, which was present even months earlier at the Paris-Dieppe. This was a logical innovation due to the ever-increasing performance of Panhard’s race cars and the need to manage turns at greater speeds. The steering wheel may not sound like groundbreaking technology today, but it was and it is a watershed moment in racing technology. Steering and roadholding were also improved by the use of Michelin pneumatic tires.

These Panhard race cars were all powered by the latest M4E-Phènix engines, their nominal 8 hp providing at least 40 mph performance on the road. In true racing fashion, both running gear and coachwork were lightened, with the normally bronze castings for crankcase and gearbox replaced by aluminum. The same was true of the skimpy two-seater bodywork, which took a variety of forms, but also utilized aluminum; contemporary reports state many of these were built by J. Rothschild et Fils.

These Panhard-Levassors dominated the city-to-city races entirely. The winning drive of the Paris-Amsterdam propelled Fernand Charron the 1,432 km in precisely 33.4 hours, or an average of 43kph over the course of six driving days. The Automotor and Horseless Vehicle Journal summarized: “It will be seen that the speeds attained were really very high, the highest being more than twice that allowed by the British law.”

In March 1899, despite not having sold any four-cylinder racing cars in 1897 or 1898, Panhard et Levassor sold five cars with consecutive engine numbers: 1451, 1452, 1453, 1454, and 1455, as well as engine number 1516. These were likely the cars campaigned in the previous year. Of that batch of cars, this is the sole surviving example. Interestingly, if one analyzes the Panhard entries at the Paris-Amsterdam in summer 1898, no two were identical, and each had a variation in details: some with brass trim, others without, and each with distinct hood shapes, fender treatments, foot-steps, dashboards, and lamp mountings. When examined at this level of detail, and assuming the hoods were retained despite the possibility of later rebodying with passenger coachwork, the strongest correlation for 1451 is with the car owned by M. Adam and driven by the Comte Bozon de Perigord. However, this is likely a question that will never be definitively answered.

Later that summer, another Paris-Amsterdam-specification car (1617) was acquired by none other than Charles Rolls, who brought it to the UK and, undoubtedly impressed by the marque’s performance and superior engineering, quickly became a Panhard et Levassor agent before founding his eponymous company. That car, 1617, still resides in a British institution today.

One family that was keenly interested in this burgeoning scene was the Laveissière family of Paris. Their business was in metals, with a large factory located in Deville-les-Rouen, just north of Paris. Both Louis Laveissière and his brother were sponsors of the 1896 Paris-Marseille-Paris race, alongside other luminaries of the day such as J. Gordon Bennett, Baron van Zuylen, and the Comte de Dion.

Witnesses to Panhard’s development and racing, the Laveissières would likely have had an inside track with the company, and in March 1899, Louis Laveissière is recorded in the Panhard ledgers as the buyer of 1451.

Remarkably, while a former owner was conducting research in the Peugeot archives in the mid-1990s, a photo of 1451 was found, which was annotated “Paris-Amsterdam.” Interestingly, the design of the coachwork was termed “Americaine,” most likely referencing a type of carriage of the period, which was of particular lightweight construction and saw a format with a step-through front seat to a bench rear seat.

According to notes on the factory ledgers, very early on, Louis passed 1451 on to his brother Lucien, who was resident at Hotel Said, in Paris. As with many of its kind, 1451 was updated by the factory with the latest innovations and upgrades available for their elite clientele. A recently discovered photograph shows 1451 in the form we see today, with its radiator repositioned at the front and a battery box on the side, suggesting it was fitted with new electric ignition, but still with its fully-elliptical rear leaf springs. The distinctive background of this photograph, featuring immaculate topiary in boxes, can be traced to the Laveissière-owned Chateau de la Folie at Draveil in southern Paris, where such trees lined the driveway. The photograph was taken between 1901 and 1903, and it appears to show Lucien looking on as the car is tested on the front drive of the Chateau.

We know few details of Lucien’s ownership, except for annotations to the works records. These note that the radiator was moved to the front of the car early on, and in August 1903, it received “metal brakes.” Below this is a note that it received a “Carb Auto,” the abbreviation for chief designer Krebbs’s more manageable ratchet “automatic” carburetor system.

Between 1959 and 1960, noted collector Bernard de Lassée applied to the Federation Nationale des Clubs Automobiles de France “Les Teuf Teuf,” listing 1451 among other cars that he owned, and noting its license plate as “387AT86.” This license plate can be traced to former owner Charles Maye of Poitiers, and, more interestingly, the 1954-issued plate appears to be an update of the number rather than owner. The prior license plate, “1B1334,” was another Poitiers region plate, first assigned in April 1921, around the time Mr. Maye acquired 1451. Mr. Maye’s flamboyant “Ch. Maye Fils” letterhead of 1916 describes his business as being a specialist in art for building and an entrepreneur, while his father’s business specialized in petrol and gas engines. It is likely that by 1921 the Panhard was quite a curiosity to them.

Bernard de Lassée’s collection was the basis for the original Musée de L’Automobile de la Sarthe, which celebrated the history of the motorcar at the Le Mans circuit. On June 11, 1961, at the opening of the Le Mans Museum, 1451 still wore the physical Poitiers license plate “1B1334,” supporting the fact that Mr. Maye had been the owner since 1921. It also retained its lightweight bodywork and metal fenders. However, within the next year it appears to have been restored, and the fenders replaced with wood. A small circular motif, which is visible on the side of the rear seat in the ex-works photograph, was still present at that time, but appears to have been lost in a repaint that same year. Additionally, its rear wheels had been cut down to match the front ones, which was normal for most Panhards from 1902 onward.

Bernard de Lassée sold both 1451 and his 1912 S.P.A. Torpedo to his son Jean-Claude in 1977. According to a copy of an invoice on file, 1451 was listed as Paris-Amsterdam, predating any access to the resources of the Panhard ledgers. Chassis 1451 remained on display as the collection moved in part to Châtellerault into the late 1980s. When that was dispersed, 1451 passed briefly to M. Ferrand, and then to G. Moed of the Netherlands.

Mike Timms of the UK, a noted collector of early motorcars, was in the process of building a formidable stable of “London to Brighton” cars in the 1990s, and purchased 1451 for his collection in 1995. Mr. Timm’s acquisition of 1451, combined with advice he received at the time, led him to dive deeply into the car’s history – and indeed the history of all racing cars of 1451’s era. Fueled by this curiosity, Mr. Timms submitted an application to the Veteran Car Club (VCC) of Great Britain for confirmation of 1451’s age. The resulting in-depth report allowed the VCC to conclude that 1451 was an ex-works racer, sold post-career, and that it was likely built in 1898.

Mr. Timms then embarked on a thorough restoration of 1451. In the course of this restoration, it became evident that at some point the car had been updated beyond just its carburetor. The wooden rectangle of its flitch-plated frame had been replaced with C-section metal longerons, and the rear springs had been converted from fully elliptical to semi-elliptical springs. Though the precise timing of those updates remains unknown, it is possible that they date back to 1451’s earliest days, particularly given the Laveissière’s involvement in the metals business.

On completion of its restoration, 1451 ran successfully on the centennial London to Brighton Veteran Car Run in 1996. By merit of its performance and advanced mechanical specification, it quickly bypassed the more pedestrian early machinery and was first across the line not only that year, but the next two years as well. Later in Mr. Timms’s 30-year ownership, a “Course”-type body was built for 1451, moving the rear-seat portion of the body forward to serve as the main seating. In that guise, 1451 was displayed around the UK and Europe. While undeniably sporting in this form, the majority of early touring events are sociable affairs, and 1451 was later returned to its original and current form as an Americaine four-person seater. This 19th century Course Type Paris-Amsterdam racer is both incredibly important and a testament to Panhard’s foresight in making automobiles practical by design. Chassis 1451 remains eminently usable today, further enhanced by the addition of a modern starter motor.

Never before shown or toured in the US, 1451 offers its next custodian the opportunity to do so – in addition to potentially serving as the opening statement in any major collection, few of which can claim 19th century origins, true racing specification, and the chance to experience Victorian-era motoring.