The Panther 6 (or Six) was an extravagant six-wheel convertible powered by a mid-mounted 8.2 L Cadillac V8 engine with twin turbochargers. It was produced by Panther in 1977 and only two cars were ever made (one white, one black) both of which still exist. One is in Saudi Arabia and the other was shown at the 2008 NEC Classic Car Show by the Panther Car Club and at the 2015 Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este by Albert Fellner.
The six wheel configuration was inspired by the Tyrrell P34 formula 1 car. The layout was one pair of rear wheels with 265/50 VR16 tyres and two pairs of steerable front wheels with 205/40 VR13 tyres. The specification included a detachable hard top and convertible soft top, electronic instruments, air conditioning, an automatic fire extinguisher, electric seats and windows, a telephone and a television set.
Claims for the top speed of this vehicle suggested it was capable of over 200 mph (322 km/h); however, these are so far unsubstantiated.
The original Panther 6 shown below, and the only one officially built was black, and was constructed in secret at the home of Bob Jankel. When exhibited at the 1977 Motorfair, it took the show by storm, and was the car of the show. I personally saw this actual car in London in the late 1970s, and it looked more akin to something off Thunderbirds, than an actual real car. The 4 front wheels did serve a purpose, it was said that in wet weather, the first set of front wheels cleared a path through the water for the second set of front wheels to grip the road better
