Lot 515: 1900 Clement-Panhard 4½hp Type VCP Voiture Legere Two-Seater

�The whole back of the motorcar beneath the seat was one mass of machinery of every description, and it was all entirely exposed... If the seat were lifted when the engine was running, the sight that met one�s gaze was worthy of an opium-smoker�s delirium. Countless gear-wheels could be seen whirling round at prodigious speed.� - St John Nixon, The Antique Automobile.

Already a successful maker of bicycles and pneumatic tyres � he owned the Dunlop patents in France - Adolphe Cl�ment diversified into automobile manufacture in 1899, taking an interest in the existing Gladiator concern. Rear-engined tricycles and quadricycles were made at the Gladiator works in Levallois-sur-Seine before Cl�ment began building a conventional front-engined light car around 1901. Cl�ment�s early vehicles were powered by Aster, Panhard and De Dion engines, all three makes being at the forefront of automobile development.
The Cl�ment-Panhard was designed by Commandant Arthur Constantine Krebs, who had succeeded Emile Levassor as technical and production manager of Panhard & Levassor. It was assembled by Ateliers Cl�ment at Levallois - Adolphe Clement was a P & L board member. Krebs was a first-class engineer who had built a successful airship in 1884 and subsequently designed an excellent automatic carburettor, but the whole concept of his Cl�ment-Panhard was so eccentric that, in the early days of the London-Brighton Veteran Car Run, these 1900-02 cars were thought to date from the early 1890s. Among the peculiarities of the Cl�ment-Panhard were centre-pivot steering, a totally exposed gear transmission and a rear-mounted, not-quite-vertical, single-cylinder engine. To the true �Veteran� enthusiast it represents the sort of challenge that makes completing the Brighton Run so satisfying.
A Mr D J Kettle acquired this car, which was in a dishevelled state, circa 1973 from a Mr Claude Penel, of France. The car was imported into the UK by Mr Kettle on 25th January 1973 and acquired by Sir John Guinness in 1977. An extensive restoration then ensued, with much of the work being carried out by Lady Val Guinness, the car�s regular driver. In recent years Nick Crewdson, of Dorking has worked on the car.
�AH 48� has benefited from long-term ownership within the Guinness family, participating regularly in the VCC�s London-Brighton Run, as evidenced by the 20-or-so finisher�s plaques/medallions that come with it. The 1900 Cl�ment-Panhard was No. 62 in last year�s Run, so an early starter.
The car is finished in green with black wings and red upholstery, and is presented in a generally worn, patinated condition. A metal label affixed to the body reads �Andre de Neve, 41 Rue Laubier, Paris 17e� while the chassis plate reads �VCP 244� and the engine label quotes the unit�s number a �356�. �VCP� (Voitures Cl�ment-Panhard) is also stamped on the body beneath the seat. The headlamps are Lucas No. 722 and the rear light is a sprung Calcia Club from the same manufacturer.
The car comes with plentiful correspondence and large files of history, the latter containing sundry invoices from Cecil Bendall�s company, Brentclass dating from the 1990s; many past MoTs dating from 1977 to the present day; VCC dating certificate (issued January 2002); and an original Cl�ment-Panhard �Typ VCP� instruction manual (French text) together with an English translation. MoT�d to October 2008, the car is offered with Swansea V5C document (quoting correct chassis/engine numbers) for the registration number �AH 48�, which comes with it.