Panther Kallista: Spring is coming!

January is the perfect time to buy a convertible. The whole world has been paralyzed by another soggy rainy winter and another fifty shades of gray are planned for the coming months. And we have never seen the fun of that. And because we have a broad mindset and a clear preference for usable classics, we are happy with a Panther Kallista.

The dream volume model

And those Kallistas were intended at Panther as a sales highlight for the eighties of the last century. They were then 'retro' and now 'neo classic' or 'classic'. Whether you should also cover the SsangTong Kallista built up to (or in) 1992 with the mantle of love? By the way, only 78 were made. So you're in the right place in terms of rarity.

Better off ...

The Panther West Winds Car Company was founded in 1972 by Bob Jankel and built special cars, often inspired by real classics. The factory was located near the Brooklands race track in Surrey. The main models built were the J72, a 'replica' of the Jaguar SS110. It could be supplied with Jaguar technology from 3,8-5,3 liters. About 375 have been made. The Rio was an angular design based on the bottom of the Triumph Dolomite. The Lima Series One was supposed to be something Bugatti-like and was made on the chassis of the Vauxhall Magnum. After about 600 copies came the Lima Series 2 of which about 300 were made.

Bad taste XXL

The DeVille was a big thing along the lines of the Bugatti Royale. Between 1974 and 1982, there were 11 buyers with enough flavor, but without too much good taste. But you can't argue about taste.

But in the meantime we were in England. So Panther got into financial trouble. In 1980 the brand was bought by Jindo industrial Co. Ltd with address 17-6, Jugyeopsan-ro 269beon-gil, Soheul-eup, Pocheon-si, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea and renamed Panther Car Company.

The new aluminum-bodied Kallista was introduced in late 1982. In late 1983, when production of Kallista got underway, the company relocated its manufacturing facilities to a new location within the Brooklands circuit and retained the Canada Road site for its service division. Production continued there until 1988. The company then moved to a new location in Harlow and continued making the Kallista and then the Solo.

And that Kallista should have become the volume model

The two-seater was a friendly mix of classic clean lines, pleasant curves and rock-solid Ford technology. The motorization was between 1600 four-cylinder and 2,8 and 2,9 liter six-cylinder. As a 'volume model' barely 1450 were made between 1982-1990.

Then came the Solo and the exhibitionistic Panther 6 with six wheels and an 8,2 liter V8 with two turbos.

The curtain fell after the handful of SsangYongs we mentioned.

We found the Kallista who brought us to this story at Big Boys Toys in Hoevelaken, where he happily 'shined' between a whole bunch of Corvettes. Endearing: Such a Kallista is not prestigious. He does not mercilessly command respect. But such a Kallista is pleasantly affordable, brave and sweet, and a bit tough. You can relax with it. And with the Ford four-cylinder technology, you could do your shopping with it in slightly better weather.

Also nice: the Panther 6… That has not become a volume model, let alone a revenue model