France’s first contemporary car to go in sale in November

Bonhams will be offering car collectors a Panhard-Levassor Type A2, one of the world’s first motorized light passenger vehicles issued in 1901. The initial asking price is £250,000. The sales are scheduled for early November.

Panhard no longer exists as a company, having been purchased by Citroen and Auverland in 2005. But back in the very beginning of the 20th century, it made a huge breakthrough by giving France its first mass-produced, contemporary car.

The exact production quantity remains lost to history, but multiple sources claim that only five such cars have survived to this date. The auction copy comes with an official, confirmed ‘pedigree’. It was custom-ordered by car racing pioneer René de Knyff and debuted at a 140-mile (225-km) long race from London to Brighton in 1927.