Presentation of Panhard 24 hp chassis - used by Captain Genty

The 6th International Automobile, Cycle and Sports show organised by the Automobile Club of France was held at the Grand Palais in Paris from 10 to 25 December 1903. This show attracted 150,000 visitors and was a chance to see new products.

The 24 hp chassis model presented by Panhard and Levassor was of interest to Captain Genty. The captain was well-known for his exceptional knowledge of motor cars; he was assigned to the 12th Vincennes Artillery regiment, where he commanded the first artillery company responsible for the maintenance of military vehicles


Poster for 6th motor show

He was always on the look-out for high-performance vehicles and he chose the Panhard 24 hp for the army, with its armoured non-deforming wooden chassis and remarkable speed (70 km/h), for use as a rapid reconnaissance vehicle. A few months later, he received authorisation to install a machine gun in it. This is how he designed and built the famous "machine gun car" christened the "Panhard-Genty".

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION...

Book : Alain Gougaud, l’aube de la gloire les autos mitrailleuses et les chars français pendant la grande guerre (The dawn of glory: French machine gun cars and tanks in the Great War), Océbur, 1987

Source : https://2.bp.blogspot.com