1907 Panhard Levassor U2 Charabanc
Arrival in Australia - Johnston Family - to 1954
This 1907 Panhard et Levassor U2 Charabanc was originally a military vehicle and came to Australia possibly around 1917/1918. It was bought by Thomas and Charles Johnston who ran a shop in Brunswick (suburb of Melbourne) and used it as a business vehicle.
The old vehicle was still in good mechanical order so when the family decided to move to Bendigo in 1920, they all put their many skills into building a Charabanc body. The Panhard made quite a few trips from Melbourne to Bendigo shifting all the families and belongings.
Tom and Charlie Johnston bought the Sandhurst Brick Works and used the Panhard for a pleasure vehicle until 1931. It was then put into a shed and forgotten.
Ron Stephenson - 1954 to 1966
In 1954 Ron Stephenson paid one pound for it from his great Aunt Louis Johnston who had been left these possessions when Thomas Johnston died.
Ron Stephenson spent 18 months cleaning and trying to restore it and at this stage removed the body to get to the gearbox. He never got the motor going as the magneto and carby were missing.
Norman Strack - 1966 to ?
In 1966 Ron Stephenson sold it for ten pounds to Norman Strack who worked for the Melbourne Age Newspaper who restored it to running order and it was seen running in 1958.
Parkers of Colac - ? to 1982
When Norman died it passed into the hands of Mr. Parker of Colac and remained there until the business Parkers of Colac closed, and old man Parker died. Noel and Ali Roscrow, and Murray Lindner, travelled to Colac to bid on the Panhard at an auction for Parkers of Colac.
Roscrow Family and Restoration - 1982 to ?
Noel Roscrow purchased the vehicle at the auction in 1982 where he met Ron Stephenson, the great nephew of the first owner in Australia, who admitted that the age of 12 had cut the top of the vehicle.
Noel was lucky in that he found an enthusiast who helped restore the Panhard. As they were not woodworkers, they asked Finch and Hocking (now Finch Restorations) to do the woodwork and the design of the Charabanc was thought up by Murray and Noel.
Many hundreds of hours were spent building the vehicle at Noel’s “playpen” at Bowden. Ali Roscrow still has a complete photographic file of each step of the restoration.
Through friends the Roscrows obtained a complete book and manual of Panhards, unfortunately it was written in French and Murray spent many hours sitting with a French friend, Mrs. Charles Routhouser, who translated it for Murray.
Noel and Ali also travelled overseas to obtain parts and obtained some from an associate in Jersey.
Murray was very much in love with the vehicle and knew every nut and bolt. He drove it to Canberra on the 1988 Bicentennial Rally. It also took part in the Bay to Birdwood runs of which Noel was chairman for many years.
Tom Wheatcroft, Donnington Museum
A very long standing and special friend of the Roscrows, Tom Wheatcroft (Donnington Museum and racetrack) also fell in love with the vehicle and purchased it so he could take part in the London to Brighton run. It was shipped it to England to the Donnington Museum.
Admiral J. William Middendorf II - 1999 - Present
The car presently belongs to Admiral J. William Middendorf II - former US Secretary of the Navy, Olympic field hockey judge, Ambassador to the Netherlands, Goldwater campaign treasurer, master’s rowing champion, Grand Chevalier, Grand Master of the Order of Naval Merit, Chairman of Ronald Reagan’s Intelligence Operations Group.
Admiral Middendorf purchased it at an auction for the Donnington Museum and shipped the Pannard et Levassor to the United States.
This 1907 Panhard et Levassor U2 Charabanc won the Concours International - Award for Timeless Elegance at the 2011 Greenwich Concours d'Elegance in Connecticut.
The car has featured in Hemmings Motor News at least twice.
- Hemmings: Those cars, all new, so small: The Panhard et Levassor U2 by David Traver Adolphus, 06-Jun-2007
- Hemmings: ''You Are Mad'' We ride in one of the cars that made France great by David Traver Adolphus, 23-Sep-2018
1986 B2B Video with Finch and Hocking
The footage of Ray and Wayne starts at 4:14.
