Panhard X46

The Panhard et Levassor X46 was a large touring car that the French maker built from 1924 to October 1928. It carried a four-cylinder sleeve-valve engine built under the licence of the American Charles Yale Knight, with a bore of 85 mm and a stroke of 140 mm for 3,178 cc and a rating of 16 CV. It was distinguished by its transmission, which sent drive to the rear axle through a Flector coupling of elastic rubber elements rather than a cardan shaft. The wheelbase was 3.374 metres and several body styles were offered. About 1,800 were made, of which around 330 were exported. The French Army bought X46 cars from 1925 as liaison vehicles and converted four into armoured cars in the late 1920s, which served with the Foreign Legion cavalry at Colomb-Bechar and finished their careers in the early 1940s as training vehicles.