Lot Ended
Description
Minimalist cult classic by Giugiaro; rock solid and highly original;
grab one while you can!
If you want to
look 'old money' in St Moritz these days, a flashy Range Rover or Lamborghini
Urus simply will not do – a Panda 4x4 is the only choice – and best of all a
Guigiaro-designed 141 Series Mk1.
Unveiled in 1980, the Panda was said by
the master stylist himself to be his most successful design: “Like a pair
of jeans: a simple, practical article without pretense. I tried to give it the
essential quality of a military design – light, rational and optimised for a
specific purpose”.
The 4x4 version came out in
1984, with a simple, selectable four-wheel drive system developed by the
Austrian firm Steyr-Puch. Front-wheel drive in normal mode, the driver engaged
the rear wheels manually via a lever behind the gearstick.
Initially powered by a 48bhp 965cc engine, it was upgraded to the
999cc FIRE engine in 1986. Mated to a 5-speed gearbox, with 1st being
a crawler gear for steep inclines, it had a top speed of 80mph. Weighing only
around 740kg, its power-to-weight ratio allowed it to ‘float’ over mud and snow
where a heavy Range Rover would often sink.
The
Panda 4x4 became the darling of Italian mountain villages and Swiss ski resorts,
and has a cult following today. In areas with narrow roads and slippery access,
there is very little else that will do the job.
Supplied new via Fiat Motor Sales of Wembley in August 1989, this
cheeky white Panda 4x4 Mk1 was first owned by a Mrs N Steelsmith of Twickenham,
the original Fiat Finance agreement showing that it cost £5,173 plus another
£1,168 spread across 24 months for finance.
The
original service book shows a pre-delivery service plus four more services, the
last in June 1995 where the mileage is hard to read but judging from the 18 old
MOTs on file it was around 34k miles, the odometer currently showing 101,981
miles.
While there is no further service history,
the MOTs imply that it was in light use up until 2012 when it seems to have been
put into storage for a dozen years, emerging again in July 2025 when it passed
another MOT at 101,777 miles with just one advisory for a sticky parking brake.
The current MOT is valid until April 2027 with one advisory for four
worn/cracking tyres, although it looks like these might have all since been
replaced.
As you can see in the photos, this cute
little Panda looks to be rock solid both above and below, with a tidy and highly
original interior, the only real faults we noted being a split on the driver’s
seat squab and a tear in the roof lining between the two fabric
sunroofs.
Starting promptly and running well as
we have driven it around on site, it now seeks an adventurous new owner who can
give it the more regular exercise it deserves.
Consigned by James Dennison – 07970 309907 – james.dennison@brightwells.com