Francisco Carrion
A few days ago a news item broke out in various media: The oldest car in Spain was going to be auctioned! And on top of that, abroad, had they been "robbed" of us? Not everything said was rigorous, so let's try to explain the current situation of the vehicle.
The car in question is actually an old acquaintance for Spanish fans, as it is the Panhard-Levassor 20 HP “Centaure” from 1902-1903 with registration M-18, which had remained in our country until 2006.
The first owner of this car was Ricardo Soriano, Marqués de Ivanrey. This illustrious character was well known in his time for his multifaceted hobbies, which in many cases used to combine sports with motoring.
Of sleds and motors
The Marquis practiced motor racing, aeronautics, motor boating and was a pioneer of bobsleigh, being even considered the inventor of contemporary bobsleigh (steel, semi-winding, torpedo-shaped) when he presented his faired sleigh «Gredos» in Saint Moritz in 1906, with which it beat out several European and American rivals.
During the first decades of the 1919th century he settled in France - always near Biarritz - where in XNUMX he founded, together with another wealthy Spaniard, the car brand Soriano-Pedroso, which would close its doors in 1924.
After the Spanish Civil War, Ricardo Soriano returned to Spain and founded the company R.Soriano SA in 1941, which would produce tiny motorcycles and motor-cars until 1954. Afterwards, he devoted himself to real estate business in Marbella, where there is currently a street with his name on it there he died in the 70s.
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An unbreakable Panhard, or almost
Returning to the Panhard, it can be said that it was one of the classics of greatest historical importance in our country. It was in the hands of Ricardo Soriano until his death in 1973, and in 1975 it was acquired by a well-known Spanish collector.
The car at that time was still in wonderful original condition, and it only needed a coat of paint, cleaning and a tune-up to get it running again without problems. For years it was used in several important national and foreign rallies; He was the protagonist of several Barcelona-Sitges, and one of the first of Spanish origin to participate in the London-Brighton, at the beginning of the 90s.
The car performed flawlessly for many, many years, which is truly admirable considering that never in over 100 years has the engine been opened. Finally in 2005 the first serious mechanical problem appeared during the participation in the celebrations of the centenary of the Gordon Bennet Cup, and it seems that this breakdown was the cause of its owner deciding to part with it after years of faithful service.
In 2006 it was put up for sale and as is often the case, the “highest bidder” came from abroad, so the esteemed Panhard went to the Netherlands. We cannot then be scandalized now because it was auctioned abroad, Well, it has been outside our borders for almost 10 years.
Its new owner proceeded to repair the engine, while some details of originality were removed. For example, the seat padding - which retains its original leather - was changed and this was used to eliminate the small gas tank that was located on the back of said seat.
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Up for auction from Holland
The Panhard has been a regular participant at London-Brighton in recent years where we were able to see it live and in top form, until Bonhams recently put it up for auction ... right at the event held the day before this legendary test for previous veterans to 1905.
The Panhard was the star of the auction, and for several reasons: its originality, its provenance (with only four owners, three acquaintances and the first of them really "famous", as we have seen) and that it is also a powerful car - 4 cylinders and around 5.000 cc, which makes them highly appreciated when participating in the aforementioned London-Brighton.
The estimated price was between 600 and 700.000 pounds (very close to one million euros), but finally the reserve was not reached and it was not awarded. We will probably see it up for auction again at the next Retromobile Salon in Paris in February, where pieces like this usually have a large audience.
The oldest?
Regarding the controversial treatment that has been given to the news in Spain - some media claimed that this was the oldest preserved car registered in our country - a little review is enough to observe that there are many others as old or older than this one, that premiered in Spain and are still "alive and well."
In the museum of the Race Foundation there are two units that are true candidates to be the oldest ones originally sold in our country and still preserved today: a Panhard Frères and a Delahaye Type 1, both before 1900.
In Córdoba, for example, two separate DeDion-Boutons from 1902 with license plates CO-1 and CO-2 are preserved, as well as in Galicia the famous 1903 Renault with registration PO-2.
From Madrid there is even another registration prior to that of the Panhard, the Renault M-11 from 1902-1903 that for so many years has been in the Jaén collection of the Del Val brothers. Also contemporary is a 4-cylinder Clement that has recently left our country and bears the M-95 license plate, which by the way was also auctioned at the same event as the Panhard and which did not find a buyer either.
Late registration
It should also be noted that in this early period in Spain there was no registration of license plates as we know it now, and an official and mandatory registration was not started until the 10s, so that we can find inconsistencies such as the 1902 Renault with license plate B-182 or the Delahaye of 1905 B-20.
We can only hope that one of these vehicles will return to our roads one day, if there is a Spanish fan who is sensitive to these issues… and with a sufficiently large portfolio.
