Robert
Jankel

Robert Jankel

Vehicle innovation and design

Robert Jankel was a car enthusiast who founded his original company, Panther Westwind, in order to build his own cars. His success was built on his ability to innovate whilst using standard parts, such as Jaguar engines, and adding his own refinements of materials, body styling and interiors. His most popular car was the Panther Lima which was styled like a 1930s roadster but used modern fibreglass materials – more than 1,000 models of this car were built.

Alongside Panther Westwind, Robert established the Jankel Group – a coachbuilding company. When he turned his focus to this side of the business, it was to build customised versions of existing cars for high-end brands including Rolls Royce and Bentley. Cars built in this period include the Rolls Royce Silver Spur and specialist all-terrain vehicles for Range Rover.

The company then moved into adding armour to existing vehicles for both military and law enforcement customers. With an in-depth understanding of how to customise a vehicle built on a standard chassis, and an eye for innovation and adopting new technologies, Robert Jankel and his company built an enviable reputation for high quality design and production.

That heritage is still very much present in the Jankel of today. Many of our team worked with Robert, and we are committed to bringing his enthusiasm, ingenuity and attention to detail to all the projects we work on, and all the partners we work with – wherever they are and whatever they need.