1984 Panther Kallista

The Panther Kallista was in production from 1982 until 1990. Styled in house by Bob Jankel, it is a front-engine, rear wheel drive sportscar seating two adults.

The Kallista – meaning “small and beautiful”, and drawn from Greek - was effectively a simpler Lima, developed by Panther’s new owners in order to be cheaper to mass produce. It was developed following the withdrawal of MG and Triumph from the sports car market, as a mass market sportscar in the way that the outgoing Lima couldn’t be. It incorporated improvements over the outgoing car too – a wider range of engines, longer doors to aid entry and egress, and myriad other minor improvements. The most obvious change from the Lima was that the parts bin from which items were sourced had switched from Vauxhall to Ford. It was developed to meet strict criteria – it must not exceed £7300, it must not have plastic bodywork, it should be easy to maintain and remain low volume. Bob Jankel was given the task by new Panther owner, Y C Kim, of re-engineering the Lima. The reasoning was twofold, to allow a wider choice of engines and because Vauxhall had now discontinued the Magnum upon which the Lima was reliant. Drivetrains were predominantly based around the MK3 Escort’s 1.6 litre CVH engine with a four speed gearbox (Five speed optional), or the Granada’s 2.8 litre V6 with five speed manual as standard and optional three speed auto. Later models would use the revised 2.9i variant of the V6.

In place of the GRP shell were aluminium panels, a curved windscreen was fitted, and in order to keep the cost of the basic car down there were almost as many optional extras as a Ford Mustang. Your Kallista could become a very personal car if you chose to spend out. Production ceased in 1990 in order to focus upon the stillborn Solo, but Ssangyong in Korea produced a few Kallistas of its own during 1991 and 1992. 1695 Kallistas were produce by Panther, a further 78 by Ssangyong.

Ergonomically the Kallista isn’t much cop, with hands obscuring almost all important dials when resting at ten and two on the wheel and with a door handle that can bruise your knee in hard left hand corners. But the handling is pleasant, with initial understeer that can be swiftly corrected. The 2.8 and 2.9 models are understandably more nose heavy, but also significantly more powerful – a trade off that many owners will consider to be worth it.

The most valuable Kallistas are the V6 models, especially the 2.9i with fuel injection and a five speed manual box. Autos are less loved, but the bargain of the range is the 1.6. Better weight distribution means that while you lose in straight line power it’s more fun in the bends, and ultimately that’s what sports cars are supposed to be all about. They can be colour sensitive – dark colours with light interiors tend to sell best, while bold shades like red aren’t as popular. This does sometimes mean, however, that there are bargains to be had.

The contemporary sportscar market was limited, and the two closest rivals would have been the Reliant SS1 and the TVR 280i. Today of course the classic market is far wider, and could encompass anything from the MGB through to the Mazda MX5 or Triumph TR7. Panther’s earlier Lima might also be a suitable rival for the larger engined Kallista models, as might the Morgan +4. Those looking for something more European might consider a Porsche 924 or Opel Manta as a rival for a Kallista 2.8.