Page 1 of 2 Next >> Longtime partners Charles Deutsch and Rene Bonnet ended their association in 1961. Up to that point the two talented French engineers had been responsible for the Panhard competition cars for many years under the DB moniker. While Bonnet switched to support Renault's efforts, it was Deutsch who continued to offer his services to Panhard. The first machine developed by him was the CD Panhard Dyna, which raced at Le Mans in 1962 and soon after entered production.
Again using Panhard underpinnings, Deutsch then developed a pair of purpose-built racers for the 1964 edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. As the largest Panhard engine available displaced a mere 848 cc, Deutsch could obviously not create a machine capable of an outright win. Instead, he set his sights on a class win and even more importantly, the Index of Performance, which was awarded to the most efficient car. Key to the competitiveness of the 1964 CD Panhard was the bespoke slippery body, which had more sophisticated aerodynamics than any other car on the grid that year.
The overall lines of the new LM64 were clearly a development of the production-based CD Panhard, which in itself was a development of earlier DB competition cars. A significant difference were the covered headlights and the elongated tail, both intended to keep drag at a minimum, which was essential on the long straights at Le Mans. To ensure the car was nevertheless stable at speed, two tall fins were mounted on either side of the tail. The car was also fitted with a complete underbody, which helped reduce drag and courtesy of its wing shape also generated down force, through what would later be known as ground effect. The CD Panhard's drag coefficient, or Cx, was a never equalled 0.12. Page 1 of 2 Next >>