The Kallista was a low-production imitator of classic cars of the 1930s. It was built by Panther Car Co. in England and was not a kit car although all key mechanical components came from 1980s Fords. This sweet-looking roadster is one of only 148 said to have been imported to the U.S. and has less than 18,000 miles. Bearing Florida plates but located in Cresskill, New Jersey, this head-turner is available here on eBay for $25,000 (Buy It Now) you can click the Make Offer button. Thanks for this really cool tip, T.J.!
Cars like the Kallista were hand-built yet relied on volume components sourced from major manufacturers. According to the seller, less than 1,700 Kallistas saw the light of day in the mid-1980s and less than 10% of them ever made it to the United States. The name came from the Greek word meaning “small and beautiful” and the cars resembled Allards, Morgans, and Lotus 7s. Mechanical parts for these cars shouldn’t be hard to find as everything has Ford stamped on it: 2.3-liter Mustang I-4 engine, 4-speed manual transmission, suspension parts and front end (Mk Cortina), and the list goes on and on. We’re told the body is made of aluminum though the chassis is steel.
This machine looks to have been babied and has only averaged 500 miles a year since its build date. An Experian AutoCheck Vehicle History Report supplied by the seller gives the car an above-average score. The blue and white paint looks quite good with no flaws to be seen. From the rear and with the top up, the Kallista looks a bit like the Plymouth Prowler (to me). The saddle interior (leather?) looks as though it’s been hardly used.
Chrome wire wheels can be found on all four corners with like-new tires (hopefully not vintage 1986). The seller has nearly $4,000 in receipts from work that has been done on the auto in recent months, including a new fuel pump, carburetor, hoses and belts, and a brake master cylinder. The timing belt has also been changed. Some of this may be due to age and not the mileage the car is said to have. The buyer will get to take home some spare parts, too, like a completely new braking system. Here’s a video from when the car was still in Florida.
Interesting car could be a fun weekend cruiser. I was just mentioning the Ford Lima 2.3 with the 73/74 Pinto write-up. If you wanted more power a turbocharger and intercooler might be one way to go or even a twin cam Cosworth since you already have the transmission that would most likely mate to it.
You would need a t bird turbo coupe head if wanted it to last..
Or parts from a Merkur XR4Ti.
Or parts from a Mustang SVO.
Still wouldn’t mind knowing where these builders got all those MG Midget tubs to build these cars around.
Nowadays they’d prolly use new body shells produced by British Motor Heritage (BMH) using the original tools and jigs, but they only started doing that for Midgets as of 1991.
Prior to that, your guess is as good as mine; I can only speculate maybe there was still some backstock of NOS original-production cabin tubs and doors available. If there were an awful lot of those available to purchase for a song, that would certainly explain why so many neoclassic builders used them.
The 2.3 is from Vauxhall/Opel, I think – it was used in Firenzas/Victors and so on. The only Panther I’ve ever driven was the Lima.
The 2.3 is a Ford. Used in millions of vehicles. From the 1970’s through the 2000’s.
It doesn’t look like the Pinto motor – which is what Ford used over here, and the 2.3 that we had was a V6. I just wondered, because the Lima was Vauxhall-powered.
I went for a wander; the Panther Car Club has the Kallista as Ford-powered, by 1.6, 2.8 and 2.9 (the latter two are V6) and Wikipedia adds a 2.0 – and also adds that the fours are DOHC, which’ll be why I don’t recognise it!
UK/Euro market Kallistas were available with the Ford Kent 1.6L, but I think the US market ones got a Ford Pinto OHC engine installed stateside, since that was already emissions-certified here.
Confusingly, that latter is sometimes known as the “Lima” engine, being built in Lima, Ohio — no relation to the Vauxhall-powered Panther Lima model that preceded the similar Kallista.
AFAICT, Ford never produced any of those as DOHC engines, though both the Kent and Pinto/Lima engine shortblocks were used as the basis for DOHC heads developed by Lotus and Cosworth. That said, I don’t think any Kallistas were equipped with those, so any mention of DOHC may be confusing that term with the (S)OHC Pinto/Lima engine.
Put a small Ford V8 in this one and you’d have a real Hot Rod.
Looks like it would be a blast to drive.
I’ve never heard of this one, but I like it.
When I had a classic car dealership a fellow brought in a Panther Kallista for me to sell on consignment and it had the 2.8 litre V6 and on a test drive it went like stink. I didn’t sell it because the owner wanted too much money for it and when he came to collect it he said he was very happy that it didn’t sell. He did sell it a few months later and being a very nice gentleman he came in with a nice cheque in thanks for my efforts which I thought was very nice of him.
Car itself is OK it’s the Interior that’s ALL WRONG – it should have HUGE oversized Brass & Chrome Gauges nothing digital.
The Shifter should be the Handle from an old Steam Locomotive.
The Car Horn from a Sea going Ship.
Aaaaand it needs a Vulcan Cannon mini gun mounted on the Front Bumper
That is one beautiful automobile. But…I’m in my mid-eighties and probably couldn’t get into it. Besides, I’m on oxygen, which takes away much of the fun of driving. I have an SL500 which just sits in a garage.
Not bad looking but got to lose the continental spare tire on the rear
Yep, no need for a spare tyre these days as the aerosol type puncture repair kits work very well. My spare wheel lives in the garage.
Looks like it would be fun to drive .