Matt Bacon Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 Seeing this mentioned in the "iconic cars" thread made me wonder... how did that happen, then? How did an animated character in the credits to an early 60s British take on a French(ish) cop film end up with THE coolest "rod" -- or whatever you guys would call it -- on TV (much, much better than the Monkeemobile...)? Bear in mind that when I was growing up, I didn't see any bespoke cars in the flesh -- they were in TV shows or the catalogues of die cast makers or plastic kit boxes. Was the Panthermobile an existing special that was "rebranded"? Did Hanna Barbera (I assume it was them -- everything animated that wasn't Looney Toons or Disney seemed to be) commission the thing to be built just for the "live action" credits to the cartoon show? Was it even a real car -- I guess that credit sequence could have been all model work... it's decades since I saw it. It had a powerful effect, since it's really the only "hot rod" that I have any urge to build, so can someone tell me the full story? bestest, M. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjordan2 Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 (edited) The Pink Panther animation was designed by a couple of ex-Warner Bros. animators for DePatie-Freleng Enterprises. (Just for the record). Interesting background here, including the fact that The Pink Panther was originally conceived as a TV show but made into a movie series instead. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pink_Panther Evidently the real car was related to the animated TV show, created for a live-action opening to the cartoon series. http://www.carbodydesign.com/2011/09/panthermobile-goes-to-auction/ Edited July 8, 2014 by sjordan2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brett Barrow Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 Jay Ohrberg and/or Bob Reisner built the car, they were partners at the time, but would soon split. Reisner received credit in contemporary press, but Ohrberg claims credit for it now. He owned the car for a long time. Note that Ohrberg claims to have built pretty much every car to have ever appeared on a TV or movie screen, so take that into consideration. Conflicting info on whether it was commissioned by the show, or repurposed from Reisner's California Show Rods line-up. Apparently there were some Olds Tornado components under there somewhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaymcminn Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 Jay Ohrberg and/or Bob Reisner built the car, they were partners at the time, but would soon split. Reisner received credit in contemporary press, but Ohrberg claims credit for it now. He owned the car for a long time. Note that Ohrberg claims to have built pretty much every car to have ever appeared on a TV or movie screen, so take that into consideration. Conflicting info on whether it was commissioned by the show, or repurposed from Reisner's California Show Rods line-up. Apparently there were some Olds Tornado components under there somewhere. Jay Ohrberg? I thought George Barris built every TV and movie car ever! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brett Barrow Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 Jay Ohrberg? I thought George Barris built every TV and movie car ever! Between the two of them, they have it covered. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclescott58 Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 Jay Ohrberg and/or Bob Reisner built the car, they were partners at the time, but would soon split. Reisner received credit in contemporary press, but Ohrberg claims credit for it now. He owned the car for a long time. Note that Ohrberg claims to have built pretty much every car to have ever appeared on a TV or movie screen, so take that into consideration. Conflicting info on whether it was commissioned by the show, or repurposed from Reisner's California Show Rods line-up. Apparently there were some Olds Tornado components under there somewhere. Built the model kit many years ago. Around 1970 or '71. And yes even the model had a Toronado drivetrain. The engine sits just behind the driver. In front of the main passenger compartment. I think the model sold by the company Eldon. If the model ever appears back on the market I'd buy one. It's kind of a dumb design, but it's part of my childhood. Scott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Custom Hearse Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 Jay Ohrberg? I thought George Barris built every TV and movie car ever! George Barris pretends to have built every car ever made for TV and movies. Interesting fact: Although Barris built the Munsters Koach, he did not design it. It was designed by Tom Daniels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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