Panhard, like Citroën, considered itself a leader, not a follower of automotive trends, and the Dyna Z featured an impressive array of unusual engineering choices.
Other sources emphasize an underlying error with the original costings for the model which had taken no account of the off-cuts from the aluminium coils after the blanks for the body panels had been cut from them.
Jean Panhard's explanation to a sympathetic interviewer concludes with the observation that "nobody wanted to buy offcuts except at a ridiculously low price, this difference was our profit margin.
[7] and had to be accompanied by a substantial redesign of the front suspension and a change to the shock absorbers, though cost savings were too late to avoid the need for Panhard to sign their ultimately suicidal refinancing "agreement" with Citroën in April 1955.
Its unusual and very modern design gave it a unique combination of space, ride comfort, performance and fuel economy at a very competitive price.