Stanford students awarded their historical significance trophy to the 1901 Panhard et Levassor Type B1 Race Car Chassis 2866 at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance on August 21, 2016. The students were enrolled in ME200, 'Understanding Historical Significance of the Automobile,' a now legendary class taught in the Spring quarter by David Kelley, Reilly Brennan and Jon Feiber.
The Revs Program-sponsored class presents the students a field of disparate vehicles and ideas from which to develop their own criteria for judging. Judging, in this sense, is organized around the notion of 'historical significance' -- an intentionally moving target that allows the students to craft their own set of parameters each year. This class focused on this Panhard as both a powerful early example of a purpose-built race car (and a beautiful one at that), but also a fundamental engineering shift, whereby engineers Panhard and Levassor set a new direction for powertrain layout that would be followed for the next 100 years.
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