Fuel System

The car runs on ordinary petrol. The compression ratio is very low so the octane rating of the fuel does not need to be high.

The fuel tank is under the seat. Access for checking the level or filling up requires the front seat to be vacated and the cushion removed. The feed to the carburettor is by gravity. There is no pump or pressurisation system.

The carburettor has a large float chamber and a fixed jet. The air flow is controlled by a sliding piston rather than by the more usual (for now) butterfly. Choking for start-up from cold is done manually under the bonnet.

The carburettor is fairly basic (as was typical for the time) and does not react well to changes of load or speed. (As an aside, in 1902 the general manager of Panhard & Levassor, Arthur Krebs, developed the first automatic carburettor which included a diaphragm to maintain the fuel/air ratio under all load conditions, which was a big improvement. This allowed the use of a throttle pedal to control the engine rather than relying on the governor).