Panto

"The giant German carmaker's leap into the micro market. Designed for the narrow, parking space deprived roads of Europe, this is sure to stick out on the eight lane freeways, and in the mile-wide parking lots of Los Santos, until you get crushed by an SUV driven by an over-medicated housewife."

- Southernsanandreassuperautos.com description.

The Panto is a city car featured in Grand Theft Auto 2 and Grand Theft Auto V. The car was meant to be featured in Grand Theft Auto III but it was dropped during development. The car makes a return in Grand Theft Auto V as part of the I'm Not a Hipster Update. It is now manufactured by Benefactor.

Grand Theft Auto 2
The Panto name first debuted in GTA 2 in the form of a two-door microcar (occasionally confused as a van) akin to the Dementia, but significantly larger. Its appearance alone makes the car generally unappealing, in contrast to larger, better designed cars in the game. The internal name given to the Panto is, implying the car's name originates from that of a similarly named Fiat Punto, but may otherwise be comparable to a 1949-1967 Tempo Matador Kleinbus. It best resembles the Fiat 500 K estate.

Grand Theft Auto III
The Panto was planned to reappear as a four-door compact sedan in GTA III, but was cut for unknown reasons. The car, like the Panto in GTA 2, bears some resemblance to a Fiat, specifically, a Fiat 128 or a Lada Riva; little else is known about the car. A picture of the car can be found on the "Capital Auto Sale$" teaser website, along with many other beta vehicles.

Grand Theft Auto V
The Panto reappears in GTA V as a part of the I'm Not a Hipster Update. The Panto still retains its microcar design, surpassing the Weeny Issi's already small size. It is manufactured by Benefactor and resembles a 2007-present Smart Fortwo, however it has different shaped headlights resembling upside down hearts. The overall design is inspired by Gordon Murray T.25 and Gordon Murray T27. The Volkswagen Up! is the base for the rear fascia, the Mitsubishi i for the frontal fascia, and the Toyota iQ/Scion iQ/Aston Martin Cygnet for the side profile.

Grand Theft Auto 2
The Panto's performance in GTA 2 mirrors its generally undesirable appearance. The car suffers from an underpowered engine, which results in a poor top speed and below average acceleration. However, helped largely by its speed, the Panto's steering is still acceptable, but its brakes are mediocre, being slightly below average. Even so, the vehicle is not practical when evading gunfire and hostile enemies, such as law enforcement. It takes less damage than a usual car, the same applies to the Schmidt.

Grand Theft Auto V
The Panto in GTA V is a small, light car with quick acceleration. It is powered by a model of a 3-cylinder engine, coupled to an automatic gearbox in an RR layout. Its acceleration is average, owing to its incredibly light weight, and its top speed is quite high, but caution should be taken when driving at high speeds because its short wheelbase makes it very unstable and prone to spinning out of control. This could make driving at high speeds quite problematic. The handling is rather poor despite its size, as the vehicle suffers from understeer, and its durability is unremarkable, as it can only take a few head-on crashes before its axle breaks and its engine stalls. The Panto is very maneuverable when airborne able to do multiple spins with ease. Nevertheless, this is a great commuter car if you don't want to risk paying the insurance premium on one of your super cars. This vehicle has the best acceleration in its class. It only takes 5.1 seconds to reach 60 mph and has a top speed of 100 mph (160 km/h).

Grand Theft Auto 2

 * The Residential and Industrial Districts of Anywhere City.
 * A green Panto is parked in the lot by the train station near the church in the Residential District, Anywhere City.

Grand Theft Auto V

 * Can be found in the player's garage in single player.
 * Commonly spawns in traffic and inside parking lots (enhanced version only).

Grand Theft Auto Online

 * Can be bought in GTA Online from Southernsanandreassuperautos.com for $85,000.
 * Rarely spawns in traffic (enhanced version only).

General

 * The default radio station for the Panto is:
 * GTA 2: Osmosis Radio (Residential) or Lo-Fi FM (Industrial)
 * GTA V: Lowdown 91.1 and Space 103.2.
 * This is the second vehicle from GTA 2 to return in GTA V and also takes the same year. The first vehicle from GTA 2 was the Z-Type and, the third one, the Furore GT.

Grand Theft Auto 2

 * In GTA 2, when crushed, the Panto awards the player with grenades.

Grand Theft Auto V

 * The Panto is one of two cars in Grand Theft Auto V with stickerbomb customization options. The other car is the Asea.
 * The Panto in GTA V does not dent and deform when crashed, similar to motorcycles.
 * The GTA V edition of the Panto is one of the only cars to be small enough to be driven through many accessible doors, such as the double doors at the entrance to Michael's mansion, along with the Issi.
 * This is the only Benefactor vehicle that doesn't resemble a Mercedes-Benz model. However, Smart is part of the Daimler AG group, which is also the parent company of Mercedes-Benz. There are several cars that look similar to the Panto Made by Mercedes-Benz, but are not as small as the Panto.
 * The Panto is the smallest car in GTA V and GTA Online, surpassing the Issi.
 * When the Stickerbomb livery is added to the tailgate, the license plate will be shifted at a slight angle.
 * Like the Sabre Turbo, when the Panto is modified with a Roll Cage, it will have the fuel tank on the trunk. However, this is considerably dangerous, as the Panto has its engine below the trunk.
 * The Panto shares its engine sound with the Dilettante but with a clearer tone, partly due to the lack of electric motor.
 * Because the engine cannot be viewed by normal means, there are no camshafts or other vital engine parts other than 3 cylinders. Furthermore, the engine is transversely laid out of line with the rear wheels. Note the 3-Cylinder engine can only be viewed using the Rockstar Editor Camera.

Grand Theft Auto Online

 * The Panto is considered a "high end" vehicle, meaning if a player find the vehicle randomly in traffic, one won't be able to customize it at Los Santos Customs, and can only become a personal vehicle if one buys it from southernsanandreassuperautos.com.

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