Template:Infobox vehicles
The Benefactor Panto is a small 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.
Design
GTA 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 FIAT
, 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.
GTA 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; 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 [1].
GTA V
The Panto reappears in GTA V as a part of the I'm Not a Hipster Update. The Panto is now a supermini, 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. Other inspirations on its design may be taken from the Gordon Murray T27 for the wheel arches and other vehicles such as the Volkswagen Up! for the rear fascia, the Mitsubishi i for the frontal fascia, and the Toyota iQ/Scion iQ/Aston Martin Cygnet for the side profile.
Performance
GTA 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.
GTA V
The Panto in GTA V is a small, light car with quick acceleration. It is powered by a small 4-cylinder engine, contrary to its real life counterpart, the Smart Fortwo, which has either 3-cylinder or all-electric engine. Its top speed is really not so bad, but it's not as fast as a Blista, and its short wheelbase makes it very unstable at high speeds and it is prone to spinning out. The handling is rather poor despite its size, 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 175 mph (283 km/h).
Locations
GTA 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.
GTA V
- Can be found in the player's garage in single player.
- Can be bought in GTA Online from Southernsanandreassuperautos.com for $85,000.
Trivia
- In GTA 2, when crushed, the Panto awards the player with grenades.
- The Panto is one of two cars in Grand Theft Auto V with stickerbomb customization options. The other car is the Declasse Asea.
- The Panto in GTA V does not dent and deform when crashed, similar to motorcycles.
- The Panto is also the only car that can be customized with race suspension.
- 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.
- 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.
- The Panto is the smallest car in GTA V and GTA Online, surpassing the Weeny Issi.
- 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.
- The Panto has a very low tolerance for water, as it will short out in shallow water such as in the Los Santos storm drain.
- When the Stickerbomb livery is added to the tailgate, the license plate will be shifted at a slight angle.