After Rober Jankel sold his company Panther to Korean investor Young C. Kim, he established a new company in 1987 that manufactured luxury coupes and limousines. Jankel chose Le Marquis as the brand name. The Le Marquis Coachbuilding Co.Ltd. in Weybridge, Surrey/England, preferred Rolls-Royce and Mercedes-Benz chassis for their custom-made products. Jankel's extravagant showpieces included the Le Marquis Rolls-Royce Silver Spur, a Bentley Turbo Gold Label Cabriolet, the GM Tempest-based Equus, the Le Marquis Presidential (Mercedes-Benz) and various Ferrari conversions. The Tempest model was a very high performance car based on the Chevrolet Corvette. It was powered by a 535hp 6.7-liter V8 and had an open Kevlar bodywork. In 1992 Jankel broke a 0-60 mph acceleration record with a time of 3.89 seconds.