When i lived in Germany i had a black Z28 with tinted windows and BORLA exhaust.. My girlfriend at the time told me my car looked and sounded like a panther. Her son had just watched Jungle Book and i liked Bagherra, so there you have it!
Been meaning to ask about you user name. Cause I had a few user names like that on some PC games I played back in the day. It was more of a tribute to the black panther from the jungle book. But I'm guessing your reasoning is a bit different?