Overview & Reviews

Panoz is an automobile manufacturer whose sexy sports cars are exotics in the truest sense of the word. The company's cars are drop-dead gorgeous and come with steep price tags; additionally, given the fact that a relatively small number of Panoz vehicles are made each year, a Panoz offers more exclusivity than your typical Ferrari or Bentley. Panoz makes only sports cars and its current lineup consists of just one model, the Esperante, available in both roadster and coupe body styles. Introduced in 2001 and relatively unchanged since then, the Esperante is hand-built and made mostly of aluminum.

The Panoz story begins with Eugene Panunzio, a champion boxer who emigrated to the U.S. from Italy in the early 1900s. He shortened his last name to Panoz and settled in West Virginia. In 1960 his son Donald started the Mylan Laboratories pharmaceutical company; nine years later, Donald and his family moved to Ireland where he started another drug company, called Elan Pharmaceuticals. Donald's 26-year-old car-enthusiast son, Daniel, ended up working for the Thompson Motor Company (TMC) in 1988. TMC went out of business that same year and Donald bought the rights to one of its chassis, which was designed by Frank Costin, an engineer who'd made a name for himself building racecar chassis for Maserati and Lotus.

The next year saw the birth of the Panoz Automotive Development Company. A small, renovated salt storage shed located near Atlanta was the site of company headquarters. In 1990, Panoz brought out its first car, a powerful, cycle-fendered roadster called simply the Panoz Roadster. Initially, the Panoz cars were only produced to order, and hence not many were made. By 1996, the Roadster, now called the AIV Roadster, saw full production. The following year Panoz introduced the Esperante racecar, which saw success in USRRC and American Le Mans racing series. By the end of the decade, the Panoz family empire had grown to include racing venues, the American Le Mans series and a racing school.

In 2001, the Esperante became available as a street car. On its hood was the company's crest that was created by Daniel Panoz himself. The red, white and blue coloring indicates that the company is based in the U.S. Its swirls are a nod to the Japanese yin-yang symbol, while the shamrock points to the roots of the first chassis Panoz developed. The Esperante was produced through 2006 and was available in various roadster and coupe configurations. Though Panoz hasn't had a U.S. presence since then, by the end of the decade it showed it wasn't dead in a big way by creating the limited-production Abruzzi Spirit of Le Mans. The latter was a 600-horsepower supercar slated solely for the European market.

User Reviews:

Showing 11 through 20 of 20.00

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  This should be top rated - 2003 Panoz Esperante
  By e1v2a3 - March 15 - 2:00 am

  Just returned from a trip around Florida in less than a week almost 2k miles. I could not belive this car was a hand built sports car made in America.It drew so much attention and rode like a dream.It held lots of luggage and was good on gas, why are these things not on the front page of every magazine in America? I love it.

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  More Rare than a Ferrari or Lambo - 2005 Panoz Esperante
  By jack - January 29 - 11:03 am

  More fun than a Corvette, Ferrari, Jaguar XKR, etc, the 2005 Panoz Esperante is fast, comfy, amazingly reliable, sounds great. It is exclusive beyond imagination. No one knows what it is or where its from. When you say, Hochton, Georgia, they think youre nuts. The engine is so pretty, the hood should be made of glass. The seats are really comfortable and car is not so low that its hard to get in or out of, like a Corvette.

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  exclusive vehicle - 2005 Panoz Esperante
  By mike - August 22 - 10:33 am

  Wow, what a difference! I traded in an 03 panoz classic style for on 05 gtlm coupe that is the super charged ford svt engine. Get the gtlm! It is much faster, the looks are more exotic, plus I love the exclusivity. I love answering questions about the vehicle. At local car shows the people all flock to this car. I can get service at a local ford dealer,plus panoz corporate is great. (no $400 oil changes). The car is a pleasure to drive with easy access and exit. Loads of carbon fiber on the interior and the engine compartment. Leather seats are top of the line and the paint is flawless. I love the coupe gtlm because there are so few of them. the shifting is short and fast.

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  panoz esperante - 2004 Panoz Esperante
  By djbutter - June 15 - 10:00 am

  the esperante has good handleing and great power but the ride is terrible.it is an overpriced auto that drives terrible and i am not thriled by it.

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  Panoz Esperante - 2003 Panoz Esperante
  By Steve Robinson - December 19 - 10:00 am

  This is the very best value in exotic sports cars - period. Construction materials, workmanship, safety, power, handling, comfort, fuel economy and design - this vehicle has it all. It beats the competition hands down. There is no close 2nd for value when considering price & performance. One of the finest designs ever in a thoroughbred sports car. Made in Americn has returned to all its former glory.

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  Good - 2005 Panoz Esperante
  By Bob - July 11 - 2:43 am

  Good performance and it has an extremely fast engine with good handling interior could have more space

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  Ferrari drivers give me the thumbs up! - 2004 Panoz Esperante
  By mobileman - May 8 - 10:00 am

  This car gets me more valet attention than any car I have ever had. And I have had over 30 cars!

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  catinthe_hat - 2004 Panoz Esperante
  By catinthe_hat - October 12 - 2:00 am

  you should get this car. it is fast and sweet

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  With a Panoz You Get a Poke in the Nose - 2003 Panoz Esperante
  By Panoz - July 19 - 6:43 am

  My thought when my wife wanted a new Jaguar was that the Jags looked a lot like the Ford Tauras at the time. I thought that if we bought a sexy very good looking sports car like the Panoz it not only would not look so common but hopfully hold more of its value. I was wrong. The cars style unargueably is very good. They forgot to put any shocks on it though and therefore it is very, very, very rough to drive. The other thing is the convertible roof of the car is is not well designed and it rattles a lot when driving. The worst part of owning the Panoz is the resale value. There is none. Dont buy one unless you can afford to lose $80,000 really fast.

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  Where do I put the kids?! - 2003 Panoz Esperante
  By Cool Cat - January 3 - 10:00 am

  My wife and I bought this car before we thought about where we were going to put the kids. As it turns out we can only fit the two older boys in the trunk comfortably. Our daughter has to be strapped to the hood.