Hot Esperante

[57JagXKSS]

check out

http://www.panozauto.com/

Here is the Panoz Esperante GTLM which is backed by the factory. This is from testing for the 12 hours of Sebring next weekend.



Aston Martin DBR9 in background

[57JagXKSS]

Motor Trend said that next year's production Esperante will use some carbon fiber for its chassis which is boost rigidity and cut 100 pounds.

[57JagXKSS]

Panoz GTLM from last year.

more pictures

http://www.fast-autos.net/gallery/album16

[57JagXKSS]

During the 53rd Annual 12 Hours of Sebring.

[Day Dreamer]

Thanks for the great pictures of an awesome automobile. Keep them coming.

[57JagXKSS]

Panoz Motor Sports: On To Le Mans With Two Esperante GTLMs

"Following an encouraging display of class-leading speed at last weekend's Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, Panoz Motor Sports received the news it was hoping for from the organizers of the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Man. The Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO)has invited both Panoz Esperante factory GT2 Le Mans entries to participate in the 73rd running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans June 18-19.

Panoz Motor Sports Team General Manager Ed Triolo stated, "We are truly gratified and honored by the faith the ACO have placed in Panoz Motor Sports to help provide the world's sports car racing fans with a great competitive showing in June. Panoz Motor Sports has thousands upon thousands of devoted fans not only here in the USA where the Esperante sports car is made but also in France, the UK and around the world. Frankly, being invited to take on Porsche with our new Esperante GTLM at Le Mans is just an awesome thrill for us and we thank the ACO for providing us the opportunity for that somewhat daunting challenge!"

At Sebring last weekend, the No. 51 Panoz team of Bill Auberlen, Robin Liddell and Emanuele Naspetti matched the pole-winning Porsche's pace in qualifying, lapping the famous Sebring International Raceway just 7/100ths of a mile per hour behind the Petersen Motorsports / White Lightning Racing Porsche 911 GT3 RSR. Unfortunately the Panoz Esperante retired when electrical problems struck on lap 121. Teammates Scott Maxwell, Bryan Sellers and Gunnar Jeannette suffered an overheated differential in the endurance classic. The Panoz Motor Sports Team repaired the problem allowing the No. 51 Panoz to notch the fourth fastest GT2 lap of the race.

Panoz Motor Sports competes in the IMSA-sanctioned American Le Mans Series of endurance sports car races. The events range from 2 hours and 45 minutes in length to a duration of 12 hours. With the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring over, the series now moves to the Panoz Esperante Factory Team's home track – Road Atlanta – for the Sportsbook.com Grand Prix of Atlanta, April 17. The race will be broadcast live on CBS. Sports

Pirelli, Multimatic and Diablo Grande award winning wines sponsor Panoz Motor Sports and the two-car factory Panoz Esperante initiative."

- from Panoz

[Jaguar D-Type]

Don Panoz founded the American Le Mans Series and Panoz Auto Development.

[Jaguar D-Type]

Esperante's body: hand assembled, CNC-trimmed, lightweight SuperFormed (SPF) aluminum alloy.

Esperante's chassis: Modular extruded 6061 T-6 multi-celled aluminum alloy frame.







I saw a red Esperante today and it looked very nice.

[Jaguar D-Type]

[Jaguar D-Type]

2002 Panoz Esperante Driver's Edition

The signatures in the engine bay are from the people who hand-built it.

The Driver's Edition Esperantes celebrate the Panoz Racing Team and its leading drivers' efforts. They are the direct result of a close collaboration between the Panoz Motor Sports and the Panoz Auto Development operations. Only 20 Drivers Edition Esperantes will be built to commemorate the team's leading drivers Jan Magnussen and David Brabham. 10 Magnussen Edition Esperantes and 10 Brabham Edition Esperantes will be built per year celebrating the 10 annual ALMS races. The drivers have provided direct input on the technical, aesthetic and ergonomic specifications of the cars. Suspension settings, brakes, wheels, tires, seats, trim, colors and other details have been hand selected by both Jan and David. These limited edition cars have been designed to provide more of a pure sporting environment to the customer while retaining many of the highly acclaimed GTS features, bringing more of the Le Mans performance and endurance ethos to the road cars.

The Driver's Edition Esperantes are a lighter variant of 320-horsepower, hand built convertible. They feature carbon fiber super structures, revised spring rates, adjusted rear suspension rocker ratios, an upgraded brake and rotor package, BBS LM wheels (18x 8.5 front 18x10 rear), Michelin Pilot Sport A/S tires (245x40s front 275x40x18 rear) with Billet alloy pedals and shifter as standard. They are also fitted with lighter adjustable sport seats, a carbon fiber front spoiler and a rear ducktail. In total the Drivers Edition cars have over 140 different parts to the standard car.

The new Drivers Edition and 2002 Esperantes continue to feature the formidable aluminum 4.6-liter, dual overhead (DOHC) cam, Ford SVT engine hand built by two-man teams in Romeo, Michigan. Panoz will also continue to service all Esperante customers through its nationwide dealer network.

Like all Esperantes, the Driver's Edition cars come fully equipped with dual airbags, a semi-rigid power convertible top, leather seats, ABS, Electronic Traction Control and a race-inspired four-wheel independent suspension system.

The Drivers Edition Esperantes are limited run cars with only 10 Magnussen Edition and 10 Brabham Edition cars being built annually. David Brabham and Jan Magnussen will hand sign them individually.





Jan Magnussen shown below

[Day Dreamer]

Hay, Jag, who are the two guys in your picture? I hope the win in Atlanta was the turning point the Panoz Team needed. Those guys hard work is finally starting to pay off.

[Jaguar D-Type]

I'm not sure who they are.

Panoz has two factory-backed Esperante GTLMs in the American Le Mans Series.

http://americanlemans.com/home/index.aspx

Panoz finished 5th and 8th in GT2 at Mid-Ohio.

[Jaguar D-Type]

Alloy extrusions contain complex elements that substantially enhance structural stiffness.





The Esperante GTLM comes with a hand-built Ford SVT 4.6 liter DOHC 420 hp supercharged V-8.

[Jaguar D-Type]

2005 12 Hours of Sebring

[Jaguar D-Type]

Panoz at Le Mans. (The 73rd running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans will start on June 18th).