1998 Panoz Roadster (Panoz Roadster)
About
The Panoz Roadster is a sports car/hot rod that was launched in 1992 by Panoz Auto Development Company of Georgia. They are built using a stainless steel frame and an aluminum body.
These handmade vehicles were the brainchild of Donny Panoz who had purchased the rights to the frame designed by Frank Costin used in a defunct Irish sportscar called the TMC Costin. Panoz had Freeman Thomas design a new body for the car. The car used Ford Mustang running gear — engine and transmission — a solid rear axle and independent front suspension.
Tooling was made so the Superformed aluminum body panels could be produced. This aircraft process produced amazingly strong, light bodywork.
The early cars were built to order for individual buyers. The original Panoz Roadster production continued through to 1995. In total, 44 cars were manufactured and sold to the public.[citation needed] There were a number of running changes that took place over the four years this car was built, but in general, the cars were quite similar. The Costin chassis was never put under a production car. All the early Roadsters featured a TIG welded stainless steel tubing frame, and extensive use of CNC machined and stamped parts.[citation needed] A seven-man crew built the first ten cars, and other workers were added later in production.
Danny Panoz had the vision to use, and demanded, a stock Ford Mustang drive train. Those first Roadsters had no top or tonneau cover, and no provision or intention of having either. No automatic transmission was offered, only the manual 5 speed. A small heater core delivered warmth to the windshield for defrosting, since the US DOT requirements mandated it. There was no radio, no heater, no air conditioner, and further there was no place to install any of those.
They had 225 horsepower (168 kW). Several middle-aged men who test drove the early production cars commented it had the power and acceleration of a hemi muscle car from the 1960s.[citation needed]
Of those first few cars, Danny built a champagne-colored Roadster for his mother and a deep green one for his father.[citation needed] His father's car was the first to be fitted with a belt-drive supercharger. One of the original factory body shop employees (Crawdaddy) upon returning from his hoodless test drive in that car, dubbed it the “Atomic Pickle”.
Some 5.0 liter Roadsters were fitted with a custom-engraved plate atop the intake manifold with the owner’s name and Panoz logo. A few cars were built to a factory specification, and most were custom ordered.
In 1994 and 1995, Danny began to look into developing an aluminum chassis for the Roadster. Saved assembly time would pay off on the factory floor, and weight reduction would improve performance even more. In 1996, the new prototype of the Panoz Roadster was unveiled. This new version differed substantially from the original car. It had an extruded aluminum space frame with a central backbone. Special adhesives were used to attach the frame and body. Technology developed in the aerospace industry was used in its construction.
Equally important, an entirely new drive train was employed. In 1996, Ford's SVT group had launched the Mustang SVT Cobra with a hand assembled all aluminum V-8 DOHC 32 valve motor. This engine produced 305 horsepower (227 kW) and 300 foot-pounds force (410 N·m) of torque. The new Mustang engine was mated to a new Borg-Warner T-45 five speed transmission for the redesigned Roadster.
With the aluminum frame, body, engine, etc. the new Roadster was at least 70% aluminum. As a result, Mr. Panoz dubbed it an aluminum intensive vehicle (AIV). Thus, the new version of the roadster became the Panoz AIV Roadster.[citation needed] There were 176 of these roadsters built and sold to the public during the three-year time span 1997-1999. Some cars built in 99 were not sold until 2000. By 2000, the Panoz Company had developed a new model, the Panoz Esperante, dropping the Roadster.
The original prototype’s frame design was bought from a British racing-car designer (Costin). Most of the car's parts, including the transmission and brakes, are borrowed from Ford cars. The tires are BF Goodrich G-Force tires. The aluminum body panels are made by a special extrusion process performed by only one company, the aerospace entity Superform. This same company now extrudes the Morgan Aero 8 aluminum body.
Each model year brought subtle differences. Models from the first few years used the cast iron, 5.0-liter V8 engine from Ford's Mustang line. Starting in 1997, Panoz used the aluminum, 4.6-liter V8 engine, which was considerably lighter and increased the car's power significantly. With the weight savings, an air-conditioning system was installed with little overall weight or performance change. The last year the AIV Roadster was made was 1999, when about 10 were modified with special paints and superchargers and were signed to create the Signature Edition 2000 Panoz AIV Roadster.
The AIV Roadster was eventually discontinued so the factory could focus on the new full-bodied Panoz Esperante. The Esperante requires far less manpower to make and appeals to a larger audience than the Roadster, since it has luxury appointments and power accessories inside a wider cockpit.
These handmade vehicles were the brainchild of Donny Panoz who had purchased the rights to the frame designed by Frank Costin used in a defunct Irish sportscar called the TMC Costin. Panoz had Freeman Thomas design a new body for the car. The car used Ford Mustang running gear — engine and transmission — a solid rear axle and independent front suspension.
Tooling was made so the Superformed aluminum body panels could be produced. This aircraft process produced amazingly strong, light bodywork.
The early cars were built to order for individual buyers. The original Panoz Roadster production continued through to 1995. In total, 44 cars were manufactured and sold to the public.[citation needed] There were a number of running changes that took place over the four years this car was built, but in general, the cars were quite similar. The Costin chassis was never put under a production car. All the early Roadsters featured a TIG welded stainless steel tubing frame, and extensive use of CNC machined and stamped parts.[citation needed] A seven-man crew built the first ten cars, and other workers were added later in production.
Danny Panoz had the vision to use, and demanded, a stock Ford Mustang drive train. Those first Roadsters had no top or tonneau cover, and no provision or intention of having either. No automatic transmission was offered, only the manual 5 speed. A small heater core delivered warmth to the windshield for defrosting, since the US DOT requirements mandated it. There was no radio, no heater, no air conditioner, and further there was no place to install any of those.
They had 225 horsepower (168 kW). Several middle-aged men who test drove the early production cars commented it had the power and acceleration of a hemi muscle car from the 1960s.[citation needed]
Of those first few cars, Danny built a champagne-colored Roadster for his mother and a deep green one for his father.[citation needed] His father's car was the first to be fitted with a belt-drive supercharger. One of the original factory body shop employees (Crawdaddy) upon returning from his hoodless test drive in that car, dubbed it the “Atomic Pickle”.
Some 5.0 liter Roadsters were fitted with a custom-engraved plate atop the intake manifold with the owner’s name and Panoz logo. A few cars were built to a factory specification, and most were custom ordered.
In 1994 and 1995, Danny began to look into developing an aluminum chassis for the Roadster. Saved assembly time would pay off on the factory floor, and weight reduction would improve performance even more. In 1996, the new prototype of the Panoz Roadster was unveiled. This new version differed substantially from the original car. It had an extruded aluminum space frame with a central backbone. Special adhesives were used to attach the frame and body. Technology developed in the aerospace industry was used in its construction.
Equally important, an entirely new drive train was employed. In 1996, Ford's SVT group had launched the Mustang SVT Cobra with a hand assembled all aluminum V-8 DOHC 32 valve motor. This engine produced 305 horsepower (227 kW) and 300 foot-pounds force (410 N·m) of torque. The new Mustang engine was mated to a new Borg-Warner T-45 five speed transmission for the redesigned Roadster.
With the aluminum frame, body, engine, etc. the new Roadster was at least 70% aluminum. As a result, Mr. Panoz dubbed it an aluminum intensive vehicle (AIV). Thus, the new version of the roadster became the Panoz AIV Roadster.[citation needed] There were 176 of these roadsters built and sold to the public during the three-year time span 1997-1999. Some cars built in 99 were not sold until 2000. By 2000, the Panoz Company had developed a new model, the Panoz Esperante, dropping the Roadster.
The original prototype’s frame design was bought from a British racing-car designer (Costin). Most of the car's parts, including the transmission and brakes, are borrowed from Ford cars. The tires are BF Goodrich G-Force tires. The aluminum body panels are made by a special extrusion process performed by only one company, the aerospace entity Superform. This same company now extrudes the Morgan Aero 8 aluminum body.
Each model year brought subtle differences. Models from the first few years used the cast iron, 5.0-liter V8 engine from Ford's Mustang line. Starting in 1997, Panoz used the aluminum, 4.6-liter V8 engine, which was considerably lighter and increased the car's power significantly. With the weight savings, an air-conditioning system was installed with little overall weight or performance change. The last year the AIV Roadster was made was 1999, when about 10 were modified with special paints and superchargers and were signed to create the Signature Edition 2000 Panoz AIV Roadster.
The AIV Roadster was eventually discontinued so the factory could focus on the new full-bodied Panoz Esperante. The Esperante requires far less manpower to make and appeals to a larger audience than the Roadster, since it has luxury appointments and power accessories inside a wider cockpit.
Specs
Specifications
Top speed 131 mph (210 km/h)
Acceleration 0-60 mph (0-96 km/h) 4.5 sec
Engine type V8
Displacement 281 ci (4,604 cc)
Transmission 5-speed manual
Maximum power 305 bhp (227 kW) @ 5,800 rpm
Maximum torque 300 ft·lbf (406 Nm) @ 4,800 rpm
Weight 2,459 lb (1,117 kg)
Economy (fuel usage) 19.9 mpg (7.04 l/100km)
Top speed 131 mph (210 km/h)
Acceleration 0-60 mph (0-96 km/h) 4.5 sec
Engine type V8
Displacement 281 ci (4,604 cc)
Transmission 5-speed manual
Maximum power 305 bhp (227 kW) @ 5,800 rpm
Maximum torque 300 ft·lbf (406 Nm) @ 4,800 rpm
Weight 2,459 lb (1,117 kg)
Economy (fuel usage) 19.9 mpg (7.04 l/100km)
Mods
3.73 Rear End Gear Ratio
| Color | Silver |
| Country of origin | US |
| Odometer | 8500 mi |
| Curb Weight | 2500 lb |
| Horsepower @ RPM | 305 @ 5800 |
| Torque (lb-ft) @ RPM | 300 @ 4800 |
| Engine Type | 4.6L V8 |
| Displacement | 281 |
| Drivetrain | rear_wheel |
| Transmission | manual |
| 0-60 | 4.4 |
| 1/4 mile | 12.8 |
| Top Speed | 131 mph |
Last updated: August 6, 2009 at 2:47pm
