In the US we didn't have any real cottage auto industry. For awhile Avanti could have been considered one, but the Avanti II, while somewhat desirable, was not a new design; it was just the continuation of a classic old Studebaker design. Oh yeah, we also had companies like Excalibur creating garish 1930s semi-replicas, but I would have rather been seen driving a Pinto than one of those.
I was excited when I heard that Panoz was going to produce a car. The Panoz family had the knowledge, expertise and, most importantly, the money to produce a world class car. That excitement quickly waned when I saw the car.The Panoz AIV Roadster was a disappointment to me. It's technology was interesting and it was fast, but it was a toy. A cycle fender car with no roof. It also had no heater, no radio, no A/C. It was a car that you could only drive on warm, sunny, humidity-free days. There aren't a lot of those here in New England.
Then Panoz introduced this, the Esperante. This is a world class sports car. Like the best from Europe, it's a car you can run on the track on the weekends and drive to work during the week. This is a car I want to own.Like most small manufacturers, Panoz bought many parts from major manufacturers. A lot of the Panoz comes from Ford's parts bin.
The engine is a 4.6L/320-hp Ford SVT Cobra V-8. The Esparante body and frame are aluminum. It weighs less than 3000lbs. It gets to 60 MPH in about 5 seconds. These cars ran around $80K when new. This one, which appears to be in spectacular shape, is being offered for half that.
Located in Indianapolis, Indiana, click here to see the eBay listing.Motor Trend ran a great article about the Esparante back in March, 1999. It's worth reading. You can find it here.
