Welcome new owners and members

[Ackmann]

Hello,

I met Danny Panoz during 1989, and was present for and in the photograph the unveiling of the original protoype of the Panoz Roadster. 125 people attended, mostly automotive press. Danny hired me to design the wiring system for the early Roadsters, and I became part of the original six man team that built those cars. My friend Ray, the 7th Panoz employee, owns the prototype and three of the first serial-numbered Roadsters.

Danny drove the first production Roadster at dawn on a hot Saturday morning. Having stayed there all night working with him to finish it, he came back and made me drive it. I was the second person to ever drive a porduction Panoz auomobile. Thank you Danny.

It is amazing that Danny Panoz was able to start a car company from scratch on the budget he had to work with. Never met anyone that works as hard or believes as strongly in what he is doing. The focus and intensity he has is never written about. Those early cars had the stainless steel chassis and the cast iron 5.0 liter Mustang GT powertrains. Far as I know, its the first car ever sold that passed EPA with glasspacks from the factory.

None of those first ten cars had a top, or an option for one. No heater, no radio, just a defroster, a 5-speed, and a key. I got to drive every one of them, sometimes to shows, for sales, parades, and in the first rally. It brought me to the joy of an automobile - which is driving, hearing the engine purr, seeing the tires turn and experiencing the road.

I built and installed an optional theft-deterrent system on many of the cars, a clever system still in use. When Autoweek put the Roadster on the cover in the early 90's, I bought a box of that issue. Still have 50 copies or more, and if you are trying to show a Panoz you might want one.

Of the original employees, it seems I'm the only one that is a writer. I a have a few photos and some video footage from back then. Recently have wondered if writing a book about those years would be of any interest to the real Panoz fans out there. Commentary welcomed, I have asked some of the guys about a little reunion to relive those days. If it happens, we will videotape it. Not sure where all the original guys are these days.

Danny's father got the first supercharged Roadster. "Vlasic Green" was the color and the SVO engine ran with a monstrous fury. Fitted with a Kenne-Belle blower with welded and smoothed hood blips (aluminum aircraft parts) for clearance, Mike "Crawdad" the body and paint man named it the "Atomic Pickle" after a blast in it.

When Danny pitched building the first Esperante to his father, I used my computer to assemble the inital layout and proposal. Made two copies and I still have one on hand. If you are going to show an Esperante you might email me and see if something of interest is in that book, it reveals of a history and a timeline of the car that is simply not available elsewhere.

Thanks for having me.

John, you made my day with your post today. Very cool to have someone from the early days here to share and correct reports and history.

Pictures, Pictures, Pictures. Put me down for one of the first autographed copies of your book if you write one. Please post what you can as it is always fun to read about.

[PanozGTLM]

John, you made my day with your post today. Very cool to have someone from the early days here to share and correct reports and history.

Pictures, Pictures, Pictures. Put me down for one of the first autographed copies of your book if you write one. Please post what you can as it is always fun to read about.

Ditto! John you are a valuable addition to the Panoz Life family. I would love to see the Esperante pitch material you have. My brother-in-law was "Sterling Motors" in Ft Lauderdale he was the South Florida Panoz dealer and we both attended the unveiling of the Esperante at the NY auto show and I still have the press package that was given out that day.

Thank you

From A Certified Panoz NUT

[PanozGTLM]

Pictures from the factory

This is for those of you that never had the pleasure of going to the factory.

[PanozGTLM]

More pictures

I will look at home I know that I have more. . .

[JPardue]

Thanks for the welcome

Nice to be welcomed to your group.

Over the coming weeks, I will start to go into my Panoz archives. Digital cameras were not available when we started. I'm hoping to get to Georgia this summer with my big scanner and see if the original guys will share photos we took, get them in digital form.

I am trying to find a working 8mm Handycam video camera or an 8mm video deck. I had a Sony back then and still have the tapes, need to digitize these. On VHS I have the first ever television news clip shot at the factory, and in it you can see us building cars.

I left the factory before the first production Esperante was built, and just as the AIV Roadsters came into production. Some of the guys like Joey (who was the youngest of us and is the man behind JAMCO) stayed on many years and would know all about the Esperante.

As with any story, there are at least two sides to it. The factory and the family are concerned with public relations, but those of us that worked there know a different story, its all good just different.

Jon Pardue
Sarasota, Florida

[Tampa1of176]

Newbie

Greetings All,
Just came across this forum and I'm glad I did. Since as many of you already know, not many people know about Panoz out there. Nice to be able to come to a place to find "like" minds. I have a 98/99 AIV Roadster. I say 98/99 because even though it's titled as a 98, the Panoz factory used this particular car to try out the changes for the 99 model. So my rims and interior changes all match the 99. Hopefully down the road this means something, but if not, still like the layout better. I've only done two upgrades, a chip and changing the gear ratio to a 3.55. I don't think the chip did much but the gearing sure did. If there's anyone in the Tampa Bay area, please drop me a line.
Thanks,
Tom

[Ackmann]

I will look at home I know that I have more. . .

Very Nice!!!!

I haven't been back to the factory. Think I may go back next year as they ramp up more on the Abruzzi. Would be reluctant now as I'm sure they're in high gear to make showing at Le Mans.

[Ackmann]

Greetings All,
Just came across this forum and I'm glad I did. Since as many of you already know, not many people know about Panoz out there. Nice to be able to come to a place to find "like" minds. I have a 98/99 AIV Roadster. I say 98/99 because even though it's titled as a 98, the Panoz factory used this particular car to try out the changes for the 99 model. So my rims and interior changes all match the 99. Hopefully down the road this means something, but if not, still like the layout better. I've only done two upgrades, a chip and changing the gear ratio to a 3.55. I don't think the chip did much but the gearing sure did. If there's anyone in the Tampa Bay area, please drop me a line.
Thanks,
Tom

Welcome Tom,

Glad you found us and joined the forum. I've heard from a few guys here that they have changed the rear end gears and it is making me think it may be worth considering. What kind of Cash was it? Sounds like it should be quite resonable enough.

[PanozBob]

Greetings All,
Just came across this forum and I'm glad I did. Since as many of you already know, not many people know about Panoz out there. Nice to be able to come to a place to find "like" minds. I have a 98/99 AIV Roadster. I say 98/99 because even though it's titled as a 98, the Panoz factory used this particular car to try out the changes for the 99 model. So my rims and interior changes all match the 99. Hopefully down the road this means something, but if not, still like the layout better. I've only done two upgrades, a chip and changing the gear ratio to a 3.55. I don't think the chip did much but the gearing sure did. If there's anyone in the Tampa Bay area, please drop me a line.
Thanks,
Tom

Welcome Tom,

Good to have another owner on the site. Looks like we have a few new owner/members finding the site each month. With low productions it won't ever be as big as Ferrari, Porsche or Corvette forums; but isn't that why we chose to own the Panoz anyways.

[Rarity]

24/7

Very Nice!!!!

I haven't been back to the factory. Think I may go back next year as they ramp up more on the Abruzzi. Would be reluctant now as I'm sure they're in high gear to make showing at Le Mans.

More than High Gear its 24/7 until Le Mans

[PanozGTLM]

The Panoz Factory

More than High Gear its 24/7 until Le Mans

When I was there a year ago it was like pulling teeth and no one was allowed to go into the factory. At that time they said they were moving things around to start production on the Mark II. I guess that was the original name for the Abruzzi.

[Rarity]

When I was there a year ago it was like pulling teeth and no one was allowed to go into the factory. At that time they said they were moving things around to start production on the Mark II. I guess that was the original name for the Abruzzi.

No the Mark II will still be available it will be based on a Ford Drive-train..

[Rarity]

equis-cdc-mustang.jpgThe way the factory is designed they can do almost anything as long as it can be built in a Modular form. They have another product out there and they all can be run on the same line...

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=48568848520

[Tampa1of176]

Gears reply

Welcome Tom,

Glad you found us and joined the forum. I've heard from a few guys here that they have changed the rear end gears and it is making me think it may be worth considering. What kind of Cash was it? Sounds like it should be quite resonable enough.

I had it done about a year ago in a local speed shop (Ramsey's) and want to say it was in the $500-$700 range if I remember right. It did add a little "giddy-up" and is probably the cheapest way to get a performance upgrade. I've thought about adding the Bell supercharger but have not followed through with it. What I really need is a roll bar. Just haven't found a local company that wants to cut into the Panoz body.

[GotPanoz]

After I acquired my Esperante several years ago I was somewhat surprised to find my search for a Panoz forum was unsuccessful. Now after doing a Google search for the Abruzzi I'm pleased to have found this forum where I don’t have to explain exactly what is a Panoz. Even here in car crazy southern California, speaking to knowledgeable car guys and non enthusiasts alike, I must inform them what Panoz is all about when they ask "nice car,what is this?". Even my car insurance agent had to take a full day to figure it out. But you here know all about that. My car is a 2003, which returned to the factory in 2005 for some updates. I have a few questions which I’ll post in another thread. Thanks.