Panoz Abruzzi breaks cover
New American supercar unveiled ahead of the 2010 Le Mans 24 hour race promises high performance on road or trackAmerican niche car maker Panoz has taken the wraps off a new hand-built race car in the prelude to the legendary Le Mans 24 hour endurance race on the weekend of June 12-13.
The Panoz Abruzzi Spirit of Le Mans, to give the car its full billing, will be a road-legal vehicle in Europe, Asia, the Middle East and South America and was developed not only to excite the senses with its extreme speed, but to pay tribute to the way the racers used to compete in the Le Mans.
"The Panoz Abruzzi harkens back to a day where drivers would pilot their cars to Le Mans, race it twice around the clock then drive back home," says the American company.
Powered by an engine of undisclosed configuration and displacement, Panoz has confirmed that its enduro motorsports styled sports car will output a mammoth 447kW/800Nm, which should give it the kind of zero to 100km/h sprint time to make most Italian exotics wilt.
The engine will be front mounted and drive will be transferred to the rear wheels -- and as the photos show, the car has been styled to be aerodynamically efficient.
Panoz has crafted the body shell from a multi-layer composite material rather than carbonfibre composites that most lightweight high performance sports cars use. Panoz reckons this multi-layer composite material is lighter but still as strong as carbonfibre, but has the advantage of being recyclable.
Just 81 versions of the hand-built Panoz Abruzzi will be created, but no price has been attached to the car as yet.
"This is the culmination of equal parts time, effort and dreams," said Don Panoz, founder of the Panoz Motor Sports Group. "The Panoz brand always has prided itself on hand-building and delivering an exotic automobile and experience to our customers. Our new offering takes this to a completely new level."
Panoz has been a regular competitor at the famous Le Mans 24 hour race and in 2006 won the GT2 class with its Esperante GTLM.
Owners of the new car will also get VIP treatment at the world-famous Le Mans 24 hour endurance race, with a full hospitality package and even driver training at the Bugatti Circuit at Le Mans.
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