1995 Panoz Roadster Is a Different Kind of American Muscle

From the November 1995 issue of Car and Driver.

British motorists have their pick of a delectable assortment of low-vol­ume, cottage-industry sports cars­—marques like TVR, Reliant, and Marcos. Americans can’t have those cars, or any­thing like them, because the big, bad U.S. government has safety and emissions regulations that make such cars unprofitable, and therefore impossible.

Tell that to Danny Panoz, and he just smiles and shakes his head. Panoz (pay-nose), of Braselton, Georgia, has spent the last six of his 33 years convinced that this conventional wisdom is full of holes. Recently, he got some proof. In a filing cabinet in his office are documents from the EPA, the Department of Trans­portation, and CARB certifying that a new turn-key sports car with his name on the hood is legal for sale in 50 states.

His car, the Panoz Roadster, has a com­plicated history. Its closest relative is the TMC Costin, a sports car made in Ireland a dozen years ago, designed by well­-known chassis engineer Frank Costin. The TMC was intended for the street, but it is known more for winning five GT cham­pionships in Europe. Flush with trophies, TMC chose to capitalize on racing and lost interest in the street version of the car.

The TMC car caught the eye of Panoz, a West Virginia native who grew up in Ire­land. Panoz once planned to go to Art Cen­ter College of Design in Pasadena. Instead, he sold Autokraft Cobras for a few years while gaining mechanical experience in his father’s Georgia wine-making business. He decided that he didn’t need to import interesting cars to sell—he could build them here himself. Discovering that production rights for the TMC Costin were for sale, he bought them in December 1988.

Before he could build “an American open-air motoring car,” as he calls it, Panoz did his homework. Because hand­built sports cars are notorious for their labor costs, he subjected the design to relentless scrutiny. While reworking the chassis to accept V-8 power, he eliminated complex bends, making assembly easier. He also converted the MIG-welded mild steel tubing to 14-gauge stainless for longevity and corrosion resistance.

Second to go was the TMC’s homely handformed fiberglass body. Panoz redrew it with the help of designer Freeman Thomas, now with Audi, and then brought it to life in aluminum. Instead of handforming or stamping, Panoz borrowed a trick from the aircraft industry called “super plastic forming”: aluminum sheets are heated to 900 degrees Fahrenheit and then forced by air pressure over dies to form the desired shape. The resulting parts, which are welded together, are stronger and cheaper than handformed alternatives.

Functional hardware comes from Ford’s Mustang GT, including the 215-hp 4.9-liter V-8 and five-speed transmis­sion, the steering column, and the wiring harness. A rear axle from the Crown Vic­toria is mounted with the Mustang’s four-­link suspension, and all four disc brakes are from the Crown Vic’s police package. The windshield comes from a VW Super Beetle. Panoz produces the front sus­pension, the interior, and the exhaust sys­tem (fabricated using Mustang catalytic converters). Panoz-designed parts num­ber about 600.

The approach covers a lot of contin­gencies. Reliability questions of major components are answered by Ford’s con­siderable resources. The Mustang’s undisturbed emissions controls means the roadster passes EPA and CARB requirements. Panoz estimates that his roadster is built in half as many man-hours as any English cottage-industry car. “Those guys probably think I’m lazy,” he says. “I’m just trying to do what they do, while minimizing labor.”

The price of a Panoz Roadster, includ­ing a canvas top and side curtains, is $43,495. So far, 50 have been built at Panoz’s eight-man factory. As of Septem­ber, the German company Rinspeed had sold six rebadged Panoz Roadsters under its name in Germany, and more orders are anticipated.

The Panoz Roadster’s smart little bul­let shape and bellowing exhaust suggest sinful fun, which this car delivers. It’s quite fast; the Mustang GT drivetrain has about 1000 fewer pounds of car to push. With the standard 2.73 rear axle, 60 mph is just 5.3 seconds away from a standstill. Install a 3.27 rear end (about $500 at a Ford dealer) and the Panoz will clear 60 in a Corvette-smoking 4.8 seconds. (The truly speed-hungry can buy a supercharger, or wait for the Mustang Cobra’s 300-hp DOHC 4.6-liter V-8 coming in January. An independent rear suspension and aluminum frame are also in the pipeline.)

On its 16-inch BFGoodrich Comp T/As, the Panoz can round a corner at a sticky 0.92 g, although mid-curve bumps can trip up the Mustang rear suspension. Stops from 70 mph require 194 feet. That’s a middling distance for a production car without ABS, although we would have expected better from a car this light.

Despite a weight of only 2316 pounds, the Panoz does not feel dainty. In fact, it seems to relish tire-squealing, tail-out starts and full-throttle blasts up through the gears. Panoz staffers all drive the cars hard. “Don’t worry, this is Mustang stuff. It can take it,” said head engineer John Leverett. The only thing that crashes the party is wind buffeting, which at 80 mph threatens to remove all of your hair. Slow down and you will appreciate this car’s comfortable ride and how the fenders move and turn with every nuance of the front wheels.

In other ways, the Panoz is not too different from the mainstream stuff found at a typical new-car dealer. There isn’t a cheap-looking part to be seen inside or out. Gaps between the body panels are wide but consistent. The structure could be stiffer, and a few small items could be improved, but nothing leaps out and offends. The Panoz can be serviced by most Ford dealers, which helps this car compete with Corvettes and Supras for the play money of the well-heeled.

We’d say this is the best street-legal, turn-key cottage-industry roadster avail­able in the U.S., but that’s like saying National Geographic is the best publica­tion for giraffe coverage. Panoz builds roadsters to order. In case you’re wonder­ing, he does take American Express.

Panoz, 1089 Hwy. 124 Hoschton, GA 30548; 678-425-1539