The Panoz Abruzzi was a

grand tourer A grand tourer (GT) is a type of car that is designed for high speed and long-distance driving with performance and luxury. The most common format is a Front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout, front-engine, rear-wheel-drive two-door coupé with ...

intended for manufacture by

Panoz Auto Development Panoz is an American manufacturer of luxury sports automobiles founded in 1989 as Panoz Auto Development by Dan Panoz, son of Don Panoz (1935 – 2018). The company has also been extensively involved in professional racing, and designs, engi ...

for the

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

an market. Production was to be limited to 81 units and it was expected to be delivered between 2011 and 2013, with a retail price of around £330,000. Much of the car was to be made of a multilayer composite known as REAMS (Recyclable Energy Absorbing Matrix System), which Panoz claimed was as strong as

carbon fiber Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (American English), carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers ( Commonwealth English), carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics, carbon-fiber reinforced-thermoplastic (CFRP, CRP, CFRTP), also known as carbon fiber, carbon comp ...

but was more durable and could have been recycled. The Abruzzi made its

sports car racing Sports car racing is a form of motorsport road racing that uses sports cars with two seats and enclosed wheels. They may be either purpose-built Sports prototype, sports prototypes, which are the highest level in sports car racing; or grand to ...

debut at the 12 Hours of Sebring in 2011. In July 2014, production of the Abruzzi was not confirmed and it no longer appeared on the company's website. The name of the car refers to the old name of Italian region of

Abruzzo Abruzzo (, ; ; , ''Abbrìzze'' or ''Abbrèzze'' ; ), historically also known as Abruzzi, is a Regions of Italy, region of Southern Italy with an area of 10,763 square km (4,156 sq mi) and a population of 1.3 million. It is divided into four ...

, where Don Panoz's grandfather lived before the 1915 earthquake forced him and his family to move to United States. Panoz Abruzzi

Performance

The Abruzzi was planned to be powered by a

supercharged In an internal combustion engine, a supercharger compresses the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to produce more power for a given displacement. It is a form of forced induction that is mechanically powered (usually by ...

6.2L (6,162 cc) LS3

V8 engine A V8 engine is an eight- cylinder piston engine in which two banks of four cylinders share a common crankshaft and are arranged in a V configuration. Origins The first known V8 was the Antoinette, designed by Léon Levavasseur, a ...

that produces and of torque. It also features a "Trifecta" cooling system that uses multiple rear mounted radiators in addition to other cooling systems to keep coolant temperatures down.

References

External links

Abruzzi Abruzzo (, ; ; , ''Abbrìzze'' or ''Abbrèzze'' ; ), historically also known as Abruzzi, is a Regions of Italy, region of Southern Italy with an area of 10,763 square km (4,156 sq mi) and a population of 1.3 million. It is divided into four ...

Grand tourers Concept cars {{Modern-auto-stub