Panoz is an American manufacturer of
luxury sports automobiles founded in 1989 as Panoz Auto Development by
Dan Panoz, son of
Don Panoz
Donald Panoz ( or ; February 13, 1935 – September 11, 2018) was an American entrepreneur who founded two pharmaceutical companies.
Early life
Panoz was an Italian-American. His father, Eugene Panunzio, immigrated to the United States from ...
(1935 – 2018). The company has also been extensively involved in professional racing, and designs, engineers and builds its own race cars (including chassis and components). Panoz products have included the
Panoz Roadster and
AIV Roadster, the
Panoz Esperante, and the
Panoz Avezzano and the Panoz Abruzzi.
Panoz and racing
Since 1997, Panoz cars have competed in racing series around the world. Team Panoz Racing race the
Panoz Avezzano in the Pirelli GTS class, and in 2018 won the Manufacturer's Championship. In addition to
Le Mans series
The European Le Mans Series (abbreviated as ELMS) is a European sports car racing endurance series inspired by the 24 Hours of Le Mans race and organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). The European Le Mans Series is similar to the ...
(Now European Le Mans series) wins, an
Esperante GTLM won the GT2 class at the
2006 24 Hours of Le Mans and in the same year, won the
2006 12 Hours of Sebring and was on the podium at the endurance season finale,
2006 Petit Le Mans. For the
2007 American Le Mans season, Panoz contracted longtime
BMW Motorsport
BMW M Motorsport (formerly BMW Motorsport) is the division of BMW responsible for motorsport-related activities, including works-run competition programmes in touring car racing, sports car racing, motorcycle racing.
The current organisation is a ...
partner Prototype Technology Group to campaign the GTLM in the ALMS and Le Mans. Panoz has also provided IndyCar with the
G-Force GF05 and
GF09; and the
Champ Car World Series
Champ Car World Series (CCWS) was the series sanctioned by Open-Wheel Racing Series Inc., a sanctioning body for American open-wheel car racing that operated from 2004 to 2008. It was the successor to Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART), ...
with their final race car, the
Panoz DP01 which was the final chassis used under ChampCar until the unification
of the American open wheel series in road racing.
Road cars
*
Panoz (AIV) roadster
*
Panoz Esperante
*Panoz Esperante GT
*
Panoz Esperante GTLM
*Panoz Esperante JRD (tuned By JRD)
*
Panoz Abruzzi
*
Panoz Avezzano
Race cars
Panoz Motor Sports Group
Panoz Motor Sports Group was sold to
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...
in 2012. The assets of the sale included the
American Le Mans Series
The American Le Mans Series (ALMS) was a sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada. It consisted of a series of Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance and sprint races, and was created in the spirit of the 24 Hours of Le M ...
,
Road Atlanta
Road Atlanta (known for sponsorship reasons as Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta) is a road course located just north of Braselton, Georgia, United States. The facility is utilized for a wide variety of events, including professional and amateur spo ...
,
Sebring International Raceway
Sebring International Raceway is a road course auto racing facility in the Southeastern United States, southeastern United States, located near Sebring, Florida.
Sebring Raceway is one of the oldest continuously operating race tracks in the U.S ...
and Panoz Racing Schools.
Mosport International Raceway
Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (formerly Mosport Park and Mosport International Raceway) is a multi-Race track, track motorsport venue located north of Bowmanville in Clarington, Ontario, Canada, approximately 75 kilometers (47 miles) east of To ...
was sold separately to a Canadian consortium led by
Ron Fellows
Ronald Charles Fellows Order of Canada, CM (born September 28, 1959) is a Canadian retired auto racing driver.
Personal life
Fellows was born in Windsor, Ontario, on September 28, 1959. At age four, he became interested in auto racing with his ...
and Carlo Fidani.
Panoz, LLC., is an automotive manufacturer that builds and designs street cars and race cars. Élan Motorsports is a company that builds and designs race cars too. Both these two companies are still owned by the Panoz family.
American Le Mans Series
The American Le Mans Series (ALMS) was created by
Don Panoz
Donald Panoz ( or ; February 13, 1935 – September 11, 2018) was an American entrepreneur who founded two pharmaceutical companies.
Early life
Panoz was an Italian-American. His father, Eugene Panunzio, immigrated to the United States from ...
in 1999. Panoz also owned the
International Motor Sports Association
The International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) is a North American sports car racing sanctioning body based in Daytona Beach, Florida, under the jurisdiction of the ACCUS arm of the FIA. It was started by John Bishop, a former executive dir ...
, the organization that sanctions the
ALMS
Alms (, ) are money, food, or other material goods donated to people living in poverty. Providing alms is often considered an act of Charity (practice), charity. The act of providing alms is called almsgiving.
Etymology
The word ''alms'' come ...
. It held its inaugural event, the
1998 Petit Le Mans
The 1998 Petit Le Mans was a sportscar race for the 1998 IMSA GT Championship season, then known as the Professional SportsCar Racing series. It also served as a prelude to the first American Le Mans Series race held at Sebring in 1999. Don Pa ...
as part of the
Professional Sportscar Racing series. The
ALMS
Alms (, ) are money, food, or other material goods donated to people living in poverty. Providing alms is often considered an act of Charity (practice), charity. The act of providing alms is called almsgiving.
Etymology
The word ''alms'' come ...
has a partnership with the
Automobile Club de l'Ouest
The Automobile Club de l'Ouest (English: Automobile Club of the West), sometimes abbreviated to ACO, is the largest automotive group in France. It was founded in 1906 by car building and racing enthusiasts, and is most famous for being the organ ...
, the organizers of the
24 Hours of Le Mans
The 24 Hours of Le Mans () is an endurance-focused Sports car racing, sports car race held annually near the city of Le Mans, France. It is widely considered to be one of the world's most prestigious races, and is one of the races—along with ...
, to allow teams to compete to the same regulations. In 2012, the
ALMS
Alms (, ) are money, food, or other material goods donated to people living in poverty. Providing alms is often considered an act of Charity (practice), charity. The act of providing alms is called almsgiving.
Etymology
The word ''alms'' come ...
was sold to
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...
and then in 2014, the series merged with the
Rolex Sports Car Series
The Rolex Sports Car Series was the premier series run by the Grand American Road Racing Association. It was a North American-based sports car series founded in 2000 under the name Grand American Road Racing Championship to replace the failed ...
to form
United SportsCar Racing.
Circuits
The Panoz group previously owned
Road Atlanta
Road Atlanta (known for sponsorship reasons as Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta) is a road course located just north of Braselton, Georgia, United States. The facility is utilized for a wide variety of events, including professional and amateur spo ...
in Braselton, Georgia, United States as well as previously operated
Sebring International Raceway
Sebring International Raceway is a road course auto racing facility in the Southeastern United States, southeastern United States, located near Sebring, Florida.
Sebring Raceway is one of the oldest continuously operating race tracks in the U.S ...
in
Sebring, Florida
Sebring ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Highlands County, Florida, United States. It is nicknamed "The City on the Circle", in reference to Circle Drive, the center of the Sebring Downtown Historic District. It is the principal city of th ...
, United States. They also previously owned
Mosport International Raceway
Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (formerly Mosport Park and Mosport International Raceway) is a multi-Race track, track motorsport venue located north of Bowmanville in Clarington, Ontario, Canada, approximately 75 kilometers (47 miles) east of To ...
in
Bowmanville, Ontario
Bowmanville is a community of approximately 40,000 people located in the Municipality of Clarington, Regional Municipality of Durham, Durham Region, Ontario, Canada. It is approximately east of Toronto, and east of Oshawa along Highway 2 (Ontar ...
, Canada but was sold in 2011. The tracks hosted the
American Le Mans Series
The American Le Mans Series (ALMS) was a sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada. It consisted of a series of Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance and sprint races, and was created in the spirit of the 24 Hours of Le M ...
, now the
IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship
The IMSA SportsCar Championship, currently known as the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship under sponsorship, is a sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada and organized by the International Motor Sports Association (I ...
, in addition to other top-level auto and motorcycle racing series.
Élan Motorsport Technologies
Élan Motorsports is a company that designs and builds race cars from top-level professional racing cars, through to amateur race cars. The company is owned by the Panoz family. Élan acquired other manufacturers, including famous
Formula Ford
Formula Ford, also known as F1600 and Formula F, is an entry-level class of single-seater, open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held across the world have historically been an important step for many prospective Formula One dri ...
builders
Van Diemen
Van Diemen International, Ltd. was a British race car manufacturer based in Snetterton, Norfolk, United Kingdom. The company had a reputation for high-volume production runs of its cars, the most well-known of which is its series of Formula For ...
and
Indy Racing League
IndyCar, LLC (stylized as INDYCAR), is an auto racing Governing body, sanctioning body for American open-wheel car racing headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. The organization sanctions two Auto racing, racing series: the premier IndyCar Serie ...
constructor
G-Force Technologies
G-Force Technologies (formerly Chip Ganassi Racing Ltd.) was an American racing car manufacturer originally formed by Americans Chip Ganassi and Ken Anderson in 1991. Ganassi would leave the company early on and the company was renamed G Force ...
. Élan-built cars have raced in the
Indy Racing League
IndyCar, LLC (stylized as INDYCAR), is an auto racing Governing body, sanctioning body for American open-wheel car racing headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. The organization sanctions two Auto racing, racing series: the premier IndyCar Serie ...
,
Champ Car World Series
Champ Car World Series (CCWS) was the series sanctioned by Open-Wheel Racing Series Inc., a sanctioning body for American open-wheel car racing that operated from 2004 to 2008. It was the successor to Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART), ...
,
American Le Mans Series
The American Le Mans Series (ALMS) was a sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada. It consisted of a series of Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance and sprint races, and was created in the spirit of the 24 Hours of Le M ...
,
Le Mans Series
The European Le Mans Series (abbreviated as ELMS) is a European sports car racing endurance series inspired by the 24 Hours of Le Mans race and organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). The European Le Mans Series is similar to the ...
, and other championships.
Panoz Racing School and series
The Panoz Racing School was a driver training school previously operated at Road Atlanta and Sebring International Raceway. Students learned racing techniques in purpose-built Panoz GT-RA cars. Following completion of the course, students were eligible for an
SCCA
The Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) is a non-profit American automobile club and sanctioning body supporting Autocross, Rallycross, High Performance Driver Education, HPDE, Time trial, Time Trial, Road racing, Road Racing, Regularity rally, R ...
regional racing license. The school also included programs where customers could receive instruction in their own road cars.
The Panoz Racing Series was a one-make series made up of the Panoz School cars, as well as the more powerful Panoz GTS models. The series was designed for amateurs to learn racing in a low-cost environment.
References
External links
Panoz, LLCPanoz Racing SchoolPanoz at the 24 hours of Le Mans
{{Automotive industry in the United States
*
Sports car manufacturers
Car manufacturers of the United States
American racecar constructors
Manufacturing companies based in Georgia (U.S. state)
Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1989
Car brands