Panoz will go under the hammer (19 photos)

On April 6 in Houston, a rare 1997 Panoz AIV sports car will go under the hammer at the Mecum auction. A total of 176 of these cars were assembled. Judging by the photo, the car is in excellent condition. Auctioneers do not publish price expectations, but in the second half of the 1990s, Panoz estimated such a sports car at a minimum of $65,000.





Panoz Auto Development was founded in the United States by motorsports fan Dan Panoz in 1989. The company developed both track sports cars for various national racing series and road sports cars, based on an ideology similar to the approach of the Lotus brand: relatively low-power engines, lightweight chassis and highly precise handling.

At the time of its debut, the Panoz AIV roadster was considered one of the most advanced sports cars in the United States due to the extensive use of aluminum in its design - both the power structure and body panels were made from this metal. The sports car weighed a little more than a ton.

Its body contours and exposed suspension elements make its appearance similar to classic American hot rods. The engine is similar in style - a 4.6-liter V8 from the Mustang SVT Cobra, which on this model developed about 300 hp. The roadster is capable of accelerating to 100 km/h in 4.3 seconds - one and a half seconds faster than the donor power unit.

Panoz produced the AIV from 1996 to 1999, but due to the complexity of the design, only a limited number of sports cars were assembled. The example put up for sale with a black body and beige leather in the interior is one of the first. The auctioneers do not disclose any details of the car's biography.