2008 Panoz ESPERANTE GT

NEWS & REVIEWS Actor Nicholas Cage supposedly still loves his Esperante. Patrick Dempsey, a.k.a. Dr. McDreamy from the television show Grey’s Anatomy, has been driving one in the Panoz GT race series. An Esperante convertible is his daily driver at home in California. How come? Seems both stars like the car’s race-bred heritage, its rarity, uniqueness, and, no doubt, its big V-8 power. Under that all-aluminum body, with more curves than Sports Illustrated’‘s swimsuit issue, beats a supercharged, 420-hp Ford V-8 crate motor, coupled to a six-speed manual ’box. Weighing just 3,400 pounds, it can lunge to 60 mph from standstill in just 4.0 seconds and run hard all the way to its 180-mph max. Its super-stiff chassis, made from extruded aluminum and sprung by race-inspired double-wishbone suspension, ensures it carves corners like the race versions that do so well in the American Le Mans Series. But race breeding costs plenty—$122,835 for the roadster, $129,819 for the coupe. PHOTOS: click photos to enlarge

2007 Panoz GTS

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2007 Panoz ESPERANTE JRD

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2007 Panoz ESPERANTE GTLM

NEWS & REVIEWS Two of motor sports’ toughest long-distance endurance races are the Le Mans 24-Hour and the Sebring 12-Hour. Well, there’s this little car company in Hoschton, Georgia, called Panoz Auto Development that builds a funky-looking two-seater sports car called the Esperante GTLM. This year they entered their Esperante racecar in both races. They won, beating out Porsches, Ferraris, and Spykers in the hard-fought GT2 class. Guess that’s why the road-going Esperante is such a blast to drive. Powered by a supercharged 420-horse, 4.6-liter Ford SVT V-8 crate motor, it’ll streak to 60 mph in just 4.0 seconds and run flat out to 180 mph. The reason why it’s so quick is down to the car’s space-age body structure, which comprises a super-stiff chassis made from extruded-aluminum, with a body formed from featherweight Superformed aluminum panels. Bolted to this is race-inspired, double-wishbone suspension with coil-over shocks. The GTLM ain’t cheap at $128,319, but that’s the price you pay for race breeding. PHOTOS: click photos to enlarge

2007 Panoz ESPERANTE GT

NEWS & REVIEWS PHOTOS: click photos to enlarge

2007 Panoz ESPERANTE

NEWS & REVIEWS PHOTOS: click photos to enlarge