This is a Panoz Esperante from 2005, it has just 15,000 miles on the odometer, and it’s powered by a 4.6 liter Ford Modular V8 factory rated at 305 bhp and 320 lb ft of torque.
While the Esperante has been called an American V8 answer to the Miata, it was actually a little larger than the Japanese sports car, more expensive, and much closer in scale to the C5 and C6 Corvettes of the era. In fact, in some measurements it was almost identical.
Fast Facts: The Panoz Esperante
- The 2005 Panoz Esperante shown here has just 15,000 miles and is powered by a 4.6 liter Ford Modular V8 producing 305 bhp and 320 lb ft of torque. Power goes through a 5-speed manual gearbox to a limited-slip differential, giving it performance comparable with contemporary Corvettes.
- Panoz was founded by Dan Panoz in 1989 to build American sports cars, beginning with the lightweight V8-powered Roadster and later the aluminum-intensive AIV Roadster. The company also built numerous racing cars, while Don Panoz established the American Le Mans Series in 1999.
- Introduced in 2000, the Esperante used a bonded and bolted modular aluminum chassis, independent double-wishbone suspension, ventilated disc brakes, and lightweight aluminum bodywork. Around 234 first-generation cars were reportedly built through 2007, with several higher-performance variants offered during the production run.
- This red example spent much of its life in Oregon and Arizona before the seller’s father bought it in 2019, with ownership passing to the seller in 2025. It features 18-inch BBS wheels, black leather, carbon-fiber trim, air conditioning, cruise control, and an aftermarket sound system.
A History Speedrun: Panoz
Panoz was founded by Dan Panoz in 1989 with the very specific goal of designing and building world-class sports cars in the United States. The Panoz family first arrived in the United States in the early 20th century when champion Italian boxer Eugene Panunzio moved over and changed his surname from Panunzio to Panoz.
This is a Panoz Esperante from 2005, it has just 15,000 miles on the odometer, and it’s powered by a 4.6 liter Ford Modular V8 factory rated at 305 bhp and 320 lb ft of torque.
This Italian heritage, plus a lifelong love of racing and sports cars, had inspired Dan Panoz to start his own eponymous automotive marque and much to the surprise of some, he enjoyed significant success and the company remains in business building cars through to the current day.
The first production car from the company would be the Panoz Roadster, imagine a cross between a Shelby Cobra and a Caterham 7 and you’re most of the way there. The car was very lightweight and powered by an American V8, giving it an enviable power-to-weight ratio.
The Panoz AIV Roadster would be the next model release, and it would be an indication of things to come from the company. “AIV” stands for “Aluminum Intensive Vehicle, ” it was built around an advanced extruded aluminum spaceframe chassis with a central backbone that offered excellent rigidity, a low weight, and high levels of corrosion resistance.
The Panoz Esperante would be the next car offered by the company, now with more traditional roadster styling and V8 performance on par with the Corvette of the period.
This model would be followed by the Panoz Abruzzi and the Panoz Avezzano, and it’s possible to order yourself a new Avezzano today with pricing starting around $159,900 USD.
Panoz has also developed a number of race cars, including the G-Force GF09, Panoz DP01, Panoz Esperante GTR-1, Panoz LMP07, and the Panoz Avezzano GT4 – though this is far from an exhaustive list.
Don Panoz founded the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) in 1999 with the goal of bringing European-style endurance racing to the United States. ALMS would be acquired by NASCAR in 2012 and then merged with the Rolex Sports Car Series to form the IMSA SportsCar Championship.
While the Esperante has been called an American V8 answer to the Miata, it was actually a little larger than the Japanese sports car, more expensive, and much closer in scale to the C5 and C6 Corvettes of the era, in fact in some measurements it was almost identical.
The Panoz Esperante
The Panoz Esperante was unveiled at the New York Motor Show in the year 2000, it was an all-new design but it used many of the same technologies that the company had developed for the earlier Panoz AIV Roadster.
The Esperante had a largely aluminum chassis consisting of five modules, all bonded and bolted together – there were no welds involved in its construction. The resulting frame was lightweight, strong, stiff, and almost impervious to corrosion.
This chassis was fitted with independent double wishbone suspension front and back on coil over shock absorbers, and the car was fitted with front and rear anti-roll bars. Stopping was achieved with four-wheel power-assisted ventilated disc brakes with electronic three-channel ABS, and it was fitted with rack-and-pinion power steering.
The body was made from hand-assembled lightweight SPF aluminum alloy and the car had a folding soft top, seating for two, and a decent amount of trunk space for a sports convertible.
The first version of the Panoz Esperante was powered by the Ford Modular V8 from the Ford SVT Mustang Cobra. This engine has a displacement of 4.6 liters with an aluminum block and heads, double overhead cams per bank, four valves per cylinder, and a 90º V-angle.
In stock form it was good for 305 bhp at 5,800 rpm and 320 lb ft of torque at 4,200 rpm. This power was sent back through a Tremec T45 5-speed manual transmission (or an optional 4-speed automatic) to a limited-slip rear end.
The first version of the Panoz Esperante was powered by the Ford Modular V8 from the Ford SVT Mustang Cobra. In stock form it was good for 305 bhp at 5,800 rpm and 320 lb ft of torque at 4,200 rpm.
The curb weight of the Esperante was 3,384 lbs (1,535 kgs). This compared favorably with its key competition, the C5 Corvette which tipped the scales at 3,247 lbs (1,473 kgs) – a little lighter due to its fiberglass body.
There were a number of special versions of the Esperante made, including the GTLM, the GTS, the Brabham, and both the JRD and the RS – the last two were upgraded by aftermarket company JRD Tuning of Hoschton, Georgia.
The first-generation of the Panoz Esperante was sold from 2000 until 2007, it would later be succeeded by the second-generation Esperante from 2014. Approximately 234 examples of the first-gen model were built and today they’re much sought after by enthusiasts.
The 2005 Panoz Esperante 5-Speed Shown Here
This is a 2005 Panoz Esperante roadster with just 15,000 miles on the clock, it spent most of its life registered in Oregon and Arizona, the seller’s father then bought the car in 2019, and ownership passed to the seller in 2025.
The car is finished in red with a power-operated black convertible top, as you would expect for an Esperante, it has aluminum body panels over an extruded-aluminum chassis with bonded and bolted steel subframes.
It rides on 18 inch BBS RK alloy wheels fitted with Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+ tires, though the wheel finish is noted to be flaking in places and could do with being refinished. It rides on four-wheel independent suspension, and it has cross-drilled, ventilated disc brakes fitted on each corner.
It’s powered by a 4.6 liter Ford Modular V8 rated at 305 bhp and 320 lb ft of torque, driving the rear wheels through a 5-speed manual gearbox and limited-slip differential.
The car is finished in red with a power-operated black convertible top, as you would expect for an Esperante, it has aluminum body panels over an extruded-aluminum chassis with bonded and bolted steel subframes.
It has a black leather interior including the seats, dashboard, console, and door panels, with carbon-fiber trim, air conditioning, cruise control, a Kenwood head unit, Blaupunkt speakers, and an aftermarket amplifier.
It’s now being offered for sale out of Upland, California on Bring a Trailer with a clean Carfax report and a clean California title in the seller’s name. If you’d like to read more about it or register to bid you can visit the listing here.
Images courtesy of Bring a Trailer
Articles that Ben Branch has written have been covered on CNN, Popular Mechanics, Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, Autoweek Magazine, Wired Magazine, Autoblog, Gear Patrol, Jalopnik, The Verge, and many more.
Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with well over a million monthly readers from around the world and many hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
