This is a 1993 Panoz Roadster, and amazingly, it has just 695 miles on the odometer since it was new. One of the reasons for this is that this car was built for company founder Dan Panoz as his personal car, it was then largely used for PR and promotional duties.
The Panoz Roadster was one of the most unusual, and capable, low-volume sports cars in production in the United States in the mid-1990s. It had a chassis designed by Frank Costin, a body designed by former Porsche stylist Freeman Thomas, and it had the kind of sharp, intuitive handling of cars like the Caterham 7.
Fast Facts: A 1993 Panoz Roadster
- The Panoz Roadster was a rare American sports car, with just 44 examples built between 1992 and 1995. Its beginnings go back to the Irish TMC Costin, whose rights, drawings, and tooling Dan Panoz acquired before establishing production in Georgia in 1989.
- Dan Panoz and fabricator Mick Murphy reworked the Frank Costin-inspired chassis to accommodate a Ford Mustang 5.0 liter V8 and drivetrain. The stainless-steel tubular frame featured independent front suspension, a live rear axle, and 50/50 weight distribution. Porsche-alumni Freeman Thomas designed the aluminum bodywork, with panels manufactured by Superform USA.
- The original Roadster was deliberately minimalist, lacking a roof, radio, or air conditioning, and costing $45,000. Its successor, the AIV Roadster, arrived in 1996 with an aluminum-intensive chassis, a 305 bhp 4.6 liter Ford V8, fully independent suspension, and improved equipment. Just 176 examples of the AIV were produced.
- This 1993 Panoz Roadster was originally built for Dan Panoz and subsequently used for promotional events with Superform USA. Finished in blue over beige leather, it has a 215 bhp Ford V8, 5-speed manual transmission, and just 695 miles recorded. It’s now being offered for sale out of Oklahoma.
History Speedrun: The Panoz Roadster
Panoz Auto Development only built 44 examples of its original Roadster between 1992 and 1995, and 176 of the aluminum-framed “AIV Roadster” that replaced it. Both used Ford Mustang running gear, and unusually, the model line began when Dan Panoz bought the rights to an Irish sports car whose manufacturer was going into receivership.
Panoz Auto Development only built 44 examples of its original Roadster between 1992 and 1995, and 176 of the aluminum-framed “AIV Roadster” that replaced it. Image courtesy of Panoz Auto Development.
Dan Panoz founded his namesake company in 1989 with backing from his father, Don, who’d made his fortune in pharmaceuticals and drug delivery, including the wildly successful transdermal nicotine patch for those wanting to quit smoking.
The Development Of The Panoz Roadster
In 1988, Dan approached the Thompson Manufacturing Company of Wexford, which had been building the TMC Costin since 1983. The Costin was a sports car, essentially a Lotus Seven rival, with a chassis designed by legendary British engineer Frank Costin.
TMC was going into receivership, so Dan bought the rights and shipped its jigs, drawings and two sets of parts to Georgia. His first workshop was a former state salt shed. Two TMC men came too. The engineer soon flew home, unhappy that the car’s original 1.6 liter engine was to make way for a Ford V8, but the head fabricator Mick Murphy stayed on long-term.
Dan wanted the reliability that most small-volume sports cars lacked, so he used a complete Mustang driveline – including the engine, clutch, cooling system, Borg-Warner T-5 five-speed, as well as the rear axle and brakes. The company says a shortened driveshaft and the fuel tank were the only non-Ford parts needed to install it.
The engine was the 302 cubic inch (4.9 liter) pushrod V8 that Ford sold as the 5.0. Dan and Murphy designed a chassis that kept the Costin’s principles but stretched the wheelbase and widened the track. The result was a front mid-engine layout with 50/50 weight distribution. Production frames were TIG-welded stainless steel tube, with independent front suspension, a Ford-based steering rack and the Mustang’s live rear axle.
The body design came from Freeman Thomas, a former Porsche designer who was then writing styling critiques for an automotive magazine. He later co-designed the Volkswagen Concept 1 that became the New Beetle and was the key designer of the Audi TT. In mid-1989 Dan and Murphy towed two chassis to California on a car trailer, the second tack-welded upside down on top of the first. Superform USA later tooled the superplastic-formed aluminum panels.
Panoz began developing a replacement in 1994 and then launched the AIV, for Aluminum Intensive Vehicle, in 1996. Its twin-tiered extruded aluminum space frame had a central backbone and steel suspension subframes, and the aluminum body was bonded to it with adhesives. Image courtesy of Panoz Auto Development.
A running prototype was shown to the public on July the 27th, 1990. Early cars were sold as “component vehicles” until federal certification came in 1992. There was no top, no radio, and no air conditioning, and the price was around $45,000, a little more than a Corvette convertible.
It was a hard sell, but for people who wanted the purest driving experience possible in an American made car, there really weren’t many other options.
The AIV – Aluminum Intensive Vehicle
Panoz began developing a replacement in 1994 and then launched the AIV, for Aluminum Intensive Vehicle, in 1996. Its twin-tiered extruded aluminum space frame had a central backbone and steel suspension subframes, and the aluminum body was bonded to it with adhesives. About 70% of the car was aluminum, it was a remarkably advanced car from what was quite a small boutique sports car manufacturer.
Power for the AIV was provided by the 1996 Mustang SVT Cobra’s all-aluminum 4.6 liter V8, with four overhead cams and 32 valves in total. It was rated at 305 bhp at 5,800 rpm and 300 lb ft of torque at 4,800 rpm. Panoz put the gain over the earlier 5.0 at 100 bhp.
A T45 5-speed and a limited-slip differential completed the drivetrain. Suspension became independent at both ends, with double wishbones and coil-over shocks, steering was power-assisted rack and pinion, and the brakes were vented discs at all four corners. Air conditioning and a soft top were now standard, though putting the top up took a good 15 minutes or so. The curb weight was still svelte, at 2,570 lbs.
Power for the AIV was provided by the 1996 Mustang SVT Cobra’s all-aluminum 4.6 liter V8, with four overhead cams and 32 valves in total. It was rated at 305 bhp at 5,800 rpm and 300 lb ft of torque at 4,800 rpm. Panoz put the gain over the earlier 5.0 at 100 bhp. Image courtesy of Panoz Auto Development.
Period tests recorded a 0 to 60 mph time of 4.5 seconds, an excellent figure by the standards of the time and enough to humble more than a few supercars. A May 1998 magazine comparison had a Chevrolet Corvette and an Aston Martin DB7 matched against a Panoz AIV. The AIV beat the Corvette through the slalom and lapped the road course faster than the supercharged DB7.
Don Panoz established the Panoz Motor Sport Group in 1997, and the front-engined Esperante GTR-1 finished seventh overall at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1998.
The last 10 AIVs, finished in Titanium paint, were sold as the Signature Edition 2000, also known as the 10th Anniversary Edition. The Panoz Esperante road car succeeded the Roadster, and the first customer car was delivered in February of 2001.
The 1993 Panoz Roadster Shown Here
This 1993 Panoz Roadster is one of just 44 that were built between 1992 and 1995, and it has a particularly interesting history. This car was originally built for Dan Panoz himself, the car was then used for promotional events in cooperation with Superform USA, the company responsible for manufacturing Panoz body panels at the time. A letter from Daniel Panoz, dated September of 2017, confirms that this was the 13th vehicle manufactured in 1993.
The car is finished in blue over beige leather, the Roadster has Freeman Thomas-designed aluminum bodywork mounted on a stainless-steel chassis. The cockpit has leather-trimmed bucket seats, a centrally mounted instrument cluster, and a leather-wrapped steering wheel. Other equipment includes staggered 16-inch alloy wheels, adjustable coilover suspension, power steering, and four-wheel disc brakes.
This car was originally built for Dan Panoz himself, the car was then used for promotional events in cooperation with Superform USA, the company responsible for manufacturing Panoz body panels at the time.
Power is provided by a Ford-sourced 302 cubic inch (5.0 liter) V8 with electronic fuel injection, producing 215 bhp and 285 lb ft of torque. It’s paired with a Borg-Warner T45 5-speed manual transmission, sending power to the rear wheels through a limited-slip differential. This car was bought by its current owner in May of 2024 and now shows just 695 miles on the odometer.
Its Carfax report shows no reported accidents or damage, and it’s now being offered for sale out of Edmond, Oklahoma with a tonneau cover, documentation of its early promotional history, and a clean Oklahoma title. 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 + Panoz
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.
