Panoz Abruzzi "Spirit of Le Mans"

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed)
Jun 10th 2010 at 6:01AM

If you want the ultimate race-car for the road, you don't want to talk to a roadcar manufacturer. You want to talk to a race-car manufacturer. Like Panoz, for example.

Well known in the racing world, Panoz has only produced a handful of roadgoing sportscars. And this is the latest. Called the Abruzzi "Spirit of Le Mans", it packs all the know-how culled from years on the Le Mans racing circuit: The 600+ horsepower engine sits low down and behind the front axle for optimal balance. The radiators are placed in the back of the car to help both balance and cooling. Oh, and Panoz developed a new composite construction material – said to be bulletproof and both stronger and lighter than carbon fiber – just for this car.

Only limited details were released at the car's unveiling in the lead-up to this weekend's 24 Hours of Le Mans. No word on pricing yet, but only 81 examples will be made over the course of the next three years, and each buyer will be given professional instruction on how to handle the car at the Bugatti Le Mans track and be invited by the manufacturer and race organizer to the circuit to see the famous race live as their guest.

Gallery: Panoz Abruzzi Spirit of Le Mans