Panoz Esperante GTR-1 - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Panoz Esperante GTR-1 (also known as Panoz GTR-1 and later the Panoz GTP) was a race car developed by Panoz Auto Development

Panoz

Panoz Auto Development is an American manufacturer of high-performance automobiles founded in 1989 by Dan Panoz, son of pharmaceutical and motorsport mogul Don Panoz. The company is located in Braselton, GA. Panoz products have included the Panoz Roadster and AIV Roadster, and the Panoz Esperante...

and Reynard Motorsport

Reynard Motorsport

Reynard Motorsport was at one time the world's largest racing car manufacturer. Initially based at Bicester and latterly at Reynard Park, Brackley, England the company built successful cars in Formula Ford 1600, Formula Ford 2000, Formula Vauxhall Lotus, Formula Three, Formula 3000 and Indy...

for grand tourer

Grand tourer

A grand tourer is a high-performance luxury automobile designed for long-distance driving. The most common format is a two-door coupé with either a two-seat or a 2+2 arrangement....

endurance racing in 1997. Although named after the Panoz Esperante

Panoz Esperante

The Esperante is a sports car made by Panoz, an American car manufacturer.There are several models of the Esperante: the base model, the GT, the GTLM, the GTS, and the JRD . Additionally, Panoz is more than willing to work with the buyer to make special modifications to any of the stock models...

roadster, the GTR-1 actually bore no mechanical relation to the production Esperante, instead sharing only minor styling points. Only two road-legal GTR-1s were built to meet homologation

Homologation

Homologation is a technical term, derived from the Greek homologeo for "to agree", which is generally used in English to signify the granting of approval by an official authority...

requirements set forth by the ruling bodies which the racing cars ran under.

The GTR-1 competed in the FIA GT Championship

FIA GT Championship

The FIA GT Championship was a sports car racing series organized by the Stéphane Ratel Organisation at the behest of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The championship was mostly concentrated in Europe, but throughout the years has visited other continents including Asia and South...

and 24 Hours of Le Mans

24 Hours of Le Mans

The 24 Hours of Le Mans is the world's oldest sports car race in endurance racing, held annually since near the town of Le Mans, France. Commonly known as the Grand Prix of Endurance and Efficiency, race teams have to balance speed against the cars' ability to run for 24 hours without sustaining...

in Europe as well as the IMSA

International Motor Sports Association

The International Motor Sports Association is an American sports car auto racing sanctioning body based in Braselton, Georgia. It was started by John Bishop, a former employee of SCCA , and his wife Peggy in 1969 with help from Bill France, Sr...

IMSA GT Championship

IMSA GT was a sports car racing series organized by International Motor Sports Association. Races took place primarily in the United States and occasionally in Canada.-History:...

, United States Road Racing Championship

United States Road Racing Championship

The United States Road Racing Championship was created by the Sports Car Club of America in 1962. It was the first SCCA series for professional racing drivers. SCCA Executive Director John Bishop helped to create the series to recover races that had been taken by rival USAC Road Racing...

, and American Le Mans Series

American Le Mans Series

The American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón is a sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada. It consists of a series of endurance and sprint races, and was created in the spirit of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Teams compete in one of five classes: LMP1, LMP2 and LMPC...

in North America.

Development

Begun in 1996, Reynard Motorsport

Reynard Motorsport

s' special vehicles division began work with Panoz

Panoz

to begin development of a grand tourer

Grand tourer

A grand tourer is a high-performance luxury automobile designed for long-distance driving. The most common format is a two-door coupé with either a two-seat or a 2+2 arrangement....

style racing car meant for the upcoming FIA GT Championship

FIA GT Championship

in 1997. Don Panoz

Don Panoz

Dr. h.c. Donald Panoz is an American entrepreneur who made his name in pharmaceuticals and has since become a successful owner of various motorsport ventures.- Early life :...

, wanting to keep an American-style of design, insisted that the car be based on his Esperante

Panoz Esperante

sports car in some way. Due to this, the Esperante GTR-1 became unique in comparison to its Mercedes-Benz

Mercedes-Benz

Mercedes-Benz is a German manufacturer of automobiles, buses, coaches, and trucks. Mercedes-Benz is a division of its parent company, Daimler AG...

, Lotus

Lotus Cars

Lotus Cars is a British manufacturer of sports and racing cars based at the former site of RAF Hethel, a World War II airfield in Norfolk. The company designs and builds race and production automobiles of light weight and fine handling characteristics...

, Porsche

Porsche

Porsche Automobil Holding SE, usually shortened to Porsche SE a Societas Europaea or European Public Company, is a German based holding company with investments in the automotive industry....

, and McLaren counterparts in that, like the production Esperante, the engine was located in front of the cockpit. Although located behind the front axle to give it a balanced mid-engine layout, having the engine in front gave the car unusual proportions, including a large nose and a cockpit placed as far back in the body. The unusual look, including a large bulging intake in the center of the nose, earned the car the nickname "Batmobile

Batmobile

The Batmobile is the automobile of DC Comics superhero Batman. The car has evolved along with the character from comic books to television and films. Kept in the Batcave, which it accesses through a hidden entrance, the Batmobile is a gadget-laden vehicle used by Batman in his crime-fighting...

" due to its resemblance to the car used by the comic book hero. Following the initial 1997 season, the bodywork was modified in 1998 by lengthening the front and rear bodywork for increased downforce and handling capabilities.

For an engine, Panoz attempted to keep the American theme by using a Ford

Ford Motor Company

Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...

V8 engine

A V8 engine is a V engine with eight cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of four cylinders, in most cases set at a right angle to each other but sometimes at a narrower angle, with all eight pistons driving a common crankshaft....

similar to the one used in his Esperante. Instead of the standard 4.6L V8, Panoz turned to Roush Racing

Roush Racing

Roush Fenway Racing is a racing team competing in NASCAR racing. As one of NASCAR's largest premier racing teams, Roush runs teams in the Sprint and Nationwide Series, and formerly in the Camping World Truck Series and ARCA RE/MAX Series.Roush first entered NASCAR competition in 1988, but had...

of NASCAR

NASCAR

The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...

fame to construct 6.0L V8s based on Ford engines. Panoz's Élan Power Products would maintain the V8 engines and continue in development.

In order to meet homologation

Homologation

Homologation is a technical term, derived from the Greek homologeo for "to agree", which is generally used in English to signify the granting of approval by an official authority...

requirements which said that racing cars had to be based on production, road legal cars, Panoz built a single GTR-1 which featured full interiors and minor modifications to make it able to be legally registered. This car has been retained by Don Panoz. It now features a slightly smaller 5.3L V8 instead of the full 6.0L V8 race engine, since rules allowed engine sizes to be modified in the racing cars.

Q9 Hybrid

For 1998, Panoz reached an agreement with English firm Zytek

Zytek

Zytek Group Ltd is an automotive and motorsport company founded in 1981 and based in Fradley and Repton, United Kingdom. Zytek Group has two main division: Zytek Automotive, which is based at Fradley, Staffordshire; and Zytek Engineering, which is based at Repton, Derbyshire.-Zytek Automotive:Zytek...

to develop a hybrid electric motor for the Esperante GTR-1. The idea was that the car would be able to gain better fuel mileage by using an electric motor that would help drive the rear wheels during acceleration, thus requiring less power from the gasoline engine, so consuming less fuel. The car would of course require a set of batteries to power the electric motor. To recharge the batteries, a regenerative braking system would be used, the same electric motor now being used to generate electricity. This would reduce the wastage of energy normally emitted as heat from the brakes.

By using less fuel, the car would thus be able to make fewer pit stops in endurance races, such as the 24 Hours of Le Mans

24 Hours of Le Mans

, and thus would be able to spend more time on the track and achieve a farther distance. The car, referred to as Q9, was constructed by Panoz, Reynard, and Zytek and developed by David Price Racing for the 1998 season. In honor of its electric power, the car received a unique purple paint job with large yellow lightning bolts.

1997

A total of six Esperante GTR-1s were built by Panoz, Ford and Reynard, with them being split amongst three teams. Panoz would retain two for their own factory effort in the United States with two cars. French squad DAMS

DAMS

Driot-Arnoux Motorsport is a racing team from France, involved in many areas of motorsports. DAMS was founded in 1988 by Jean-Paul Driot and former Formula One driver René Arnoux. It is headquartered near Le Mans, only 2 km from the Bugatti Circuit.- History :The year after its foundation,...

would use two in Europe along with British team David Price Racing

David Price Racing

David Price Racing is a British motor racing team, founded by David Price. They have competed in various forms of motorsport since their foundation in 1976...

who received the final two cars. The cars debuted at the 1997 12 Hours of Sebring

12 Hours of Sebring

The 12 Hours of Sebring is an annual motorsport endurance race for sports cars held at Sebring International Raceway, a former Army Air Force base in Sebring, Florida...

, but failed to finish after 108 laps. Meanwhile, David Price's first Esperante GTR-1 would debut Hockenheimring

Hockenheimring

The Hockenheimring Baden-Württemberg is an automobile racing track situated near the town of Hockenheim in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, located on Bertha Benz Memorial Route. Amongst other motor racing events, it biennially hosts the Formula One German Grand Prix...

for the FIA GT Championship

FIA GT Championship

, and managed to finish 11th overall behind the McLaren and Porsche

Porsche

Porsche Automobil Holding SE, usually shortened to Porsche SE a Societas Europaea or European Public Company, is a German based holding company with investments in the automotive industry....

competitors. DAMS' car debuted a round later at Silverstone Circuit

Silverstone Circuit

Silverstone Circuit is an English motor racing circuit next to the Northamptonshire villages of Silverstone and Whittlebury. The circuit straddles the Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire border, with the current main circuit entry on the Buckinghamshire side...

, although it failed to finish.

As the three teams continued on, Panoz's factory team took the first success at Road Atlanta

Road Atlanta

Road Atlanta is a 2.54-mile road course located just north of Braselton, Georgia, USA. The facility is utilized for a wide variety of events, including professional and amateur sports car and motorcycle races, racing and driving schools, corporate programs and testing for motorsports teams...

, winning a GT-class only event. This was followed by the 6 Hours of Watkins Glen

Watkins Glen International

Watkins Glen International is an auto race track located near Watkins Glen, New York, at the southern tip of Seneca Lake. The facility is owned by International Speedway Corporation...

, winning the GTS-1 class and finishing 3rd overall, a mere two laps behind the winning prototype. The factory team would follow this with wins in the GT class at Sears Point

Infineon Raceway

Infineon Raceway, formerly Sears Point Raceway, is a road course and drag strip located on the landform known as Sears Point in the southern Sonoma Mountains near Sonoma, California, USA. The course is a complex series of twists and turns that go up and down the hills...

and Laguna Seca

Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca

Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca is a paved road racing track used for both auto racing and motorcycle racing, originally constructed in 1957 near both Salinas and Monterey, California, USA....

. Panoz would finish second to Porsche

Porsche

Porsche Automobil Holding SE, usually shortened to Porsche SE a Societas Europaea or European Public Company, is a German based holding company with investments in the automotive industry....

in the constructors championship that season.

In Europe however, the Esperante GTR-1 suffered from a lack of pace against much better funded factory efforts which were mostly lacking in North America. DAMS was unable to score any points in the championship, while David Price finished third in American soil at Sebring in one of the final rounds of the FIA GT season, earning the team 6th place in the team's championship.

For the 24 Hours of Le Mans

24 Hours of Le Mans

, three GTR-1s were entered by David Price and DAMS. Unfortunately none of the cars was able to finish, mostly due to engine difficulties. DAMS car burned, destroying chassis #005 and requiring it to be replaced.

1998

For 1998, with the evolved Esperante GTR-1 bodywork, the program was expanded. The factory Panoz team would race not only in IMSA

International Motor Sports Association

GT but also the new United States Road Racing Championship

United States Road Racing Championship

. DAMS would continue in FIA GT, while David Price would drop out in an attempt to develop the Esperante GTR-1 Q9 for the 24 Hours of Le Mans

24 Hours of Le Mans

.

In USSRC, the factory Panoz team were fought hard with Porsche

Porsche

Porsche Automobil Holding SE, usually shortened to Porsche SE a Societas Europaea or European Public Company, is a German based holding company with investments in the automotive industry....

yet again GT classes, winning class in three of the five events in the season but losing to Porsche in the manufacturer's championship by a mere three points, but winning the teams championship. In IMSA, Panoz was more dominant as they won seven of the eight races, including taking an overall win at the rain drenched Sebring Fall Festival in October. This earned them the constructors and teams championship for the season.

In Europe, DAMS

DAMS

also proved more powerful. Although incapable of competing with the Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR

Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR

The Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR is a sports car and race car that was built by Mercedes-AMG, performance and motorsports arm of Mercedes-Benz. Intended for racing in the new FIA GT Championship series in 1997, the CLK GTR was designed primarily as a race car, with the road cars necessary in order to...

juggernaut, it was able to compete well against the Porsche 911 GT1

Porsche 911 GT1

The Porsche 911 GT1 was a car designed for competition in the GT1 class of sportscar racing, which also required a street legal version for homologation purposes...

, earning points in seven of ten rounds with best results of third at Hockenheimring

Hockenheimring

and Dijon-Prenois

Dijon-Prenois

Dijon-Prenois is a motor racing circuit located in Prenois, near Dijon, France. The undulating track is noted for its fast, sweeping bends....

. This success earned DAMS 5th in the teams championship.

David Price Racing tested the GTR-1 Q9 throughout the season, making its first competition appearance at the test days for the 24 Hours of Le Mans

24 Hours of Le Mans

. Unfortunately the car was only able to achieve the 39th fastest time, well behind the two Panoz factory entries. It was found that the car was too overweight and slowed down by the addition of the batteries necessary to run the hybrid system. Thus plans for competing at Le Mans were abandoned. The car would make one more appearance later on in the initial Petit Le Mans

1998 Petit Le Mans

The 1998 Petit Le Mans was the seventh race for the 1998 IMSA GT Championship season, then known as the Professional SportsCar Racing series. It was also the first race of Don Panoz's American Le Mans Series developed with the backing of the Automobile Club de l'Ouest , the ruling body of the 24...

, part of the IMSA schedule. The car managed to finish 12th overall. After this, the Q9 project was cancelled.

Meanwhile, with the Q9 gone, the Panoz factory team concentrated on Le Mans with their own two cars. Although one car failed to finish, the second entry managed to take a 7th place overall finish a mere 16 laps behind the overall winning Porsche

Porsche

Porsche Automobil Holding SE, usually shortened to Porsche SE a Societas Europaea or European Public Company, is a German based holding company with investments in the automotive industry....

1999

Although the Esperante GTR-1 had major success in 1998, Panoz was aware that grand touring racing cars were becoming highly exotic machines with no road car similarities, such as the Toyota GT-One

Toyota GT-One

The Toyota GT-One was a racing car initially developed for grand touring style rules, but later adapted into a Le Mans prototype. It raced in the 1998 and 1999 24 Hours of Le Mans.-History:...

. Therefore Panoz realized he would no longer be able to compete against such cars with the Esperante GTR-1, and it was decided that Panoz would move to the Le Mans prototype

Le Mans Prototype

A Le Mans Prototype is a type of sports prototype race car most notably used in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, American Le Mans Series and Le Mans Series...

class. This was also helped by the fact that the FIA GT Championship

FIA GT Championship

decided to abandon the GT1 class, leaving the Esperante GTR-1 unable to compete in Europe.

Therefore, while development of the new LMP-1 Roadster-S

Panoz LMP-1 Roadster-S

The Panoz LMP-1 Roadster-S was a Le Mans Prototype built for Panoz in 1999. The car was a successor to the Esperante GTR-1 which had competed in the Grand Tourer categories internationally...

was under way, Panoz pushed on with the GTR-1 in the new American Le Mans Series

American Le Mans Series

. Two GTR-1s would run at Sebring, both failing to finish. At the next race at Road Atlanta

Road Atlanta

, the new LMP-1 debuted and so a GTR-1 was run to allow the team something to fall back on. Unfortunately it failed to finish as well. For the next round, a second LMP-1 was completed, and so the GTR-1 was retired completely.

The design of the Esperante GTR-1 would form the basis for the LMP-1 Roadster-S, using the same front engine layout and large nose. It is thus seen that the LMP-1 Roadster-S is an Esperante GTR-1 with its roof taken off, although the cars actually do not share a chassis.

Final outing

In 2003, Panoz decided to resurrect chassis #003 (formerly run by David Price Racing

David Price Racing

David Price Racing is a British motor racing team, founded by David Price. They have competed in various forms of motorsport since their foundation in 1976...

) to run as a closed-cockpit Le Mans prototype

Le Mans Prototype

A Le Mans Prototype is a type of sports prototype race car most notably used in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, American Le Mans Series and Le Mans Series...

before the company switched to the new Esperante

Panoz Esperante

GT-LM GT2 car. The car was entered in the 1000km of Le Mans

2003 1000km of Le Mans

The 2003 1000 km of Le Mans was one-off sports car event run under the organization of the Automobile Club de l'Ouest in preparation for the Le Mans Endurance Series that began in 2004...

and run by the factory JML Team. The car unfortunately did not finish due to electronics problems.

Following this event, the car was purchased by French squad Larbre Compétition

Larbre Compétition

Larbre Compétition is a French auto racing team founded in 1988 by Jack Leconte. Based at the Circuit du Val de Vienne in La Vigeant, Larbre has had considerable success in the Porsche Carrera Cup, French GT Championship, and international FIA GT Championship...

and further modified, being renamed the Panoz GTP to reflect its change in class. The modified car would debut at the 2004 12 Hours of Sebring

2004 12 Hours of Sebring

The 2004 Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring was the 52nd running of this auto racing event, and took place on March 20, 2004. This was also the opening race of the 2004 American Le Mans Series season.-Official results:Class winners in bold...

, finishing 9th overall. The car would next appear at the 24 Hours of Le Mans

2004 24 Hours of Le Mans

The 2004 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 72nd Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on June 12 and 13 2004.-Race:With the end of the Bentley project, there were no official factory teams at this years race, theoretically leaving it open to anyone...

, where it dropped out of the race early on. A final appearance was made in the Le Mans Series

Le Mans Series

The Le Mans Series is a European sports car racing endurance series based around the 24 Hours of Le Mans race and run by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest . The series was originally named the Le Mans Endurance Series, but changed its name prior to the 2006 season...

event at Spa-Francorchamps

Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps

The Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps is the venue of the Formula One Belgian Grand Prix and the Spa 24 Hours endurance race. It is also home to the all Volkswagen club event, 25 Hours of Spa, run by the Uniroyal Fun Cup. It is one of the most challenging race tracks in the world, mainly due to its...

, taking 14th place. The car would finally be retired for good after the 2004 season.

External links

Panoz Esperante GTR-1 chassis index

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.