Restored Panoz Esperante GTR-1 Supercar is Big, Bold, and Bronze

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Copyright © 2015 Bold Ride LLC. 

Posted by Jeff Perez  

                       

 

Love ‘em or hate ‘em, Georgia-based Panoz Cars makes some of the most unique vehicles on the market. And they’ve been doing so for over 20 years. In 1997, though, they decided to dip their toes into the world of racing, yielding some pretty impressive results.

 

But we’re not here to talk about Panoz’s successful racing career, we’re focusing on the car that made it all possible: the Panoz Esperante GTR-1. Only two road-going versions were built, per FIA homologation requirements, now one is making a comeback at the Dubai Motor Show. In a big, bold way.

Done up in a pearlescent gold finish, the Esperante GTR-1 you see here took six months to restore, and is the only one of the previous two mentioned left in existence. But don’t worry about price, Panoz says it’s not for sale.

 

The car will be used specifically as a show piece at the upcoming Dubai Motor Show. But it’s not all show and no go. It yields an original 6.0-liter Ford-based V8, and puts 600 horsepower to the ground via a 6-speed ZF transaxle transmission. Curb weight is just 1,980 pounds.

While you won’t be able to purchase the one above, Panoz says that any interested buyers can pick up a “near-exact carbon fiber replica” for just $890,000. Chump change, really.