Panoz Auto Development Company
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| Corporation | |
| Industry | Automotive |
| Founded | 1989 |
| Headquarters | Braselton, Georgia, U.S. |
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Key people
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Don Panoz, Dan Panoz |
| Products | Limited-production luxury cars |
| Website | www |
Panoz, LLC is an American manufacturer of high performance sports automobiles. The company has also been extensively involved in professional racing, and designs, engineers and builds its own race cars, i.e. chassis and components. Founded in 1989 as Panoz Auto Development by Dan Panoz, son of pharmaceutical and motorsport mogul Don Panoz. The company is located in Braselton, Georgia. Panoz products have included the Panoz Roadster and AIV Roadster, and the Panoz Esperante. All Panoz road cars are tested at Panoz-owned Road Atlanta in Braselton, Georgia and built at the Braselton workshop.
Since 1997, Panoz cars have competed in racing series around the world. Panoz has shifted its American Le Mans and European racing programs toward production-based classes that allow Esperante variants to be raced in modified form. In addition to Le Mans series wins, an Esperante GTLM won the GT2 class at the 2006 24 Hours of Le Mans. For the 2007 American LeMans season, Panoz has contracted longtime BMW Motorsport partner Prototype Technology Group to campaign the GTLM in the ALMS and Le Mans. Panoz has also provided IndyCar with the G-Force GF05 and GF09; and the Champ Car World Series with their final race car, the Panoz DP01.
The Panoz Motor Sports Group was sold to NASCAR in 2012. It was made up of the motorsports-related holdings of Don Panoz. Headquartered in Braselton, Georgia, the group includes several racing series, a racetrack and a leasing agreement at another racetrack. The group also owns a racing school operating at multiple locations.
The American Le Mans Series (ALMS) was created by Don Panoz in 1999. It held its inaugural event, the 1998 Petit Le Mans as part of the Professional Sportscar Racing series. The ALMS has a partnership with the Automobile Club de l'Ouest, the organizers of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, to allow teams to compete to the same regulations. The series now holds 12 rounds across North America.
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Wikipedia