2001 Panoz Esperante

What is it?
2001 Panoz Esperante

What's special about it?
When it comes to American small volume auto manufacturers, only a few nameplates have made it to the 21st century - the likes of Saleen, Shelby and Panoz. But the Panoz stands out as the only manufacturer to bring a viable entry to the ultra-exclusive sports convertible market dominated by BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Aston Martin.

Incorporating aerospace materials and build techniques the auto industry is only now beginning to adopt, the Esperante is built on a modular extruded aluminum chassis that Panoz says is as rigid as a BMW Z8.

The Esperante takes styling cues from Aston Martin, Ferrari and Jaguar, yet the long flowing nose and short chiseled deck set the Esperante apart from the rest of the pack and define its roots as a sports car.

Power is derived from the Ford Mustang Cobra 4.6-liter DOHC V8, producing a reported 320 horsepower and 317 ft-lb of torque. With the standard Tremec five-speed manual transmission, Panoz claims the 3,200-pound Esperante will accelerate from zero-to-60 in 5.1 seconds and rocket through the quarter mile in 13.7-seconds at nearly 104 mph.

Putting the power to the road is accomplished with a fully independent suspension using a short-long arm arrangement and adjustable gas-charged, coil-over shocks. Aggressive 255/45ZR17 Michelin Pilot sport tires mounted to BBS aluminum wheels provide the contact patch.

Inside, the Panoz features a center-mounted gauge cluster with black-on-white analog gauges, 10-way adjustable leather seats, CFC-free air conditioning and a 300-watt Alpine audio system when you feel like drowning out the engines with music.

With its $79,868 price tag, the Esperante is considerably less expensive than its Z8 competition. Panoz plans on building only 300 units per year, which will make the Esperante an exclusive and affordable hand-built alternative.

Why should you care?
Unlike the Shelby Series 1 which was supposed to be in dealer showrooms by now, the Esperante is a real value for an aluminum-intensive vehicle that's pretty much hand built and serviceable through any Ford dealership. With the use of the 4.6-liter Cobra engine, however, we question whether the 320 advertised ponies are actually all there. Even Ford has postponed Cobra production until July in hopes that the horsepower woes can be fixed and a few Cobras can roll off the line.