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After building and racing a variety of unconventional prototype
racers, Panoz turned to GT racing for the first time in 2004. The
first step was the introduction of a new version of the Esperante road
car a year earlier. Dubbed the GTLM, it featured a 420 bhp
supercharged version of Ford's modular engine. To prepare for the
racing ahead much of the car's exterior was refined to produce more
downforce. All in all, the GTLM was more powerful and lighter than
previous versions; ideally suited for racing.
Within a year after the road car was first announced, the racing GTLM
took to the track. To even out the various engine configurations and
displacements, the sport's governing bodies require all cars to run an
intake restrictor with a variable size depending on displacement and
method of induction. A supercharger does not work very well with a
restrictor so Panoz opted to fit a slightly larger, naturally
aspirated version of Ford's versatile V8. Prepared by Elan Motorsport
this 5 litre engine proved to be good for 500 bhp despite the
restrictors.
Shortly after the 2004 Sebring 12 Hours, the Panoz development team
tested the new racer to see how competitive it was with the other LM
GT cars it would face in the ALMS championship. After a number of
successful test sessions, the Panoz GT racer debuted in the second
round of the season at Mid Ohio. In the race it ran as high as third
in the Porsche dominated class before being forced to retire. The
remainder of the season was used to further develop the car and
prepare for a full assault in 2005 with a two car team.
In the second round of the season the hard work paid off and the
Esperante GTLM scored a heavily fought over first in class in the
Grand Prix of Atlanta. Sadly the winning performance could not be
continued in the following races where the cars were often dogged with
problems. The team spent a few weeks in Europe for the 24 Hours of Le
Mans race where they matched the Porsches' pace, but again suffered
with reliability issues. In 2006 the Esperante will be in action more
frequently in Europe in the hands of Team LNT who previously ran TVRs.
Pictured are both factory racers in action at the 2005 Le Mans test
day. It took some time for the cars to come to grip with the high
speed track, but by the end of the day competitive times were
recorded. WM
Panoz
Auto Development Company Official Site
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