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Other Makes Panoz Esperante Magnussen (2002)
for sale

Price: US $45,000.00

Description:

Own a car with provenance #8/10 driven by Mrs. Panoz
2002 Panoz Esperante Magnussen Drivers Edition with 6700 original miles. For Sale $45, 000.00 or trade for late model aluminum F-150 4X4
The Driver's Edition Esperante were being built to celebrate the Panoz Racing Team and its leading driver Jan Magnussen. They are a direct result of a close collaboration between the Panoz Motor Sports and the Panoz Auto Development operations. Only ten Driver's Edition cars built to commemorate each of the team's leading drivers, Jan Magnussen and David Brabham. The drivers have provided direct input into technical, aesthetic and ergonomic specifications of the cars. The car offered here is the 8th of the ten cars built to the specification suggested by Jan Magnussen. It is powered by a 320 horsepower 32 valve DOHC engine.
A little bit of history on this unique car.
Well known to sports-car enthusiasts and racing fans, Panoz Auto Development came to life early in the 1990s as a low-volume manufacturer of a roadster called “AIV” (aluminum-intensive vehicle). The first roadsters were hand-built and had aluminum bodies on top of steel tube frames. Based near Atlanta, Panoz (pronounced “PAY-nose”) began to participate in major endurance races during 1998 and won the U.S. Road Racing Championship.
Production of the original roadster ended in 1999, but by then Panoz was busily working on a new two-seat, rear-wheel-drive Esperante luxury roadster that blends such contemporary styling touches as flush oval headlights. This lighting feature gives the Esperante the overall look of a classic European sports car. An Esperante prototype appeared at Detroit’s North American International Auto Show in early 1999. Not until February 2001 was the first car delivered to a customer, and that was done by company founder and president Daniel Panoz. By that time, the company says nearly 400 purchase deposits had been received.
Panoz buys hand-assembled, 4.6-liter V-8 engines from Ford. This power plant is similar to the one used in the SVT Mustang Cobra. The version in the Esperante produces 320 horsepower and mates with a five-speed-manual transmission.
As if the Esperante isn’t rare enough on the road, Panoz is issuing a special edition in 2002. Known as the Magnussen Edition, it’s one of 10 Driver’s Edition Esperante’s in the works. Each will commemorate one of the drivers for the Panoz Motorsports team. This first model honors Danish racing-team member Jan Magnussen and features hand-selected suspension settings, brakes, wheels, tires, seats, trim, colors and other details, including a carbon fiber engine cover and special leather luggage. The list price is $116, 265, vs. $88, 950 for the regular Esperante.
Read more at here
When looking for these cars look for the builder’s signatures on aluminum plates under the hood on the carbon fiber fan cowing, a separate plate located center will show the vehicles placement in the series of ten produced.

_{update: 2016-08-02}