Eric Minoff
Vice President, Head of Department - US
LOT 15
1999 Panoz LMP-1 Roadster S Chassis no. 002
Sold for US$428,500 inc. premium
Lot 15
1999 Panoz LMP-1 Roadster S
1999 Panoz LMP-1 Roadster S
Chassis no. 002
Chassis no. 002
Designed for an Élan Power Products Ford-based 6-Liter 620hp V-8
Designed for a rear-mounted Xtrac 6-speed sequential gearbox
4-wheel independent coil spring suspension
4-wheel Hitco Carbon disc brakes
*The second LMP1 produced
*Came 11th at the 1999 Le Mans 24 Hours
*Successfully campaigned throughout the 1999 season
*Carefully stored chassis for the past 22 years ready for a complete drivetrain
THE PANOZ LMP1
The Panoz LMP1 turned conventional wisdom back-to-front, putting the engine in front of the driver who sat just in front of the rear wheels and next to the Xtrac sequential 6-speed gearbox. It turned forty years of conventional wisdom about racing car design on its ear.
And it worked.
Don Panoz was a restless, ambitious, inquisitive character. Son of an immigrant and champion featherweight boxer from Avezzano, Italy, Don did a tour in the Army, then headed to Duquesne University to study business. While there he ran two pharmacies and in 1961 founded Milan (later Mylan) Pharmaceuticals with Milan Puskar. There Panoz came up with a transdermal patch for timed release of medication.
Mylan chose not to pursue its development so Panoz packed up his family and moved to Ireland, founding Élan Corporation there to pursue what became a revolution in drug delivery most familiarly known for the patch's use in nicotine therapy.
In 1989 Panoz backed his son Dan's Panoz Auto Development in the creation of the Panoz A.I.V. (Aluminum Intensive Vehicle) Roadster followed by an innovative GT car, the Esperante. And the racing bug bit, yielding first the Esperante GTR-1, a front-engined coupe with modified Ford V-8 power designed in cooperation with Reynard. Aimed at the new FIA GT1 regulations for 1997, the GTR-1 was eventually competitive in both the U.S. and Europe, winning the IMSA teams and constructors championships in 1998 and finishing second to Porsche in the USRRC GT class the same year.
Rules evolution, a constant disruption for race car builders at the time, brought the end of the FIA GT1 category and the Esperante GTR-1's eligibility. Panoz again ignored conventional wisdom, modifying the GTR-1 into a Le Mans Prototype with a purpose-built prototype, still front mid-engined with the Esperante's long, flat nose, extreme rear driver's location and Élan Power Products' Ford-based 6-liter V-8, the LMP1 took up the fight among a field of mid-engined prototypes from BMW, Audi and Toyota.
The front mid-engine design had inherent advantages including immense front aerodynamic downforce and room for wider front tires ahead of the set-back engine to exploit the downforce.
It wasn't conventional, but it was competitive, fast and loud.
THE CAR OFFERED
The first Panoz LMP1 Roadster S, chassis 001, made its race debut at Road Atlanta in April 1999, the second race of the inaugural American Le Mans Series, a series organized and promoted by Don Panoz in an ultimately successful attempt to reunite American sports car road racing. It finished fifth overall.
Chassis number 002 was completed the same month and the pair headed immediately to Le Mans. In the race 002 driven by Johnny O'Connell, Jan Magnussen and Max Angelelli finished eleventh overall. 002 went on to win with Magnussen and O'Connell at Mosport in June, record a pair of thirds at Sears Point and Portland and fifth at Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta.
A hairline crack in 002's bulkhead behind the driver was identified following Petit Le Mans and the carbon fiber tub was sent to Élan Composites to be repaired while a new tub designated "002/1" was employed for the final two events of 1999. That tub was sold to Team Den Blå Avis for the 2000 season.
The repaired and rebuilt 002 was retained by Panoz Motorsports as an updated race-ready spare. It was sent as a show car to Australia for the December 31, 2000 Race of a Thousand Years on the Adelaide Street Circuit.
It remains today essentially as it was on the last day of the Twentieth Century in Australia, a complete rolling chassis needing only updating and an Élan and Roush/Yates prepared alloy 6-liter V-8, an Xtrac sequential 6-speed and a driveshaft to recall the dynamic, norm-defying but imminently successful Panoz LMP1 history. It comes with a 75-page parts book and illustrations. Replacement parts are still available from Panoz Motor Sport.
An example of ingenuity, imagination, determination and organization in concept, design and execution, there are few enough examples of such purpose in racing. At Goodwood, Le Mans Classic or Monterey it will awaken still spirits with its 6-liter roar and brilliant performance.
Footnotes
Sold on a Bill of Sale
Saleroom notices
Title in transit. Please note: This lot is best described as a 'show car/rolling chassis' in need major work to be recommissioned as a functional race car including - but not limited to - electrical system, hydraulic system, and power train. Sold strictly as viewed here today. AS-IS
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