2000 Panoz LMP-1 Roadster-S Pilots: H. Katoh, J. O’Connell, P-H. Raphanel Team: Panoz Motorsports Race: 5th place GC (LMP1 class) at Le Mans in 2000 Ixo - LMM 139 (diecast)
Published 03/14/17
Founded in 1989 by Dan Panoz, Panoz is a North-American manufacturer of sports cars. In 1997 Panoz, in association with Reynard Motorsports, produced the Esperante GTR-1, for the FIA GT Championship. Contrarily to the other manufacturers, Panoz wanted it to look like a “North-American car”. As a result, the engine was up front. The GTR-1 had some good results in the GT1 class, specially in the US, but in 1998 came a rule change. There would be no more GT1 class both in the FIA GT Championship and United States Road Racing Championship. In other words, their car was obsolete and Panoz needed a new one.
And this new car was the LMP-1 Roadster-S. The Roadster-S, designed by Reynard, kept a lot of the traits from the Esperante GTR-1. Like its predecessor, it had a carbon fiber monocoque chassis, covered by a carbon fiber body. The engine up front was a big V8 with 5976 cm³, with DOHC and 16 valves. For the 2000 24 Heures du Mans, Panoz had a two car team in the fray. And, there was also a three other Roadster-S in the hands of privateers. Of the five Roadster-S in the race, #12 here finished best, in fifth place overall.
This is my first Ixo model! And I’m REALLY digging it 🤩! To my surprise, it looks very well detailed. It even has cloth belts with photo-etched buckles. I expected this to be a “high end trait”, but contrarily to my expectations, here it is, on a budget brand. I do have some “nice” models from Altaya, but this is FAR superior. This LMP-1 has enough quality to it that I would be happy with all my models like this. In other words, it’s a fantastic model for the price.