Reader Snaps Panoz Abruzzi Spirit of Le Mans During Presentation [+ Video]

We're always glad to post pictures of cars from our readers, even more so when it's from a world premiere of a new model like these shots of the Panoz Abruzzi 'Spirit of Le Mans' that were sent to us by Carscoop reader Simone C.

The small sports car company that's based in Georgia, USA, has yet to reveal full technical details onthe Abruzzi 'Spirit of Le Mans', but it did say that it will come with a 600HP-strong powerplant driving the rear-wheels.

The hand-built sports car will be produced in a strictly-limited number of 81 copies, and each will commemorate a past 24 Hours of Le Mans event and its overall champion with the final car to honor the 2013 race.

Thanks for the pictures Simone!

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Panoz Unleashes New Abruzzi "Spirit of Le Mans" Supercar

Following on from a series of cropped teaser images, Panoz lifted the covers off its new Abruzzi "Spirit of Le Mans" sports coupe today at the home of the 24 Hours of Le Mans race, the Circuit de La Sarthe in France.

The hand-built Abruzzi "Spirit of Le Mans" comes with a front-engine, rear-wheel drive layout and is powered by an unspecified powerplant that is said to deliver more than 600HP and 590 ft.-lbs. of torque.

The swoopy and unique-looking, but far from beautiful, sports car features a composite body that is claimed to be dent-resistant, shatter-proof, recyclable and both stronger and lighter than carbon fiber.

"This is culmination of equal parts time, effort and dreams," said Panoz, founder of the Panoz Motor Sports Group. "The Panoz brand always has prided itself on hand-building and delivering an exotic automobile and experience to our customers. Our new offering takes this to a completely new level."

The Georgia-based company said that the super sports car will be offered in a strictly limited edition of just 81 examples, which corresponds to the number of Le Mans 24 Hour contests between the inception of the race in 1923 and the race to be held in 2013.

The Abruzzi "Spirit of Le Mans" will be road-legal in Europe and many countries of Asia, the Middle East and South America, but not in North America. Prices and more detailed specs are to be released at a later date.

Panoz Abruzzi Sports Car Teased Before Le Mans Reveal

Panoz, small-volume American car manufacturer and builder of the AIV Roadster and Esperante, is going to be taking its game up another level. In order to get the people talking, the Georgia-based firm revealed a teaser of its upcoming sports car, the Abruzzi "Spirit of Le Mans".

Set to debut at Le Mans next month on the Circuit de la Sarthe, the Abruzzi's design "is inspired from a classic era when racers would literally drive their own cars to Le Mans to compete and then drive back home. However, the technology of the Panoz Abruzzi 'Spirit of Le Mans' is absolutely leading-edge."

Bold claims, but Panoz appears to be able to back them up: the body of the Abruzzi is made with REAMS (Recyclable Energy Absorbing Matrix System), which is said to provide a bunch of structural and performance advantages.

Another bit of future technology comes in the form of Trifecta Cooling. Basically, the Trifecta system provides secondary and tertiary cooling that chill anything flowing into or out of the radiator.

From the teaser, things look promising. One thing to keep an eye on, Panoz: center-mounted gauges should never remind owners of the Mustang your power trains come from.

By Phil Alex