Panoz began by making their own car, the Esperante GTR-1, and have since acquired other manufacturers, including famous Formula Ford builders Van Diemen and Indy Racing League constructor G-Force Technologies.
Meanwhile, David Price's first Esperante GTR-1 would debut Hockenheimring for the FIA GT Championship, and managed to finish 11th overall behind the McLaren and Porsche competitors.
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This was also helped by the fact that the FIA GT Championship decided to abandon the GT1 class, leaving the Esperante GTR-1 unable to compete in Europe.
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The factory team would follow this with wins in the GT class at Sonoma Raceway and Laguna Seca.
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For an engine, Panoz attempted to keep the American theme by using a Ford V8 engine similar to the one used in his Esperante.