Development
At the end of 1998, both the FIA GT Championship and United States Road Racing Championship eliminated the GT1 category that the Esperante GTR-1 had competed in since its introduction in 1997. This left the Esperante GTR-1s with nowhere to compete unless they were modified into a Le Mans Prototype, similar to what was done with some Porsche 911 GT1s. However Panoz decided that an all-new car would be more competitive against the newcoming Audi and BMW prototypes in the American Le Mans Series, a new championship founded by Panoz.
Retaining Reynard Motorsport as a designer, the LMP-1 Roadster-S would retain many styling cues from the Esperante GTR-1, mostly due to the continued usage of the front-engine layout. Although other GT-based cars like the Esperante GTR-1 had used front-engine layouts, it was uncommon for a purpose-built prototype. However Panoz insisted that the LMP-1 Roadster-S would attempt to keep this layout.
From a design standpoint, the LMP-1 Roadster-S shares much with the Esperante GTR-1. Both cars have nearly identical front ends, with narrow fenders surrounding deep valleys with a rounded nose which housed the engine. A NACA duct would feed the air intake for the engine, while the deep valleys on the side that shrouded the front suspension would lead directly to the radiators which were situated in front of the cockpit. The sides of the car would be carved at various angles, giving an indented look in comparison to the fenders, assisting in allowing air to exit from various areas on the car. The cockpit situated behind the engine and just ahead of the rear axle would be small, with a single rollhoop immediately behind the driver with only the driver's side protection and rear headrest appearing from the mostly flat top of the car. The rear overhang would be short, leaving the rear wing struts actually attached to the rear diffuser behind the bodywork.
For a drivetrain, Panoz would retain the Élan Power Products 6L8 6.0 litre V8, although this engine would be branded as a Ford at times. X-Trac would provide the six-speed sequential gearbox.
Read more about this topic: Panoz LMP-1 Roadster-S
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