American Sports Car Maker Panoz undergoes drastic restructuring.
Panoz brought us the Esparente, Roadster, and a handful of other boutique sports cars that are quintessentially American. After 29 years in business, Panoz is moving forward but not before firing a bunch of people. News of the untimely demise of this American sports car maker as we know it presumably comes from one of its employees earlier today (Nov 1, 2018) when he announced on Facebook that Panoz laid off a large majority of its staff including its entire design, engineering, and production team. I’ll let you read what he wrote below.
If for some reason his post above goes private, I’ve copied and pasted his statement below.
“So a very sad day yesterday. The entire Design/Engineering/Production staff of Panoz LLC was let go! A sad end for the Brand especially after the latest product, the Avezzano, was the most successful Panoz racer ever. Despite the beautiful design and all the hard work, it was not enough to overcome the behind the scenes drama that goes with a family business. It’s been a heck of a ride for the last 25 years. If anyone wants to start a car company, build restomods or open a restoration shop I know an excellent team that’s available! These guys are some of the best in the business.”
Panoz published a statement on its own website where it annouced that they were taking the company in a new direction.
Panoz Companies are excited to announce an organizational restructure focused on increasing efficiency and sales. It will be business as usual for Panoz, LLC., the manufacturer of exclusive, American-made luxury sports cars based in Braselton, Ga., and all enquiries for vehicles should be sent to info@panoz.com. In addition, DeltaWing Manufacturing will be rebranding to Panoz Manufacturing as a tribute to the late company Founder and Owner, Don Panoz. The Manufacturing team has invested significantly in new machinery, including a 5-Axis Router, to support plans for significant growth.
The companies are dedicated to moving forward. It’s a new chapter for the Panoz companies, but importantly they will be continuing all operations focused to grow.
As mentioned, Panoz was founded in 1989 by owner and CEO Don Panoz with their headquarters based in Braselton, Georgia. Only eight years later did the small American sports car maker start competing in race series around the world.
Panoz’s most notable win came in 2006 when their Esperante GTLM race car won its GT2 class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, regarded as the toughest race for any car manufacturer let alone a small boutique one. ‘
Besides their campaigns in Europe, Panoz has worked with BMW, Champ, and Indy Car in various capacities, providing their racecars to race teams.
It’s never good to hear a company having to fire most of its staff but I’m hopeful that this new restructuring will give a much needed refresh to what is presumably a financially struggling American automaker.
