1998 Panoz AIV Roadster

Offered by Mecum | Dallas, Texas | September 16-19, 2015

Photo – Mecum

Here’s a hot rod for you. This great-looking sports car is a rarity from the state of Georgia. This was one of the models produced by the Panoz Auto Development Company of Braselton, Georgia – home of Road Atlanta, a track also owned by the company (when this was built).

The Panoz Roadster was introduced in 1992 and built through 1995. It looks just like this. But in 1996, it was renamed the AIV Roadster (Aluminium Intensive Vehicle – the first such American vehicle consisting of at least 70% aluminium). It sort of resembles a Plymouth Prowler with it’s half-open wheeler look at the front. The AIV differed from the simple Roadster model in that it has an aluminium chassis, among other things.

The AIV is powered by a 4.6-liter Ford V-8 making 305 horsepower. The car only weighs 2,500 pounds, so the sprint to 60 mph only takes 4.3 seconds on the way to the top end of 140 mph. It’s quick. The final AIVs were built in 1999 (although Panoz will build any car they’ve ever made on demand for customers going forward). Only 176 AIVs were made in their initial production run. They’re a $35,000-$55,000 car. Click here for more info and here for more from Mecum.

Update: Sold $30,000.