Panoz AIV Roadster History
An 'Aluminum Intensive Vehicle' roadster (1996–1999) — roughly 70% aluminum, powered by the 4.6-liter Ford modular V8 from the SVT Cobra.
Photo: “Panoz AIV 1998 Roadster RFront CECF 9April2011 (14620939693).jpg” by Valder137 / Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY 2.0
History
Unveiled as a new prototype in 1996 and produced from 1997, the AIV Roadster ('Aluminum Intensive Vehicle') re-engineered the original Roadster around an aluminum-intensive structure — roughly 70% aluminum — making it one of America's first aluminum-intensive production cars, predating the Plymouth Prowler.
It swapped the pushrod 5.0 for Ford's 4.6-liter modular DOHC 32-valve V8 from the Mustang SVT Cobra, rated at about 305 horsepower, driving through a Tremec T-45 five-speed manual. Production ran through 1999; roughly 176 production AIV Roadsters were built (plus a handful of prototypes), and the model established the lightweight-aluminum, Ford-V8 formula Panoz carried into the Esperante.
Generations
First (and only) generation · Panoz AIV Roadster
Photo: “Panoz AIV 1998 Roadster RFront CECF 9April2011 (14620939693).jpg” by Valder137 / Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY 2.0
Aluminum-intensive (roughly 70% aluminum) reworking of the Roadster around Ford's 4.6-liter modular V8 from the SVT Cobra, about 305 hp; roughly 176 built.
1998 Photo: “Panoz AIV 1998 Roadster RFront CECF 9April2011 (14620939693).jpg” by Valder137 / Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY 2.0
Body styles
- Open two-seat roadster
Related models
Collect the nameplate
Find a scale model of the Panoz AIV Roadster
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