Panoz gives glimpse of new supercar

Panoz has released a teaser image of a wild new supercar that will come powered by a mighty supercharged small-block Chevy V8 producing as much as 500kW.

Posted overnight on Twitter, the image suggests the model being readied could be a development of the current race car-derived Avezzano that sells in the US for $159,000 ($A235,000).

Currently, the Avezzano is available with either a 321kW 6.2-litre normally aspirated V8 or a more powerful 433kW 6.2-litre ZL1 supercharged V8, but the new car will come with the latest GM LT4 donk that's capable of producing almost 500kW with little modification.

Like the current coupe, expect the new Panoz to be based around an extruded aluminium chassis that uses tubular sub-frames, plus carbon-fibre superstructures for extra stiffness.

Keeping weight to a bare minimum, the Avenzzano will almost certainly employ carbon-fibre body panels to keep the total mass of the US-bred Porsche 911 GT2 rival to around 1400kg.

Instead of a dual-clutch transmission an old school six-speed manual is expected and it will channel all that might to the rear wheels using a mechanical limited-slip differential.

At odds with its race-bred heritage, instead of a stripped-out interior, the teaser image suggests the new Panoz will get a high-grade interior with traditional wood and leather trims.

Stay tuned as the new Panoz is expected to be revealed shortly, although lack of right-hand drive production will rule it out for all but wealthy track-day enthusiasts in Australia.