Reply to "Ideas for making the Pantera lighter?"

Peter, I don't think 1000kg/2200lbs is realistic for a Pantera- even a fully dedicated racer. If it did happen, I suspect it would no longer be a real Pantera. Note the popularity in the '80s of tube-frame composite body replicars; I do not regard 800 bhp Kremer-Porsches as 'real' cars, either. And its easily possible to go too far; a Swedish friend got his Chrysler Hemi-powered steel street Pantera down to 1100 kg but major suspension parts failed from one off-track excursion during a club event, wrecking his car. Haven't heard from him since.

I haven't looked at FIA vintage rules lately (they change every year and I no longer compete). Most here are interested in street-drivable cars so that puts even more limitations on our combinations. My 2650 lb goal was for a street-legal Pantera with two seats, a radio, heater, A/C & e-brake, no roll cage, and smaller tires and wheels with no fender mods than are permitted for racers. Those things weigh an estimated 200+ more pounds that a racer doesn't need.

In addition, I use a 'heavy' L & N fiberglas front hood that I found too late was only 5 lbs lighter than stock steel. Today there are shops that can put together hoods, decks & doors from carbon-fiber and be 50 lbs lighter just from those. They are nowhere near as cheap as my L & N hood was but there are scams even here. Rear suspension uprights made from light alloy have been available for a decade that are 12-14 lbs/pr lighter than stock iron, and the list goes on. 2500 lbs/1130kg should be achievable for a self-financed home-built racer and maybe less with a pro-built cost-no-object machine, but as I said in my POCA Newsletter article last month, the big weight losses are in the powertrain & suspension, not in the sheet metal. Good luck- J DeRyke