A Company You Probably Forgot About Will Start Selling its Cars With Self-Healing Paint

TopSpeed

By Kirby Garlitos

Published Jun 14, 2018

Panoz's partnership with Feynlab will involve using self-healing paint on all of its new models

Three years after launching the Esperante Spyder GT, American automaker Panoz is back in the headlines with a new self-healing paint feature it plans to roll out on all of its future models. The long-running independent automaker is partnering with Feynlab to use the latter’s patented Self-Heal Plus coating. Part of this partnership involves seeing this product come as standard on all new Panoz cars.

It’s been a while since we last heard about the exploits of Panoz. The company that started in 1989 as a small independent shop is still at it almost 30 years later. Its lineup of models hasn’t changed much, either, as the Esperante Spyder and the Avezzano GT Coupe are still being offered to this day. Neither model comes cheap, and you can expect them to become a little more expensive now that they’re getting Feynlab’s Self-Heal Plus coating.

So what exactly does this coating do? According to Feynlab, the coating itself is a memory polymer than can reform to its original configuration when exposed to heat. If the car gets a light scratch or swirl marks, you can leave the model under the sun or use a hairdryer, and the heat will do the work in restoring the car’s original paint. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like deep scratches that go all the way down to the bare body panels are going to be fixed as easily, but still, it’s a pretty cool technology to have on a car.

From now on, all new Panoz cars that the company delivers to new owners will get the specialized coating. It’s a good feature to have considering that Panoz cars don’t come cheap. The Esperante Spyder, for example, starts at $159,000. The good news is that all that money you’re spending will go on a car that features a 5.0-liter V-8 engine that produces 430 horsepower and a more potent — and more expensive — 5.4-liter supercharged V-8 model that has 560 horsepower at its disposal.

It’s the same story with the Avezzano GT, which can be had with as much as 630 horsepower on tap. That’s probably why the model starts at $159,900. The good news is that with that kind of money, you can expect light scratches on the car to get treated and restored by our dear old friend, the sun.

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