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Well, it definitely is not poppycock that Haas added a considerable markup on the Lola parts - he always has. One of the initial concerns when this was put out to bid so to speak was that Haas would get mad and go away if he could not be "sole supplier" as he was for the old chassis. That markup paid for a lot of cigars!
I can't speak specifically to the Panoz deal but I do know that when you are asking someone to construct something as a special order, you have to guarantee them a minimum purchase. Yes, this is a good opportunity for Panoz, but they also would want to be able to recoup their fixed costs in tooling for the chassis/tub, suspension bits, body work etc. Very little of the car is going to be "off the shelf" or have any use anywhere else.
Speculating that this is the case is not being negative at all - it is just sound business. If I were a potential supplier I would want to be sure I was going to at least break even.
Don't forget, all discussion of the long term viability of the series aside, CC could decide to add suppliers or even change the car dramatically in the relative near term. There is no guarantee that Panoz will be the sole supplier in perpetuity.
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