HISTORY

JRD (Johan Ragnarsson Design) can be traced back to the mid eighties and the town of Alvesta in Sweden where newly graduated engineers and long time friends, Johan Ragnarsson and Niclas Jancic spent every free hour building rally cars out of Johan’s father’s sheet metal shop. In 1993 Johan decided to make his hobby a business and loaded all necessary equipment on a ship with a destination of Florida, USA.

Six years and hundreds of globally recognized custom cars later, Johan was asked to join Panoz in the development of the new Panoz Esperante road car. At this point the JRD shop was re-located to the Panoz factory facility in Hoschton, Georgia. It wasn’t long before Don Panoz realized the skill level and work ethic displayed by JRD and acquired an interest in the company. The team became the in-house R&D and custom car builder.

Aside from the Panoz cars, JRD has kept adding to its portfolio of custom vehicles. JRD's clients are professional athletes, recording artists, business executives, and movie stars. JRD differs from other tuning outfits in that they are fundamentally coach builders. This means that JRD can build a car from scratch if desired, and together with the rest of the Panoz powerhouse of technology can offer uncontested services.

Over the past few years, Johan and Niclas have recaptured their interest in the sport of rallying. Engineering, designing, and constructing rally and rallycross cars has become an exciting addition to the JRD business. The wealth of experience within the team means they are dynamic and progressive in their approach resulting in national success and multiple podiums.

JRD now has four primary directions:

  • Official tuner of Panoz vehicles

  • Panoz in-house R&D and support arm

  • Ultra high-end restoration shop and custom coach builder for high-end vehicles

  • World-class rally and rallycross race vehicle design, construction, and preparation

 

JRD in the news

When Extraordinary Isn't Enough - Autoweek (Panoz RSr)

Utvandraven (The Immigrant) - Bilsport (About JRD and Johan Ragnarsson)

Mono Ego: The True Story - Bilsport (About JRD and The Mono Ego)

Valbyggd (Well Built Showcar) - Bilsport (About the Mazda 323F)

JRD Panoz Esperante RSr - Car and Driver (Panoz RSr)

Full Metal Jacket -  L&E (Lexus SC430)

An Alpha Male - M&M (Lexus SC430)

Swedish Craftmanship - M&M (GMC Yukon XL)

Monster of Metal - Mobile Entertainment (Lexus SC430)

More 'tude for an already capable car - Motortrend.com (Panoz RSr)

Tonka Trucks for the Big Boys - Road & Track (Super Truck Racing North America)

Panoz Auto Special Edition: JRD Feature - Panoz Revolution (About JRD)

With a Rebel Yell - The Robb Report Collection (Lexus SC430)

Driving the GT World's Best Kept Secret - The Robb Report Collection (Panoz RSr)

Front cover - Truck Market News (Super Truck Racing North America)