Autoblog

Click above for a high-res gallery of the Caparo T1.

The British engineering team at Caparo has quickly made a name for itself by diversifying its production and design expertise with the absolutely insane T1 supercar, while simultaneously landing the contract to supply body structures for the equally revolutionary, if far less expensive, Tata Nano. Caparo is looking to expand its line of products to include two new models that also span the spectrum from high-strung super coupe to a compact, lightweight city car.

Currently, Caparo has sold 20 T1s and has taken in around £4 million, which will aid in the development of both vehicles. The new high-performance model will be a more useable version of the T1, but Caparo's chief exec, Angad Paul, remained mum on the details. The other model will make use of innovative materials and packaging, and is likely aimed at smart's fortwo and other small, urban runabouts. The major push by Caparo is to make composite body panels less expensive in an effort to reduce weight and increase efficiency. "The carbon fiber route is not just for expensive cars," Paul maintains, "We are thinking of the Fiat Punto class."


[Source: Autocar]

The recent spate of negative press hampering the Caparo T1 hasn't stopped the makers of the clichéd "road-going racecar" from releasing a host of details outlining the finer points of the T1's safety systems.

While the press release after the jump goes into detail about the Caparo's lightweight, yet extremely rigid, carbon fiber composite tub and energy-absorbing snout, and regurgitates all the impressive details and stats surrounding the AP-sourced braking setup that hauls down the 1,256-pound street-legal F1 car from 100 mph in under three seconds, it's the last bit about driver training that caught our attention.

It seems that all owners of the Caparo T1 are required to attend a training course that allows them to experience the vehicle's dynamic pleasures on a closed track. If the T1 is to be driven on the street – something that's legal in the UK, but not highly advised – owners will embark on a separate course that gives them the ins and outs of driving a vehicle with such high limits on public roads.

Caparo is touting the T1 as "one of the world's safest ultra-performance vehicles," although we'd probably ask Jason Plato's opinion first if we had the means of acquiring one.

[Source: Caparo]

Performance figures don't give an accurate picture of just how well a car performs overall. A given car may be the fastest to sixty, but that doesn't mean it has the highest top speed, tightest cornering or sharpest brakes. Lap times around a given track paint a more accurate, comprehensive picture of a car's abilities, but picking one track as the gold standard is dicey business. That's where Top Gear's Power Lap board comes into play.

Although weather conditions can vary, BBC's Top Gear puts all the cars through the paces at the same test track outside their studio, and what's more is that they're driven – or at least, so we're lead to believe – by the same driver: The Stig.

The latest high-performance supercar to make a run for the top of the record board is the Caparo T1, which, at 1:10.6, easily trounced the previous record holder, the Koenigsegg CCX, by an astonishing seven seconds. Unfortunately the Caparo was disqualified because, in its track set-up, it lacked the adjustable ride height to enable it to clear a requisite speed-bump. Caparo insists they deserve a second chance with a road-spec version. If the show's producers give the Ultima GTR an official run, meanwhile, the Caparo's reign as king of the Power Lap could be short-lived, adjustable shocks or not.

[Source: PistonHeads]

Jason Plato, BTCC champion and Fifth Gear presenter, found himself in the midst of a Caparo T1 barbeque while testing the new supercar at the Bruntingthorpe Proving Ground in Leicestershire. According to Plato, he noticed a loss of power while traveling upwards of 150 MPH. He checked the outside mirror, saw smoke and then felt a rush of intense heat. The T1 "spontaneously erupted into a ball of flame," said Plato, who immediately stopped the Caparo and jumped out after sustaining burns to his neck, face and hands.

He was rushed to the hospital and is expected to consult a burn specialist later today. Plato still intends to compete at the final BTCC race this weekend at the Thurxton Circuit this Sunday, which coincides with his 40th birthday. Just be careful blowing out those candles, Jason.

[Source: Fifth Gear]

Although we've covered the entire gestation of the Caparo T1, we've yet to drive it. No surprise, as we'll be the first to admit that it outclasses us in every conceivable way. On the other hand, Nick Hall, the supercar scribe from across the pond, is one of the few motoring journos that actually has had seat time in the clichéd "Formula One car for the road." And although he hates that description, if the shoe fits...

His review over at World Car Fans provides you the prerequisite stats for you to rattle off when you're bench-racing your buddies, and the description of his time behind the wheel gives the best insight yet on what the 1,045 BHP per ton track toy is capable of – and why even though it's road legal, your kidneys will thank you if you avoid trips to the corner store. Read on and enjoy.

[Source: World Car Fans]

We just can't get enough of the Caparo T1. We've surely bored you with all the stats -- performance figures, power-to-weight ratio and engineering geeketry -- but nothing compares to actually seeing the closest thing to a street-legal F1 car making the rounds on a closed circuit.

The video after the jump is entirely too short, but evidence of the T1's physics-defying abilities can be seen by its nonexistent body roll and the glorious sounds of the 3.5-liter V8 being run into the red at a heady 10,500 RPM. Goosebumps, anyone?

[Source: StreetFire.net]

Click the image for more pics.

Let's put things into perspective. The Caparo T1 weighs 550 pounds less than a Lotus Elise, while packing a 3.5-liter V8 producing 575 HP. That's 1045 horsepower per ton. Superbikes can barely crack the millennial mark and the Bugatti Veyron is downright portly at 506 HP per ton. It's epic, and it's in the final stages of development.

"Development" is the key word in that last sentence, as the T1 is essentially a rolling showcase of what Caparo is capable of. The firm's goal is to influence and design components for the automotive industry, utilizing lightweight materials and composites to reduce weight while increasing safety.

We've ran through the stats before, but as a quick refresher, the Caparo T1 can hit 60 in 2.5 seconds, crack the 100 MPH mark in under five seconds, and produces the aforementioned 575 HP at 10,500 RPM and 310 lb.-ft. of torque at 9k. According to the T1's engineers, they haven't even utilized the motor to its full capacity – they know it can rev to 17,000 RPM without drama.

All the technical details, including a few more quotes from the eggheads behind this beast, are available after the jump. Want to know how it drives? Those lucky bastards blokes at Car just got done at the track and you can read all about it here.

[Source: Caparo]

The folks over at Car procured a few shots of the Caparo T1 undergoing testing and have gleaned some interesting information about Gordon Murray's newest masterpiece.

First off, the road-going F1 car is living up to its ethos by ditching the supercharger and coming to the party with a naturally aspirated V8 that makes 700 HP and revs all the way to 10,200 RPM. A shot of the engine bay, although a bit cramped, reveals a mechanical masterpiece, complete with polished intake trumpets that are making the hair on the back of our neck stand up on end.

Naturally, the performance equation doesn't just revolve around the mid-mounted engine. Aluminum honeycomb, carbon fiber and a six-speed sequential box, made up of magnesium, contribute to the T1's epic accomplishments. Zero-to-60 times are in the 2.5 second range, while braking from 100 MPH comes in at a scant 8.5 seconds, courtesy of 355mm steel discs at all four wheels.

Deliveries are still expected to begin this summer, at a cost of £217,500. But for those of you (and us) attending this year's Goodwood Festival of Speed, you'll be able to see the T1 making the rounds during the show.

[Source: Car]

Caparo Vehicle Technologies has achieved the monumental task of completing the first of two prototypes of its T1 supercar less than a year after the company was formed. We'll remind you that the T1 is a street-legal, ultralight F1-inspired racer designed by ex-McLaren engineers Ben Scott-Geddes and Graham Halstead. Powered by a 2.4-liter supercharged V8 rated at 500 horsepower, the T1 can reach 60 mph in just 2.5 seconds thanks to its low 1,100 lb. curb weight. The XP1 prototype car started under its own power, which is always a good sign, and will now begin comprehensive testing and tweaking before a second prototype, the XP2, begins additional testing in December. Customers will likely begin receiving their cars in early 2007, and Caparo claims it has half of its available production for next year already sold. The T1 will be not be a mass produced exotic, however, with Caparo capable of building only two units per month at its Basingstoke facility in the U.K.

The T1 is really a rolling showcase for lightweight vehicle technology that Caparo hopes will attract the business of aerospace and automotive companies seeking weight reductions through the use of composite materials, a Caparo specialty. Thus, Caparo's Chief Executive Richard Butler calls the T1, "but one-tenth of the business plan". Caparo has long been a supplier of aluminum and steel, but with the T1 it has demonstrated its capacity as an automotive component supplier that can design, develop and produce lightweight components for both the aero and auto industries.

(Additional pic and press release can be found after the jump.)

[Source: Caparo]

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• Caparo T1 unveiled in Monaco
• Caparo T1 to be displayed at Goodwood
• Caparo T1 supercar set for Monaco debut

When it comes to exotic automotive composites, you won't find a bigger name than Gordon Murray. Murray who led the design team that birthed the McLaren F1 and who was up to his elbows in the development of the McMerc, has made the move to Caparo, producers of the T1 supercar.

The move mainly centers on Caparo's development and marketing of lightweight materials to be used by automakers to reduce emissions and improve fuel mileage. If the Caparo team and Murray are at the forefront of that development, there is no doubt that the fiscal impact would be epic and the design element would be a revolution for passenger cars.

Murray's biggest ambition at this point isn't the development of another elite, physics-defying road rocket, but the pursuit of an affordable, highly efficient city car for the masses.

Here's to hoping that you too can buy a car designed by a legend.

[Source: World Car Fans, who also have photos of Murray and the T1]