The Caparo T1 is a
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
mid-engine, rear-wheel drive, two-seat
automobile
A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with Wheel, wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, pe ...
that was built by
Caparo Vehicle Technologies
Caparo Vehicle Technologies (CVT), formerly known as Freestream Cars Limited, was a British company that provided advanced technology development, materials engineering, and design services to and markets. Caparo Vehicle Technologies went into ...
, founded by design director Ben Scott-Geddes, engineering director Graham Halstead, engineers formerly involved in the development of the
McLaren F1
The McLaren F1 is a sports car designed and manufactured by British automobile manufacturer McLaren Cars, and powered by the BMW S70/2 V12 engine. The original concept was conceived by Gordon Murray. Murray was able to convince Ron Dennis to b ...
and Sean Butcher, marketing director and financier.
The T1 was inspired by
Formula One
Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
design, and intended as a relatively affordable road legal racing car.
The T1 was scheduled for production in mid-2007 for a price of
GB£235,000
with approximately 25 cars per year built.
Overview
The T1 has a dry weight of , an overall length of , an overall width of , an overall height of , and a
wheelbase
In both road and rail vehicles, the wheelbase is the horizontal distance between the centers of the front and rear wheels. For road vehicles with more than two axles (e.g. some trucks), the wheelbase is the distance between the steering (front ...
of . It has a fuel tank capacity of .
Exterior
The exterior of the T1 closely resembles that of a racing prototype or Formula One racing car. It features a
carbon fibre
Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (American English), carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers (Commonwealth English), carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics, carbon-fiber reinforced-thermoplastic (CFRP, CRP, CFRTP), also known as carbon fiber, carbon compo ...
aerodynamic
Aerodynamics, from grc, ἀήρ ''aero'' (air) + grc, δυναμική (dynamics), is the study of the motion of air, particularly when affected by a solid object, such as an airplane wing. It involves topics covered in the field of fluid dyn ...
low
drag body design, composed of individual sections, with an adjustable twin element front
wing
A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expres ...
, single element rear wing, adjustable
flaps, and a
ground effect diffuser
Diffuser may refer to:
Aerodynamics
* Diffuser (automotive), a shaped section of a car's underbody which improves the car's aerodynamic properties
* Part of a jet engine air intake, especially when operated at supersonic speeds
* The channel betw ...
, allowing it to create of downforce at .
The wings are replaceable with road and track variations.
Interior
The interior of the T1 is a two-seat configuration, lacking any amenities and luxuries to reduce excess weight. The passenger's seat is set back from the driver's seat slightly, allowing the seats to be placed closer together, thereby reducing the overall width of the T1.
Offered are a head protection system, six-point harnesses for the driver and passenger, compatible with a
HANS device
A HANS device (head and neck support device) is a type of head restraint, a safety device in motorsports. Head restraints are mandatory when competing with most major motorsports sanctioning bodies. They reduce the likelihood of head or neck inj ...
, and is designed with a central safety cell made of a high-strength steel
roll hoop
A roll cage is a specially engineered and constructed frame built in (or sometimes around, in which case it is known as an exo cage) the passenger compartment of a vehicle to protect its occupants from being injured or killed in an accident, pa ...
with a fire system. The dashboard is multi-function with race
data logging
A data logger (also datalogger or data recorder) is an electronic device that records data over time or about location either with a built-in instrument or sensor or via external instruments and sensors. Increasingly, but not entirely, they ar ...
and speed sensors for
traction control
A traction control system (TCS), also known as ASR (from german: Antriebsschlupfregelung, lit=drive slippage regulation), is typically (but not necessarily) a secondary function of the electronic stability control (ESC) on production motor vehicle ...
and
launch control.
Chassis
![Caparo t1 rear](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/00/Caparo_t1_rear.jpg)
The
chassis
A chassis (, ; plural ''chassis'' from French châssis ) is the load-bearing framework of an artificial object, which structurally supports the object in its construction and function. An example of a chassis is a vehicle frame, the underpart ...
of the T1 is composed of a carbon fibre and
aluminium
Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. I ...
honeycomb
A honeycomb is a mass of Triangular prismatic honeycomb#Hexagonal prismatic honeycomb, hexagonal prismatic Beeswax, wax cells built by honey bees in their beehive, nests to contain their larvae and stores of honey and pollen.
beekeeping, Beekee ...
monocoque
Monocoque ( ), also called structural skin, is a structural system in which loads are supported by an object's external skin, in a manner similar to an egg shell. The word ''monocoque'' is a French term for "single shell".
First used for boats, ...
with a front composite crash structure and a rear tubular
space frame
In architecture and structural engineering, a space frame or space structure ( 3D truss) is a rigid, lightweight, truss-like structure constructed from interlocking struts in a geometric pattern. Space frames can be used to span large areas with ...
construction. The
suspension
Suspension or suspended may refer to:
Science and engineering
* Suspension (topology), in mathematics
* Suspension (dynamical systems), in mathematics
* Suspension of a ring, in mathematics
* Suspension (chemistry), small solid particles suspend ...
is of a
double wishbone
A double wishbone suspension is an independent suspension design for automobiles using two (occasionally parallel) wishbone-shaped arms to locate the wheel. Each wishbone or arm has two mounting points to the chassis and one joint at the knuckle ...
design with tunable
anti-roll bars
An anti-roll bar (roll bar, anti-sway bar, sway bar, stabilizer bar) is a part of many automobile suspensions that helps reduce the body roll of a vehicle during fast cornering or over road irregularities. It connects opposite (left/right) wheels ...
, front and rear, and five-way adjustable race
dampers. The
braking system
A brake is a mechanical device that inhibits motion by absorbing energy from a moving system. It is used for slowing or stopping a moving vehicle, wheel, axle, or to prevent its motion, most often accomplished by means of friction.
Background ...
is composed of metal
brake discs, with six-piston and four-piston callipers front and rear, respectively. The
brake bias The brake balance or brake bias of a vehicle is the distribution of brake force at the front and rear tires, and may be given as the percentage distributed to the front brakes (e.g. 52%) or as the ratio of front and rear percentages (e.g. 52/48). ...
pedal box is fully adjustable and
brake pad Brake pads are a component of disc brakes used in automotive and other applications. Brake pads are composed of steel backing plates with friction material bound to the surface that faces the disc brake rotors.
Function
Brake pads convert the kin ...
s are available in various compounds. The wheels are all-aluminium and front and rear, respectively, with
Pirelli
Pirelli & C. S.p.A. is a multinational tyre manufacturer based in Milan, Italy. The company, which has been listed on the Milan Stock Exchange since 1922, is the 6th-largest tyre manufacturer and is focused on the consumer production of tyre ...
P Zero Corsa tyres.
Magnesium
Magnesium is a chemical element with the symbol Mg and atomic number 12. It is a shiny gray metal having a low density, low melting point and high chemical reactivity. Like the other alkaline earth metals (group 2 of the periodic ta ...
and wheels front and rear, respectively, with Pirelli
slick and
wet track tyres are available as optional equipment.
Powertrain
The T1 sports a ,
32-valve, , all-aluminium,
naturally-aspirated, ''
Menard
Menard may refer to:
Places
Canada
*Menard River, a tributary of the Wawagosic River in Quebec, Canada
United States
* Menard County, Illinois
** Menard, Illinois
* Menard County, Texas
** Menard, Texas
* Menard–Hodges site, archaeological s ...
''
V-8, with cylinder banks mounted at 90°, and lubricated via a
dry-sump oil system. The engine has gone through several designs, previously including a smaller 2.4-litre
supercharged
In an internal combustion engine, a supercharger compresses the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to produce more power for a given displacement.
The current categorisation is that a supercharger is a form of forced induct ...
unit. The production design generates a maximum
power
Power most often refers to:
* Power (physics), meaning "rate of doing work"
** Engine power, the power put out by an engine
** Electric power
* Power (social and political), the ability to influence people or events
** Abusive power
Power may a ...
of at 10,500
revolutions per minute
Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines.
Standards
ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...
and a maximum
torque
In physics and mechanics, torque is the rotational equivalent of linear force. It is also referred to as the moment of force (also abbreviated to moment). It represents the capability of a force to produce change in the rotational motion of th ...
of at 9,000 revolutions per minute,
giving the car a
power-to-weight ratio
Power-to-weight ratio (PWR, also called specific power, or power-to-mass ratio) is a calculation commonly applied to engines and mobile power sources to enable the comparison of one unit or design to another. Power-to-weight ratio is a measuremen ...
of 1,223 horsepower per tonne (912.8 kW/t). In addition, the engine has been reported to successfully reach on
methanol
Methanol (also called methyl alcohol and wood spirit, amongst other names) is an organic chemical and the simplest aliphatic alcohol, with the formula C H3 O H (a methyl group linked to a hydroxyl group, often abbreviated as MeOH). It is a ...
fuel.
The engine is controlled via a fully tunable Pectel SQ6
engine control unit
An engine control unit (ECU), also commonly called an engine control module (ECM), is a type of electronic control unit that controls a series of actuators on an internal combustion engine to ensure optimal engine performance. It does this by re ...
and the throttle is controlled via a
throttle-by-wire
Electronic throttle control (ETC) is an automobile technology which Electronics, electronically "connects" the accelerator pedal to the throttle, replacing a mechanical linkage. A typical ETC system consists of three major components: (i) an ac ...
system.
The T1's
gearbox
Propulsion transmission is the mode of transmitting and controlling propulsion power of a machine. The term ''transmission'' properly refers to the whole drivetrain, including clutch, gearbox, prop shaft (for rear-wheel drive vehicles), differe ...
is a 6-speed
Hewland
Hewland is a British engineering company, founded in 1957 by Mike Hewland, which specialises in racing-car gearboxes. Hewland currently employ 130 people at their Maidenhead facility and have diversified into a variety of markets being particul ...
sequential
In mathematics, a sequence is an enumerated collection of objects in which repetitions are allowed and order matters. Like a set, it contains members (also called ''elements'', or ''terms''). The number of elements (possibly infinite) is called t ...
, made of a magnesium and carbon construction, that has a variety of available
gear ratio
A gear train is a mechanical system formed by mounting gears on a frame so the teeth of the gears engage.
Gear teeth are designed to ensure the pitch circles of engaging gears roll on each other without slipping, providing a smooth transmission ...
s, and utilizes a pneumatic actuator to shift; able to upshift in 60 milliseconds and downshift in 30 milliseconds.
Furthermore, the drivetrain incorporates a
limited-slip differential
A limited-slip differential (LSD) is a type of differential that allows its two output shafts to rotate at different speeds but limits the maximum difference between the two shafts. Limited-slip differentials are often known by the generic tr ...
and equal-length hollow tripod
driveshaft
A drive shaft, driveshaft, driving shaft, tailshaft (Australian English), propeller shaft (prop shaft), or Cardan shaft (after Girolamo Cardano) is a component for transmitting mechanical power and torque and rotation, usually used to connect ...
s.
Performance
The T1 has an estimated maximum speed of on a low
downforce
Downforce is a downwards lift force created by the aerodynamic features of a vehicle. If the vehicle is a car, the purpose of downforce is to allow the car to travel faster by increasing the vertical force on the tires, thus creating more grip. ...
setup.
From a standing start, it has an estimated time under 2.5 seconds and onto in 4.9 seconds, depending on
tyre setup.
It is also capable of an estimated lateral acceleration of up to 3 ''
g'' and braking deceleration of 3 ''g'', depending on tyre setup.
History
Unveiling
![Caparo T1 Goodwood July 12, 2008 by estoril](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/91/Caparo_T1_Goodwood_July_12%2C_2008_by_estoril.jpg)
The T1 was officially unveiled by
Albert II, Prince of Monaco
Albert II – Website of the Palace of Monaco (Albert Alexandre Louis Pierre Grimaldi; born 14 March 1958) is Prince of Monaco, since 2005.
Albert was born at the Prince's Palace of Monaco, and he is the second child and only son of Prince Rai ...
, joined by
Murray Walker
Graeme Murray Walker (10 October 1923 – 13 March 2021) was an English motorsport commentator and journalist. He provided television commentary of live Formula One coverage for the BBC between 1976 and 1996, and for ITV between 1997 and 2001 ...
, at the Top Marques auto show in Monaco on 20 April 2006.
The show car unveiled was a prototype, painted orange as historic
McLaren
McLaren Racing Limited is a British motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor, the second oldest active team, and the second most successful Formul ...
cars were due to the nature of the T1's designers being ex-McLaren engineers. Another test vehicle was reported to have been under construction at the time.
During the
MPH '07 auto show, on 30 October through 2 November and later 13 November through 16 November 2007, Caparo, in conjunction with the
London Metropolitan Police
The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), formerly and still commonly known as the Metropolitan Police (and informally as the Met Police, the Met, Scotland Yard, or the Yard), is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement and ...
, unveiled a prototype police vehicle variant of the T1 named the Rapid Response Vehicle (RRV).
However, ''Top Gear'' and Edmunds reported that the car would not be put into production.
Incidents
Jason Plato
Timothy Jason Plato (born 14 October 1967) is a British racing driver who last competed in the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) for BTC Racing. He has twice been BTCC Champion, in 2001 for Vauxhall and 2010 for Silverline Chevrolet. He ...
was injured in a prototype T1 in October 2007 at the
Bruntingthorpe
Bruntingthorpe is a village and civil parish in the Harborough district of Leicestershire, England. According to the census in 2001 the parish had a population of 398. The parish also includes the hamlet of Upper Bruntingthorpe. The population a ...
proving ground when it caught fire at an estimated .
The T1 was being tested during filming for
Five's ''
Fifth Gear
''Fifth Gear'' is a British motoring television magazine series on Discovery+. It is a continuation of the ''Fifth Gear'' format originally broadcast on Channel 5 from 2002 to 2011, afterwards moving to Discovery Channel in 2012, and then in ...
''. Plato described what happened as:
In the associated episode of ''Fifth Gear'', first broadcast 15 October 2007, presenter
Vicki Butler-Henderson
Victoria Jemma Butler-Henderson (born 16 February 1972) is a British racing driver, former presenter of ''Top Gear'' and current presenter of ''Fifth Gear''.
Biography
Butler-Henderson was born into a racing family. Her grandfather used to race ...
suggested the fire was caused by a "faulty oil sealing component," which, having been identified, has been fully rectified by Caparo.
While being tested for competing for British television programme ''
Top Gear
Top Gear may refer to:
* "Top gear", the highest gear available in a vehicle's manual transmission
Television
* ''Top Gear'' (1977 TV series), a British motoring magazine programme
* ''Top Gear'' (2002 TV series), a relaunched version of the or ...
'', first broadcast on 11 November 2007, a floor panel came loose from the test vehicle as it was being driven at speed by
Jeremy Clarkson
Jeremy Charles Robert Clarkson (born 11 April 1960) is an English broadcaster, journalist, game show host and writer who specialises in Driving, motoring. He is best known for the motoring programmes ''Top Gear (2002 TV series), Top Gear'' an ...
, after he had already made a play of being scared about driving the car because of Plato's experience. Afterwards, there was a problem with the car's petrol injection system. In the same review, Clarkson mentioned two more incidents, one at the press launch, when "some aspect of the front suspension came adrift" while a Dutch journalist was driving, causing him to veer off-road, and one at the
Goodwood Festival of Speed
The Goodwood Festival of Speed is an annual motorsports festival featuring modern and historic motor racing vehicles taking part in a hillclimbing, hill climb and other events, held in the grounds of Goodwood House, West Sussex, England, in l ...
when the throttle stuck open.
Reviews
On 11 November 2007, the T1 surpassed the ''
Top Gear
Top Gear may refer to:
* "Top gear", the highest gear available in a vehicle's manual transmission
Television
* ''Top Gear'' (1977 TV series), a British motoring magazine programme
* ''Top Gear'' (2002 TV series), a relaunched version of the or ...
''
Power Board
A power strip is a block of electrical sockets that attaches to the end of a flexible cable (typically with a mains plug on the other end), allowing multiple electrical devices to be powered from a single electrical socket. Power strips are often ...
leader's time of 1:17.6, then held by the
Koenigsegg CCX
The Koenigsegg CCX is a Mid-engine design, mid-engine sports car manufactured by Swedish automotive manufacturer Koenigsegg, Koenigsegg Automotive AB. The project began with the aim of making a global car, designed and engineered to comply with ...
, with a time of 1:10.6. Immediately after having declared the time and placed it on the Power Board, presenter Jeremy Clarkson removed the record because it did not meet the show's rule that the car must be able to go over a
speed bump
Speed bumps (also called traffic thresholds, speed breakers or sleeping policemen) are the common name for a class of traffic calming devices that use vertical deflection to slow motor-vehicle traffic in order to improve safety conditions. Varia ...
.
However, Ben Scott-Geddes of
Caparo
Caparo plc is a British company involved mainly in the steel industry, primarily in the design, manufacturing and marketing of steel and niche engineering products.
Current affairs
Caparo was founded by Lord Swraj Paul, in 1968.
Sixteen compa ...
has stated that, "the model we supplied to ''Top Gear'' was one of our final engineering vehicles without adjustable ride height and electronic active driver control systems which are standard on our production models. When drivers select the 'road' setting, the car is more tractable in slower speed conditions and the ride height is fully adjustable to bring the car up to 90 mm clearance, making it more than capable of driving over speed bumps."
When driving the Caparo, Clarkson had stated that limited aerodynamic downforce is created at slow speeds,
saying that it would be an excellent excuse for a policeman since "
ehas to take that corner at a thousand mph because if
etakes it at thirty,
e'llcrash." The car had low levels of lateral traction while cornering if it was not being driven rapidly. Aerodynamically, this vehicle is designed such that air passing over the body at high speed "pushes" the vehicle against the road (allowing for higher cornering speeds). He criticized the handling characteristics, finding that the vehicle was difficult to control around corners at low speeds and that on a wet or cold day (these factors negatively affect grip) there were problems even at higher speeds.
Sales
Caparo planned to sell around 25 cars per year. However, in the production run they sold just 15 cars before the company fell into administration in 2015, with the completed cars and owners locations unknown. A small number of T1's have appeared for sale following the companies collapse, one in Japan in 2019, and a further two that have been on sale in the United Kingdom since 2021.
References
*
Citations
External links
{{commons category
Caparo T1 official web site
2000s cars
Cars of England
Rear mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive vehicles
Sports cars