CaparoNews

1000hp/tonne, 0-100 in 2.5 seconds – The 2009 Caparo T1

K keshy
Posted onFeb 16, 2009 at 12:38 AM

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Though it’s been involved in a fiery incident with a Fifth Gear host, scared the wits out of Top Gear’s Jeremy Clarkson and is generally completely impractical, the 575hp (429kW) Caparo T1 still exudes a sort of animal magnetism. Its close cockpit and semi-open-wheel layout is intended to bring alive the Formula 1 driver in all of us.

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Of course, the 1000hp/tonne power-to-weight ratio doesn’t hurt the experience. That’s roughly double the ratio of the Bugatti Veyron, and enough to rocket the car to 60mph (96km/h) in less than 2.5 seconds, and on to 100mph (160km/h) in under 5. But perhaps the most impressive stats of the Caparo T1 are the lateral and braking force figures: up to three times the force of gravity throws the driver left, right and forward.

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Full details on the 2009 version of the car have yet to be released, but Caparo has revealed five new levels of specification will be available. The entry-level variant is a stripped-down race track-only version, while a Race Extreme variant gets upgraded electronics, the most powerful engine package fully carbon brakes and super-lightweight magnesium wheels. Below is a fifth gear video of former British Touring Car Champion Jason Plato reviewing the Caparo T1 and jumping out of it after it catches on fire – bummer.

Source: Motor Authority

Post Views: 401
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    skazareth
  • Feb 16, 2009
fast, but might be good for track use instead of bring ur gf out for dinner..ehehehe..
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    A1diablo
  • Feb 16, 2009
This will be as close as one can get to driving an actual single seater race car
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    netmatrix
  • Feb 16, 2009
Man........ this 2009 version is much more closer to formula race car.
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    ephique74
  • Feb 16, 2009
ooo, who's gonna be killed next. lol. it's better to drive a real single seater coz i guess some can be cheaper than the camaro. O_O
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    A1diablo
  • Feb 16, 2009
It takes a bunch of people to get a single seater going and the associated equipment plus if you stall it.. long walk back to the pits..

This is the next bext thing.. With the Caparo T1 you can say goodbye to exotic track wannabes like Ferrari FXX, Zonda R etc
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    ephique74
  • Feb 16, 2009
true that a1diablo. but for track wannabees, i guess lotus 2-eleven would be the most sensible, or the ktm x-bow.
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    hause
  • Feb 16, 2009
Truth is that the fire on board the Caparo with Jason Plato on board was because it was still a pre-production test mule. (Compare that with the R8 test mule that disintegrated from an on-board fire on the Nurburgring during testing, and you can say that Plato's incident wasn't all that catastrophic).

Sadly the Caparo T1 achieves only 922 bhp/ton, considering that the 1000bhp/ton figures was counting in the dry weight of the car. And if you add passengers, that figure will drastically drop since every little weight factor will affect the power-weight ratio massively.
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    netmatrix
  • Feb 16, 2009
922bhp per ton is already a crazy figure. And its so low grippy, it doens't matter really. So long you can almost flat it out at every corner, that would be most important.
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    A1diablo
  • Feb 17, 2009
ephique: yes the Lotus 2 eleven, ktm x bow all are sensible road legal track day car choices. It all boils down to $$$. The Caparo T1 is the most expensive I think. It's also a rather different category of a beast. More complex. Much more downforce. It's 'road legality' I think is just worthless. No one in their right mind would want to drive this on road.

The bhp/ton figures to me at least is academic. Useful for marketing brochures. The real interest to me at least ,is its ability to pull 3g laterally. To put that in perspective - Last year's A1GP cars were pulling 3.5g through corners. Also note that the Caparo's weight is similar to the weight of single seaters.

In light of testing and practice restrictions in most single seater series like A1GP, the Caparo T1 would make a great practice tool for drivers to stay sharp in between races and long breaks.
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    vincent
  • Feb 17, 2009
Tom you should have posted Top Gear's take on the T1. It was priceless to see Jeremy's face blown out of proportion by the wind.
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