Two of the minds behind the McLaren F1 supercar project, Ben Scott-Geddes and Graham Halsted are now injecting another dose of racetrack onto the road with their formula 1 inspired, Carparo T1. “Inspired” is an understatement really. The ultra lightweight two-seater with wind-tunnel forged aerodynamics, adjustable twin element front wing, single element rear wing, and fowler flaps is race car through and through. With its lightweight composite construction, the T1 weighs in at just 470 kilograms – making it one of the lightest cars ever built.
In keeping with its racing pedigree, you won’t be finding any plush leather and dinky plastic dash bits; this two-seater’s all business, doing away with any unnecessary amenities and luxuries in order to keep the weight down.
Nestled within a central safety cell comprised of a high-strength steel roll hoop and fire system, the car’s occupants are held in place against 3G forces care of six-point safety harnesses. The passenger seat is set back from the driver’s seat slightly, allowing them both to be placed closer together, thus reducing the overall width of the T1.
While the T1 might, technically speaking, look the shit, there’s also a fair bit happening underneath all of those sultry composite curves.
The chassis of the T1 is composed of a carbon fibre and aluminium honeycomb with front composite crash structure and a rear tubular space frame construction all connected to double wishbone suspension and tunable anti-roll bars, front and rear, and five-way adjustable race dampers.
The T1’s powerhouse comes in the very nice form of a bespoke 3.5-litre, all-aluminium, naturally-aspirated V8 engine, with a dry sump oil system generating a maximum of 575 brake horsepower and a power-to-weight ratio of 1,045 brake horsepower per tonne – double that of the Bugatti Veyron.
With an insane standing start acceleration of 0 to 96 kilometres per hour (60 miles per hour) in under 2.5 seconds and onto 160 kilometres per hour (100 miles per hour) in under five seconds, the T1 is capable of exceeding an estimated maximum speed of 322 kilometres per hour.
The company plans to make only 25 cars a year from their business park in Surrey (don’t laugh). While 1,045 brake horsepower per tonne power to weight ratio might be bloody nuts, it’s not just speed and insane cornering that makes this car something special. Graham Halstead points out: “As well as offering a unique racecar performance experience, we were equally concerned to make the car as safe as possible. The result is an extremely stable aerodynamic platform to complement its feather weight of 1,025 pounds and compact powertrain.” Graham’s words came back to haunt him unfortunately, though – during filming for TV’s Fifth Gear, the T1 caught fire due to a leaky oil seal. Potential customers will be pleased to know that this has been rectified. Yet it all adds to the character of it really. After all, what’s a true race car without a bit of tinkering and a bit of trial and error? Scott-Geddes adds: “We’ve spoken to enthusiastic owners who have become frustrated and bored with their regular sports and race cars, whose potential is heavily restricted through constrained engineering and race formula regulations. In that respect we’ve torn up the rule book to give customers what they ultimately desire: a road car with an uncompromising yet safe performance experience.”
Unfortunately, fulfilling this ultimate desire will set you back around US $390,000.
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