Caparo

In 2014, Caparo announced plans to develop an even lighter and more powerful version of the T1. Dubbed T1 Evolution, It was supposed to receive an updated chassis and drivetrain, and a 700-horsepower engine. As enticing as that may sound, the T1 Evolution might not see the light of day as the company is on the verge of bankruptcy and its chairman committed suicide.

According to The Guardian, Caparo’s chief executive Angad Paul, has died after falling from his penthouse flat in London last week. The 45-year-old businessman was pronounced dead at the scene. His death comes as Caparo, a steel company that also owns Caparo Vehicle Technologies, has filed for bankruptcy and laid off hundreds of employees.

It’s believed that Caparo’s current difficulties and uncertain future pushed Angad to commit suicide.

Caparo was founded by Lord Swraj Paul, Angad’s father, in 1968. Angad Paul took over in 1996. Caparo Vehicle Technologies was established in 2006, when Caparo acquired Freestream, a British company that provided advanced technology development, materials engineering, and design services to automotive, motorsport and aerospace markets. Freestream was originally founded by Graham Halstead and Ben Scott-Geddes — two engineers that worked on the McLaren F1 project.

Continue reading for the full story.

On April 20, 2006, the world of super-light, street legal race cars became a lot richer. It was the day when the Caparo T1 was unveiled at the Top Marques auto show in Monaco. Developed by Ben Scott-Geddes and Graham Halstead, two engineers formerly involved in the creation of the McLaren F1, the T1 was designed as a lightweight race car for the road and track. Tipping the scales at only 1,040 pounds, the Caparo, which blended styling cues specific to racing prototypes and Formula One cars, was bolted on a carbon-fiber and aluminum chassis, and fitted with a 3.5-liter, naturally aspirated V-8 engine. Generating as much as 575 horsepower at 10,500 rpm, the mill gave the T1 a power-to-weight ratio of 1,223 ponies per tonne, a figure that not even the most expensive production supercars can’t match. Performance figures are equally impressive. The incredibly light T1 needs 2.5 seconds to accelerate from naught to 60 mph and reaches a top speed of 205 mph. In 2014, eight years since its inception, Caparo is developing the T1 Evolution — a revised version meant to push T1 even further.

Details are scant as of August 2014, but Caparo has already opened the order books for the T1 Evolution. The Brits promise significant updates for the supercar, including revised aerodynamics and engines, as well as a redesigned and modern body.

Click past the jump to read more about the Caparo T1 Evolution.

Remember the days when the Caparo T1 was in the news just about every day? And not for good reasons either. This was a machine that caught fire and burned a presenter from Fifth Gear and then gave Jeremy Clarkson all sorts of fits when he attempted to test it. Well, it was EVO magazine’s turn and everything seemed to go fairly well as they took the T1 around the Nürburgring Nordschleife.

The British car magazine was given a once in a lifetime chance to be able to take out this amazing machine. It might not seem fast when there is little traffic present, but just watch how quickly it blows by the other drivers in their brilliantly fast machines. It really makes you wonder what it’s like to drive such a wonderful piece of automotive engineering.

Also, be sure to check out the Jaguar XFR’s drift midway through the video, as it must have had the EVO’s Phil Bennett making a mess of his pants.

If you wanted just one car to drive on the road that can closely simulate the feeling of being behind the wheel of a Formula One car, you can’t get any better than the Caparo’s own T1.

And while most of us would probably not even get a sniff of this machine, the folks over at EVO are about the luckiest bastards in the world. Not only were they given a chance to run aroud the track with the T1, but they were also given free reign to take superduper road racer out on the streets.

You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to think of what the EVO boys felt while blasting the road-legal Formula One race car along a country road.

The Caparo T1 is a road legal Formula 1 car, designed by the same engineers that built the legendary McLaren F1. The T1 offers the experience of an open wheel racecar with the ability to carry two occupants. The UK based company has just released an even more potent version, the Caparo T1 Race Extreme; the greatest track toy in the world.

The vehicle is powered by an all aluminum dry sump V8 (very racy) that produces 620 HP at 10,500 RPM and is shifted with a six speed sequential transmission. The vehicle’s lightweight F1 inspired monocoque weighs in at only 550 Kg, this gives the T1 outstanding acceleration and handling. The vehicle can sprint to 60 MPH (100 km/h) in only 2.8 seconds and reach a top speed of 208 MPH (334 km/h) and will pull 3.5 G’s while cornering.

Combined with the endless amount of adjustability in the ECU and the suspension, the Caparo T1 Race Extreme owners will never get bored of their newest big boy toy.

Press release after the jump.

If you own a Caparo T1 or you intend to buy on in the near future, Caparo is now offering you a new climate pack priced at £21,760 (or $31630 at the current rates).

The climate pack includes: a plexiglass canopy and air conditioning. The canopy, made from a toughened acrylic used in armored windshields and helicopters, slides forward over the nose of the vehicle.

For an extra £3,750 ($5450) you can also get air conditioning.

Press release after the jump.

Caparo will make its first ever appearance at the 24 hours of Le Mans this year, after signing a partnering agreement with the Barazi Epsilon team. The team will be competing in the LMP2 category and will provide Caparo with the opportunity to develop lightweight structures and components in a competitive motorsport environment.

“The 24 hours of Le Mans is one of the most challenging races in the motorsport calendar and we are delighted to be involved with the Barazi Epsilon team,” says Angad Paul, chief executive officer, Caparo. “We intend to use this year’s events to gain valuable experience of sportscar racing and understand how we can apply our various technologies across the Caparo Vehicle Products companies.”

Caparo’s automotive expertise covers many areas where it is applying innovative design and manufacturing techniques to help vehicle manufacturers reduce lead times. In addition the company is increasingly focused on weight reduction, one of the key strategies for fuel economy and emissions improvement. “The design of lightweight components for motorsport applications provides substantial benefits for teams,” continues Paul.

Caparo, the maker of the successful £200,000 T1 track car has announced it will develop two new and very different vehicles. The company sold 20 units of its T1, and this gave confidence to start work on a pair of concepts. One is a high-performance car evolved from the T1 that will be usable on the road. The other is the complete opposite: a small, ultra-light town car. Caparo will carry on building full-spec T1s, but it will make the car a limited edition.

For the small car Caparo will be building on the skills it is learning as a supplier of body parts for the £1500 Nano. "Because we handle body structures here and in India, made from steel and aluminium, we understand the dynamics and will be able to apply composites knowledge," said Caparo chief executive Angad Paul.

Caparo, the manufacturer of the super-advanced Caparo T1, will build body structures for the Tata Nano. Caparo has been manaufacturing similar items for other auto makers in India for the last three years. Their customer list also boasts of JCB and Ashok Leyland.

60% of the assemblies will be taken care by Caparo. The structural panels will be pressed and assembled at the factory in Singur, West Bengal, where the car will be manufactured. To keep the costs down, Caparo has used a new semi automated production line with zero fault forward quality control systems that will ensure maximum efficiency.

"The body technology is relatively conventional, but the manufacturing technology is the result of very sophisticated analysis to ensure high-quality, low cost production," said Caparo Group CEO Angad Paul.

The reason why Tata has handed this task to Caparo is because of their good reputation for producing high quality components, and they also supply components to rival Maruti Suzuki’s 800.

Safety systems and materials developed for Formula One make the Caparo T1 one of the world’s safest ultra-performance vehicles. The world’s fastest ever track-biased production car is constructed using an exceptionally strong carbon composite tub and an energy-absorbing carbon nosecone, giving extremely high levels of driver protection.

The world’s fastest ever track-biased, ultra-performance road car, the Caparo T1, has smashed the lap record on BBC TV’s popular motoring programme Top Gear. The two-seater sports car, which utilises lightweight materials and technology more commonly found in Formula One cars, set a new lap record time of 1:10.6; an astonishing seven seconds quicker than a modified Koenigsegg CCX which held the previous record.

The bad boys are now in big trouble as Caparo has just unveiled a 200 mph police car! The Met Police has a teamed up with Brit supercar manufacturer, Caparo, to conceive a brand new Rapid Response Vehicle (RRV) for the future – on show at MPH ’07 this weekend.

The Caparo T1, a high performance two-seater sports car, is in its final development stages. The company is putting the finishing touches to the first car it has ever produced. The vehicle is designed for customers that seek the ultimate track day experience in a road drivable vehicle.
“We said a year ago, at the outset of this programme, that the only way to truly convince carmakers that we have the experience and skills to design a safe, reliable, cost-efficient and high-performance car (...)

0Caparo T1 to make its ’debut in action’ at Goodwood Festival of Speed0
The much heralded Caparo T1 will make its first public appearance as a running car at the 15th Goodwood Festival of Speed. The T1 will be one of the star attractions at this world famous UK event, which will be held over the weekend of 22-24 June 2007.
The T1 will participate in the Goodwood hill climb; a 1.16 mile course running through the parkland grounds of Goodwood House and the principal attraction at the annual (...)

The Caparo T1 has been spotted on the road for the first time, so you know have the chance to see it in action.
The dramatic 1,000bhp-per-tonne T1, which defines an entirely new breed of supercar that is lighter than a Caterham but with twice the power-to-weight ratio of a Bugatti Veyron, will be unveiled at the show by His Serene Highness Prince Albert II.
The ultra lightweight T1, which weighs less than 500kg, is a British designed 2-seater which has been developed using aerospace and (...)

The Caparo T1 technology flagship – a high performance and highly aerodynamically efficient track car – will make its debut in the US at the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) show running Tuesday 31 October to Friday 3 November 2006 at the Las Vegas Convention Centre.
The T1 track racer will be displayed by Michelin (booth 42912) as part of an agreement with the French tyre manufacturer for it to become the car’s exclusive supplier of tyres. As a focal point on their stand, the T1 (...)

Caparo Vehicle Technologies has completed the build of the first of two Caparo T1 prototypes. The car’s creators – design director Ben Scott-Geddes and engineering director Graham Halstead – climbed into the high performance two-seater last week to start the engine and complete the first trial run.
“It’s been a fantastic achievement to get this far so quickly,” said Scott-Geddes. “I’m very proud for everyone involved who has helped us so much on a project like this. It takes a very special team (...)

The Freestream T1 supercar project created by two former McLaren engineers has been bought out by automotive consultancy Caparo. Founders Ben Scott-Geddes and Graham Halstead, who worked on the famous McLaren F1 supercar and the Mercedes-Benz SLR, will stay with the project and if all goes well the quarter-million-dollar racer Caparo T1 might hit the roads by December. This two-seater is powered by a 2006-regulations style 2.4-litre V8 engine.
The team had planned to build just 25 cars per (...)

The first ever Caparo T1, the world’s most exclusive prototype high performance road and track car, will premiere at the world’s most prestigious motoring event: the Top Marques show in Monaco. The dramatic 1,000bhp-per-tonne T1, which defines an entirely new breed of supercar that is lighter than a Caterham but with twice the power-to-weight ratio of a Bugatti Veyron, will be unveiled at the show by His Serene Highness Prince Albert II.
This exclusive preview of the first prototype T1 (...)