Caparo supercars

Mon, 21 Jul 2008

By Tim Pollard

21 July 2008 10:42

You've probably heard of the madcap Caparo T1. CAR drove the first example and was left pondering how one of the world's fastest cars was also one of the scariest. But you might have forgotten that Caparo is better known as a huge engineering company in the automotive sector and elsewhere, employing 6000 people worldwide and turning over €1.5 billion a year. The T1 is merely the tip of the iceberg, a very fast advert for the group's other activities.

Make and model

Year

Price

Engine

0-60mph

Top speed

2006

£150,000

2400cc V8, 500bhp, 450lb ft

2.5sec

205mph

For:

Smart thinking and ultra-lightweight
materials delivered the promise

Against

Not much use on the road, and will only be made in tiny numbers

Verdict

The opposite of the Veyron

We all got a bit over-excited about this one; we loved the engineering purism of its ex-McLaren makers and their 1000bhp-per-tonne target, but overlooked the fact that it was basically a road-going F3 car