Freestream T1 roadster produces 480 bhp and weighs just 465 kilograms









February 7, 2006 The Freestream T1 is ultra lightweight 2-seater with wind-tunnel aerodynamics, a composite construction, a 480bhp 2.4-litre V8 and one of the lightest weights of any road car in existence - just 465kg. Built by a team of engineers who were part of the elite team that designed and developed the iconic McLaren F1, the T1’s 1,000bhp/tonne power-to-weight ratio will offer 3g cornering, and braking and acceleration performance approaching that of a Formula One car. Though it could well be the ultimate track day car, the T1 will be road registerable and is expected to cost in the vicinity of UKP150,000 when it goes on sale later this year.

Following a year of design and development, Freestream founders Ben Scott-Geddes and Graham Halstead expect to launch the £150,000 car later this year. Interest has already been expressed by half a dozen customers privileged to preview the project and keen to join what will be an exclusive club since the company will only make 25 cars a year. With the first prototype nearing completion the two engineers have moved into brand-new premises that form part of a new automotive business park located at Farnham in Surrey.

Commenting on the inspiration for the Freestream T1 Ben Scott-Geddes said: "We wanted to demonstrate our ability to design from scratch a no-compromise but usable and reliable sports car with the whole vehicle meticulously engineered from the ground up, so as to offer customers a truly unique experience with a full aerodynamic performance package which at present can only be found in a high formula racecar."

Commenting on the critical wind-tunnel testing co-founder Graham Halstead added: "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 465kg and compact powertrain which delivers 480bhp from a bespoke 2.4-litre V8 F1-specification engine. The driver and passenger will experience extremely rapid acceleration as well as 3g cornering and braking performance."

"Our aim is to move the performance envelope up to current sports-prototype levels thereby setting a new benchmark for a road car exemplified by its agility and handling abilities," said Scott-Geddes. "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 uncompromised yet safe performance experience."

Further details will be announced closer to the launch.

Unrivalled 1,000bhp/tonne ultra lightweight Freestream T1 to offer the nearest experience yet to a Formula One racecar

Freestream cars has issued the following press release:

Two engineers who were part of the elite team that designed and developed the iconic McLaren F1 have set up an automotive engineering consultancy whose first project is an agile 1,000bhp/tonne sportscar, dubbed the Freestream T1. Developed for road and track, the ultra lightweight 2-seater will offer a near Formula One performance experience comparable to that of a Le Mans prototype with highly resolved aerodynamics and chassis making the vehicle predictably safe and responsive to driver inputs.

Following a year of design and development, founders Ben Scott-Geddes and Graham Halstead expect to launch the £150,000 car later this year. Interest has already been expressed by half a dozen customers privileged to preview the project and keen to join what will be an exclusive club since the company will only make 25 cars a year for the entire planet. With the first prototype nearing completion the two engineers have moved into brand-new premises that form part of a new automotive business park located at Farnham in Surrey.

Commenting on the inspiration for the Freestream T1 Ben Scott-Geddes said: "We wanted to demonstrate our ability to design from scratch a no-compromise but usable and reliable sports car with the whole vehicle meticulously engineered from the ground up, so as to offer customers a truly unique experience with a full aerodynamic performance package which at present can only be found in a high formula racecar."

Commenting on the critical wind-tunnel testing co-founder Graham Halstead added: "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 465kg and compact powertrain which delivers 480bhp from a bespoke 2.4-litre V8 F1-specification engine. The driver and passenger will experience extremely rapid acceleration as well as 3g cornering and braking performance."

"Our aim is to move the performance envelope up to current sports-prototype levels thereby setting a new benchmark for a road car exemplified by its agility and handling abilities," said Scott-Geddes. "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 uncompromised yet safe performance experience."

Further details will be announced closer to the launch. Meanwhile, the company is keeping the Freestream T1 specifications under wraps but has prepared an introductory website at www.freestreamcars.com outlining the car’s performance potential .

The ultra lightweight T1, which weighs less than 1100 lbs, is a British designed 2-seater which has been developed using aerospace and high formula racing technology. The compact Caparo V8 engine develops approximately 500 bhp and the resultant 1,000 bhp-per-tone power-to-weight ratio endows the T1 with an extraordinary 0-60 mph time of 2.5 seconds, 0-100 mph time of 5 seconds and 0-100-0 mph time of less than 10 seconds making it the world’s fastest accelerating and braking road car. It is also fast round corners with 3g braking and cornering ability equivalent to a Le Mans Prototype.

The dramatic 1,000bhp-per-tone 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, was unveiled at the 2006 Top Marques show in Monaco by His Serene Highness Prince Albert II.

This exclusive preview of the first prototype T1 forms a significant centerpiece for the show, which was held at the Grimaldi Forum in Monte-Carlo in the heartland of one of the world's most glamorous locations and centers of motoring heritage. The presentation of the aerodynamically formed supercar was witnessed by Caparo Vehicle Technologies’ design director Ben Scott-Geddes and engineering director Graham Halstead, the two ex-McLaren engineers whose inspiration helped create the car.

Previously known as the Freestream T1, Caparo, a $1.3 billion multinational company involved in manufacturing vehicle structural components, acquired the project started by Ben Scott-Geddes and Graham Halstead, and renamed it to Caparo T1. In March 2006 the group announced its advanced automotive technology and engineering design company called Caparo Vehicle Technologies. The new company will provide advanced technology development, materials engineering and design services to mainstream automotive, motorsport and aerospace markets. Coupled with its global manufacturing resource and capability Caparo aims to accelerate the use of lightweight materials in vehicle structures.

Launched in the Summer

The Caparo T1 will be launched in the summer 2007 with a new and more powerful engine than previously mooted.

The bespoke lightweight, all aluminum V8 has a higher capacity of 3.5 liters and is now normally aspirated. The engine has a mass of less than 220 lbs and can produce power outputs of up to 550 bhp. The T1 will maintain an ultralight kerb weight of approximately 1100 lbs; around one-third the mass of the average family saloon.

The Caparo V8 has been designed from scratch and is comparable to Formula One and Indy race car specifications.

“This new engine allows us many exciting options for the future, both for the car and the company,” said Richard Butler chief executive Caparo Vehicle Products. “It will further help us to implement the vehicle lightweight design philosophies necessary to reduce greenhouse gasses being sought by high volume carmakers.”

Ben Scott-Geddes operations director at Caparo Vehicle Technologies and the car’s co-designer added: “The new engine now delivers both the performance and reliability we’re looking for in the T1, the two key factors vital to our customers when running this type of car.”

Sean Butcher commercial director at Caparo Vehicle Technologies said: “Given the high engine output, increased power-to-weight ratio, advanced hybrid chassis design and ultra-efficient aerodynamics the T1 offers exceptional value for such an exclusive world class vehicle … and quite extraordinary standards in performance, handling and safety.”

The T1’s high power-to-weight ratio delivers phenomenal performance on the track. Similarly, the same principles of lightweight design in a car one-third the weight of the average family saloon combined with a normal 15 gallon (70-liter) fuel tank means a range better than the average car of up to 500 miles on public highways. And that is sufficient to tackle seven hours of driving from London to Le Mans, a distance of 338 miles (544 km), without refueling, before putting in a blistering performance on the circuit.

Commenting on the mould-breaking Caparo T1, Angad Paul said: "This car is in a class of its own when it comes to overall performance; but it also addresses in the most dramatic way possible fundamental design issues facing the automotive industry today. The same approach to aerodynamics, choice of materials and efficient design, which have allowed us to achieve the world’s most reasonably priced supercar, can be applied in equal measure to create affordable, safe, yet lightweight, fuel-efficient family cars."

550-plus horses, courtesy an Indy-derived 3.5-liter V-8. Zero-to-60 in 2.5 seconds, zero-to-100 in five. The aero package supplies enough downforce for 2.5g high-speed cornering.

At rest, it sounds like someone's using a chainsaw to stir an iron pail of bolts.

At the Wheel of the Ultimate Track-Day Car

By Simon Green, Contributor Email
Date posted: 10-09-2007


All of us have had to face up to the fact that our schoolboy dreams of glory as a Formula 1 driver will never come true. But thanks to the 2007 Caparo T1, we don't have to make do with video beamed back from some McLaren's in-car camera.

The Caparo T1 isn't an F1 car, but it's about as close as you can get while still displaying a set of license plates. It's the fastest-accelerating production car in the world. Straight or twisty, whatever the road ahead, the T1 will annihilate any car in its path.

Another McLaren F1?
The T1 started off in 2005 as the Freestream, the brainchild of Ben Scott-Geddes and Graham Halstead, two engineers known for their work on the 1994 McLaren F1 supercar. They were intent on showing the world what could be achieved with lightweight materials by building the T1, a formula-style racing car with street-legal equipment.

The T1 generated huge interest, and Freestream was gobbled up in March 2006 by a diversified Indian company led by CEO Angad Paul with interests in automotive manufacturing, notably brake components, body panels and castings. At an elaborate presentation in Monaco in April 2006, the Freestream became the Caparo T1.

To be honest, it's stretching the truth to call the T1 a road car. It might be street legal, but it has more in common with a real F1 car than something as ordinary as a Lamborghini. An exotic monocoque chassis of carbon and aluminum honeycomb is clothed in carbon-fiber bodywork. Menard supplies the engine, a DOHC 3.5-liter V8 that began life as a Nissan-designed unit for Infiniti's IRL IndyCar racing program. It's calibrated to deliver 575 horsepower and it screams to 10,500 rpm to do it.

The Caparo T1 weighs 1,213 pounds (165 pounds heavier than its target weight), and it has an incredible power-to-weight ratio, twice as good as that of the Bugatti Veyron.

Sit Down, Strap In, Hang On
Although the T1 looks like a single-seat racing car, there's room for two. You actually sit slightly to the right of the cockpit centerline, leaving enough room to your left for the legs of the passenger slightly behind you. It's a pretty friendly space, but not very glamorous. Let's just say that your wife isn't going to be suggesting you nip out together on a Sunday once she's sampled life squashed in the second chair.

Apart from some quilted leather on the seat and the sides of the cockpit, there's not much in the way of luxury. The dashboard is a simple row of buttons and toggle switches; the steering wheel incorporates an electronic display for the instrument readouts. You can't see much of the road ahead, just the tops of the front wheels.

All of which maintains that F1 feel. As does the need to wear a helmet. The full canopy fitted to the car in the pictures isn't ready yet and won't be available until Caparo sorts out an electric air-conditioning system to cool what would otherwise be an unbearably hot cabin. So we drove with the top removed and a helmet firmly in place.

Like Acceleration, Only Faster
This is purportedly the world's fastest production supercar. Not in terms of its absolute maximum speed (which Caparo estimates at between 190 and 220 mph, depending on the amount of downforce the various aerodynamic appendages are configured to produce), but certainly in terms of acceleration and cornering speed.

Actually the term "accelerate" just doesn't do the Caparo justice. It doesn't gain speed when you hammer the right pedal; it simply teleports from where you started to where you're going. Even the mighty Veyron would struggle to keep the T1 in its sights. Zero to 60 mph takes 2.5 seconds as you bang the Hewland-designed, non-synchromesh sequential-shift six-speed transmission through the gears with the shift paddles located on the steering column. By the time 5 seconds have elapsed, the T1 has demolished the 100-mph barrier and is spearing off into the distance.

Unless you run an F1 car on the weekend, the action of opening the taps on the 575-hp V8 can feel pretty surreal. Once you're rolling there's no need to use the clutch or even lift off the throttle to shift among the six gears. Just grit your teeth, wait for the blue sparkle of the last of the shift lights to illuminate on the steering wheel display and then tug on the little carbon-fiber shift paddle.

Since the Caparo T1 weighs so little, it never feels sluggish, even though the V8 doesn't have its 310 pound-feet of torque on hand until there's 9,000 rpm on the tachometer. So the T1 feels fast at any speed. But it's from the point at which most road car engines are starting to expire that things really begin to happen.

Cornering Force
Just as you've about recalibrated your brain to the forward thrust available, a corner looms into view and your mind is scrambled all over again.

Luckily the T1's braking power is incredible and the pedal is really easy to modulate, although you never need to shed anywhere near as much speed as you think. Even on these Pirelli P Zero street tires, the grip is staggering, as if there were racing slicks on each corner instead.

The same goes for the steering response. The Caparo engineers say the T1 will pull 3 Gs of lateral acceleration given the right setup. Since an F1 racing car generates 4 Gs, this is a remarkable feat, a measure of the 1,929 pounds of aerodynamic downforce this car can muster.

Whether the driver is up to 3 G loads is another matter, as this is foreign territory for most of us. It takes a bull-like neck and Popeye-size forearms to withstand the gravity-warping force of fast corners. Of course, the T1 also rewards you at lower speeds. The steering is quick but not nervous, and your hands are constantly being updated with data from the front tires.

The T1's long 114.2-inch wheelbase ensures the car's stability, but a little clumsiness with the throttle will set the rear tires free. And with so little steering lock to work with, you'd better be swift with your correction.

Not for the Road
It's pretty clear that while you can use the T1 on the road, you wouldn't really want to. Even at moderate speeds it's a physical car to drive. The clutch is snappy, the turning circle is gigantic and the visibility is terrible. And you'd never get the opportunity to do more than even scratch the surface of its dynamic talents, at least not without putting the safety of yourself and everyone within a hundred miles in jeopardy.

But given the space and freedom of a dedicated racing circuit, the T1 is incredible. And the fact that you can legally drive to that circuit, know that when you get there you're going to be quicker than anything else that turns up unless you've stumbled into an F1 testing session, and then drive home again, easily justifies the $380,000. While that's a whole lot of money for a car that's near useless on the road, nothing comes close to the Caparo T1.