You wouldn't think there was Rizla paper's worth of space left in the UK track toy market but start-up sports car maker Elemental reckons it has found a gap and gave us a look around the two-seat car it hopes will fill it from early next year.
Another new player enters the field - is there room?
If you were at Goodwood last year you might remember the RP1's first static public outing - if you did you likely thought 'that looks fun'. Its designer describes it as a "classic racing barchetta with a modern high-performance ethos" and the car more than matches up with the competition in terms of spec and looks.
As with the Zenos E10and the Mexican Vuhl, the RP1 uses a Ford 2.0 Ecoboost turbo as its prime engine. Like the Lotus Elise, Zenos and others the car is based around a central tub, here using a mix of aluminium and carbon fibre.
Like the Ariel Atom, KTM X-Bow, Caterham 620R and the rest of them it'll be manically quick, as you'd expect from a car weighing around 580-600kg with 280hp and 324lb ft of torque. Elemental say the car's been timed to 60mph in 3.1 seconds and that's with two people on board. Top speed is reckoned to be 160-170mph. There's also a plan to offer Ford's 1.0-litre three-cylinder Ecoboost pumped up to 180hp, making it cheaper and also 40-50kg lighter.
Longitudinal engine difference over Zenos, etc
The price isn't confirmed but we're told "more than an Lotus Elise and less than a
BAC Mono
". Since that spans a range between £30,000 and £80,000 we're none the wiser, but we'd estimate £50,000, meaning it would directly butt heads with the supercharged Caterham 620R.
That's a mighty leap above the Zenos E10 S's £30,000 but the RP1 is that bit more exotic in terms of set-up. We should probably here say that the guys behind it have got serious form in this business. The co-founder and technical head John Begley has worked most recently at McLaren both on race and road cars, and boasts that he and Elemental's composites guy Peter Kent were the first two people to work on the P1 hypercar.
The RP1's Ecoboost engine sits longitudinally behind the driver like the BAC Mono's Cosworth unit instead of transversely like the engine in the Zenos, X-Bow, Atom and forthcoming Lotus 3-Eleven. The gearbox here isn't one of Ford's but instead is a Hewland sequential race 'box mounted behind the engine and operated via paddles.
Raised feet enable underfloor aero
This layout helps balance the car according to Begley and also lets them hang the rear double wishbone suspension off the gearbox. The ECU isn't Ford's either but comes from Life Racing, which also does the electronics for Formula Ford's 1.0 Ecoboost single seaters. Begley calls the total bill for the powertrain "horrendous" without giving a figure.
He's most proud of the front aerodynamics, achieved in part by lifting the driver's (and passenger's) feet right up to create room for twin air tunnels exiting behind the front wheels. "Now the front acts as a wing sucking the car to the ground," Begley says. Along with the rear diffuser they provide enough downforce not to need a rear deck-mounted wing.
There are no doors of course and no roof, so getting in is a matter of removing the steering wheel, sticking your feet on the carbon bucket seat and inserting them into the foot-tunnel (for want of a better word). Sitting with your feet up doesn't sound uncomfortable and isn't. Apparently they've got a way to duct heat from the front-mounted radiator to warm your tootsies.
Looking around in the inside makes you realise how much easier it is for low-volume sports cars makers these days to create an interesting, technical interior without breaking the bank buying loads of bespoke switchgear and trim. The cockpit's spine and sides of bare carbon fibre look the part and there's a digital display very similar (if not identical) to the Atom's behind the wheel that can be configured to offer all sorts of info, including oil pressure, water temp and more.
Track focused but road friendly, they say
The exterior looks good too. The designer, ex-Ford man and current part-time lecturer in car design at the Royal College of Art, Guy Colborne, has a thing for fast bikes and it shows. The high, centrally mounted exhaust pipe for example he says was inspired by bikes, specifically Ducatis, zipping past while he sat in M25 traffic. The wing mirrors are Ducati too, although height regs mean they might not stay. Quad circular rear lights may or may not be shared with the Elise but the format is a proven one and looks good.
Like Nissan and now Aston Martin, Elemental has been smart in creating an imaginary target customer. He lives in the south of England (perhaps close to Elemental's new factory near Chichester), loves track days (of course) and wants to be able to drive the car to Le Mans. That means although there's no real windscreen to speak of (an optional one is planned), the car will have a modicum of practicality in that there's room to store a tent and helmets in twin lockable storage areas ahead of the rear wheel arches. It'll have biggish (54-litre) tank for these kind of longer trips and the car will ride comfortably enough to make sure, as Begley says, this valued customer "won't be annoyed when he arrives."
ELEMENTAL RP1
Engine: 1,999cc 4-cyl turbocharged
Transmission: 6-speed sequential, rear-wheel drive
Power (hp): 280@N/A rpm
Torque (lb ft): 324@N/A rpm
0-60mph: 3.1sec (claimed)
Top speed: 160-170mph (claimed)
Weight: c.580-600kg (dry)
MPG: N/A
CO2: N/A
Price: £50,000 (estimated)
On sale: Early 2016