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By now pundits will be well aware of the outstanding performance of the Caparo T1. While this car is road legal it is clearly aimed at the true enthusiast, giving them the chance to own a car that provides the closest experience possible to an open racing car, and at an affordable price.
The Caparo T1, which is now in production at the Caparo Basingstoke UK facility, weighs less than 500kg and the engine develops in excess 500bhp. |
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Image courtesy of Caparo Vehicle Technologies |
The resultant 1,000bhp/tonne power-to-weight ratio endows the car with an extraordinary 0-60mph time of 2.5 seconds, a 0-100mph time of 5 seconds, and a 0-100-0mph time of less than 10 seconds, thus making it the world's fastest accelerating and braking road car. It is also fast round corners, with 3g cornering ability that is equivalent to a Le Mans Prototype.
Advanced Composites Group has supported the T1 vehicle development from the beginning of the project. Caparo initially used 3k woven carbon with LTM®23 resin for low temperature cured prototypes off soft moulds, a strategy which significantly reduces development costs and timescales. The tooling and the parts were then refined in tandem with the engineering design of the vehicle. ACG's LTM®212/CF0300T and LTM®212/CF0700T tooling prepregs were used for the production tools, producing enhanced, dimensionally accurate production moulds that facilitate vehicle manufacture.
ACG worked directly with Caparo to optimise the lay-up and production materials for the vehicle structures. The production vehicle structures now utilises ACG's MTM®58FRB predominantly with 400gsm 12k woven fabric. This has both technically simplified the manufacturing process and reduced the cost of the assemblies.
MTM®58FRB was developed and formulated specifically for automotive structures. It offers a 140°C Tg, is self-extinguishing to FMVSS302/ISO3795 and exhibits excellent drape and tack. In addition, it has the ability to impregnate high aerial weight fabrics and affords good impact resistance. MTM®58FRB was also developed with high production volumes in mind, which is an important aspect of Caparo corporate strategy. This approach will aid the introduction of carbon fibre composites parts into high volume automotive applications where fuel efficiency is increasingly becoming a design driver.
Caparo Vehicle Technologies are part of the Caparo Vehicle Products Group. Their CEO, Richard Butler, explains that composite materials are part of an integrated automotive and aerospace strategy, which includes braking, lightweight metallics, fastenings and tube components that provide OEMs with an unsurpassed selection of lightweight technologies. A key element to Caparo's plans, both in the UK and worldwide, is to provide low cost production capabilities. This approach will ensure that advanced composites solutions can be put into full production at affordable prices.
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