Elemental RP1 road-legal race car

The British have always made interesting sports cars. Some focus on low mass, others on big power – often both – to deliver driving thrills. Following in the footsteps of niche car-makers such as Noble, Caterham and Ariel, there is a new car maker promising to deliver extreme driving at a reasonable cost and become the next big thing in Brit-exotica: Elemental.

The Elemental RP1 is a bespoke rear-drive, mid-engined, two-seat sports car based around a carbon composite tub. It can be powered by a trio of engines, a tuned 210kW version of the Ford Focus ST's 2.0-litre petrol-turbo EcoBoost engine being the most powerful.

Weighing less than 450kg (1000 lb), the new RP1 is being spruiked as a next-generation speedster, one that "brings the concept of a road-legal track car firmly into the 21st Century," according to Elemental.

No 0-100km/h performance figures have been provided yet, but a kerb weight of 450kg and 200kW-plus output means a power to weight ratio of 466kW/tonne. Which means it'll be very, very rapid, potentially nailing sub 4.0 second 0-100km/h runs.

Elemental will also fit the 1.0-litre turbo-petrol three-cylinder Ford EcoBoost engine to the car, a 92kW/170Nm unit which won the International Engine of the Year Award for an unprecedented third year running.

The third engine is a 999cc four-cylinder Honda powerplant, pilfered from the CBR1000RR Fireblade superbike. It bangs out about 133kW/112Nm, but does so at much higher revs than conventional car engines, with peak torque at 12,000rpm and a redline close to 15,000rpm.

All engines are hooked up to a six-speed Hewland sequential gearbox with paddle shifters.

The design leaves nothing to the imagination. Not unlike the KTM X-Bow, it's an aggressive, ground-hugging, aerodynamic vehicle with bare-bones bodywork; flat exterior panels are made from aluminium, curved panels from carbon fibre. It has an aluminium composite floor and Elemental says the design allows for "significant underfloor downforce aerodynamics", so expect it to be grippy too.

Wheels and tyres are 17-inch Pro Race and 235/45R Yokohama respectively, and with 280mm rotors and four-piston Caparo calipers at all four corners working the car's 450kg mass, deceleration should be, ahem, mental.

The RP1 has 46:54 front:rear weight distribution and Elemental has designed the car to be driven to race tracks, abused all day, then driven home comfortably. It's fitted with easily an adjustable suspension rig comprising inboard Eibach springs and Nitron dampers, and a 54 litre fuel tank.

According to the niche British car-maker, the philosophy behind the car was always to make it drivable on regular roads, allowing owners to "drive across country to their track of choice, quickly adjust the vehicle dynamics to their requirements, drive to their limit, unencumbered by a road going set-up and then adjust everything easily back for the drive home".

It even has hidden caches for crash helmets and race gear.

However with a 'feet up' driving position akin to an F1 car it remains to be seen if the reality will match the claim, as comfort levels won't be at Mercedes-Benz levels.

The carbon-fibre race seats are fitted with four-point race harnesses and feature removable seat pads. Adjustable pedals mean that drivers as tall as six foot six inches (about 195cm) can fit, says Elemental.

Due for release in early 2015 as track-only race cars, the road-legal versions will launch mid 2015 in the UK, and it's unclear how many the company plans to build or how much they will cost.

"The prices have not yet been confirmed but will be competitive compared with cars of a similar performance, technology and quality," says Elemental.