The Elemental RP1 Is A Road-Legal Track Weapon With A 280bhp Ford Heart

We love a good track weapon from a plucky British start-up, which is a good thing since they’re not exactly in short supply: just look at the BAC Mono and the upcoming Zenos E10 for instance. Now, there’s another: the RP1 from Surrey-based company Elemental.

Mounted in the middle of this beast is a 2.0-litre Ford Ecoboost engine, fettled to kick out a healthy 280bhp. It has a carbonfibre and aluminium tub, while the dash, side walls and spine are all made from carbonfibre. The result of all this is a ludicrously low weight figure of 450kg. While there are no performance figures available just yet, there’s no doubt that this thing will be massively fast.

If all that sounds a bit too much, there will be two less powerful models available, one with a 1.0-litre three-pot Ford Ecoboost engine, and another with a 999cc motorbike engine pinched from the Honda Fireblade. All three engines send power to the rear tyres via a Hewland six-speed sequential gearbox.

The RP1 features a double wishbone suspension setup, using Eibach springs and Nitron dampers. Bringing things to a stop are 280mm discs with four-pot callipers all around.

The car will make its public debut at this weekend’s Goodwood Festival of Speed. Prices are yet to be announced.