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Elemental RP-1 :: British racer claims to be world’s lightest sports car

The team behind Britain’s newest street-legal track car, the Elemental RP-1, claims it will become the world’s lightest sports car when it debuts at the Goodwood Festival of Speed later this month.


Targeting fellow weekend racers from Ariel, Radical and KTM, the Elemental RP-1 follows the familiar formula of combining lightweight construction, an open-top body and a powerful turbocharged engine.

With a carbonfibre tub and aluminium throughout its chassis, Elemental claims the RP-1 will weigh just 450kg in its lightest iteration.

Its 2.0-litre four-cylinder Ford EcoBoost petrol engine produces 206kW of power and 360Nm of torque, giving it a whopping 458kW and 800Nm per tonne.

Elemental has employed motorsport aerodynamics experts to ensure that power gets to the ground, and claims 200kg of downforce at 160km/h.

No other performance figures have been released at this stage, though super-sharp sprint times are all but assured.

While minimalist in design, the RP-1 will also come with a number of creature comforts, including adjustable suspension to switch between track-focused and more comfortable road-going setups, a programmable dashboard display linked to built-in cameras, a heater, and luggage space.

Full details will be revealed when the Elemental RP-1 debuts at Goodwood on June 26.

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