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Elemental RP1: Track-Focused Street-Legal Barchetta
ELEMENTAL RP1
TRACK-FOCUSED STREET-LEGAL BARCHETTA
Words by Max Gonzaga
Photos by Tim Brown
It seems having another ultralight coming from some barn lost in the British countryside and in fact it’s pretty much like this, if only it were not for the maniacal work carried out behind the RP1 project, where some ex McLaren and ex Ford men are moving around. The Elemental takes a rightful step – in the true sense of the word – in that volcano of track day weapons crowded by BAC Mono, Ariel Atom, but also Caterham and Radical, enjoying a rocking engineering and regular license plate to drive on the road, maybe on a Sunday afternoon after having set a fast lap on the track.
We will not talk about the version with the more peaceful 1.0 Ecoboost, but the angry sister driven by the 2-liter, still Ford-sourced, and able to deliver the beauty of 320 horses, once selected the most aggressive map. Yes, because making the driving experience even more engaging there is precisely the possibility of setting different parameters of the car, such as suspension (double wishbone) and power delivery, which on a total weight of 630kg makes a pretty interesting difference. Everything revolves around a structure entirely made of carbon fiber, in which two rigid like marble seats are immersed and mounted with a diagonal angle that offers you the same approach you’d have on a Formula 1 car. Right over your bottom there is the petrol tank and this guarantees an optimal 50:50 weight distribution. As for the cockpit, do not expect to find any kind of comfort, since the Elemental is reduced to the bone, with a small steering wheel with paddle shifters, a digital display and buttons for the main functions in the center of the “dashboard”, among which you find “Map +” and “Map -” through which increase the power supply and inhibit traction control, while the pedals, straight like those of a racing car offer the possibility to choose for an even more racing brake. Just by varying the car’s response you immediately notice the difference in behavior and you start feeling the fury of its 450Nm acting on a bunch of pounds more than half a ton.
Kissing the ground and with an extremely low center of gravity thanks to the fact that it is a “barchetta”, the RP1 is a real rocket and after having properly heated the tires it allows you to start taking measurements through corners, where only when you accept the fact to go beyond what until minutes before seemed the grip limit, fun really starts. It is able to generate up to 1,200kg of downforce and this suggests that it is one of those hardcore weapon in which the rule is “the faster you go, the more the car will be glued to the road”. Even though it has no conspicuous aerodynamic appendages it is just like that and once you move the first few meters helped by the clutch pedal, you can climb gears simply by calling the next one from the paddle behind the non servo-assisted steering wheel, which transmits you every slight change on the ground. Movements are sudden and although the rims measure 17 inches at the front and 18 inches at the back, the Elemental does not seem to follow at all costs the imperfections of the asphalt like many of its comrades, but greatly supports the inputs of the driver – another aspect which makes it all in all user-friendly from the first approach.
A crazy car like the RP1, however, must be taken with strong manners and after a bit ‘of pull and spring you have to go beyond that step that divides a discrete pace from heart attack speeds. It is very fast and not only because it is able to go from 0 to 100 in less than 2 seconds and a half or to reach a top speed of 265 kph, but because it changes direction with the same instantaneousness of thought, all without the slightest uncertainty and always maintaining a perfect balance, useful to set the next curve and attack it in the most ferocious way possible. Like all these weekend toys, although the Elemental is regularly eligible for use on the road, it is not cheap and in fact requires at least 90 thousand Euros (excluding taxes), but if you are looking for good excuses to offer your wife, know that the space on board is not limited as on other cars of this type and that the engine/transmission group is made even more reliable by the fact that there is a electronic control unit that prevents errors in shifting, otherwise potentially fatal.
ELEMENTAL RP1
Layout – mid-rear engined, rear wheel drive
Engine – 4 cylinder 2.0cc – turbo
Transmission – 6-speed sequential gearbox
Power – 320 hp
450 Nm @ 2.000 rpm
Weight – 630 kg
Acceleration – < 2,5 sec.
Top Speed – 265 kph ca.
Price – from 90.900 £ (tax excluded)
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