Company:Elemental Motor Company

From HandWiki
Elemental Motor Company
TypePrivate company
IndustryAutomotive industry
Founded28 November 2012
FounderJohn Begley
Mark Fowler
Headquarters
Hampshire
,
United Kingdom
Key people
John Begley
Mark Fowler
Guy Colborne
Jeremy Curnow
ProductsElemental rp1
Number of employees
8
Websitewww.elementalcars.co.uk

Elemental Motor Company is a British low-volume performance motor vehicle manufacturing company that produces the Elemental RP1, a road-legal two seater sports car. The company is based in Hampshire, United Kingdom.[1]

Background

Elemental Motor Company was founded in 2012 by John Begley, a former McLaren Formula 1 engineer with experience in BTCC race cars, and Mark Fowler, a former McLaren F1 Aerodynamics Engineer.[1][2][3][4]

The company's first car, the Elemental RP1 (or Race Project One)[5] was introduced as a prototype at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in 2014.[6] A re-engineered, production-ready model was presented at the same hill climb event in 2016.[2][7] The first customer cars were delivered in 2017.[8][9]

Elemental Motor Company also operates as a design and engineering consultancy, producing the AP-0 EV show car for technology partner Apex Motors in 2020.[10]

In 2021, Elemental announced the development of the RP1 EV, an BEV variant of the RP1, in collaboration with Apex.[11][12]

Products

Elemental RP1

Elemental RP1 at Circuit Paul Ricard

The RP1 is a lightweight, open-top, road-legal sports car produced by Elemental.[13] It was first revealed as a prototype at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in 2014[6] and a re-engineered production-ready model was presented in 2016.[2][7][14]

The original RP1 was powered by a longitudinally mounted 2.0l Ford EcoBoost engine,[15][3][16] paired with a semi stressed six-speed sequential Hewland gearbox.[5][17] Weighing 620 kg with 320bhp, it had a power-to-weight ratio of 516bhp/ton.[5][18] Later 2.3l engine variants with 375bhp had a power-to-weight ratio of 604bhp/ton.[19] The car accelerates to 60mph in 2.7 seconds and has a top speed of 170mph.[3] It features a carbon fibre tub that weighs 68 kg[19] and meets FIA racing standards. The car has steel subframes at both ends, allowing for easy replacement.[9] It has double wishbone suspension and inboard Nitron dampers at the front and rear.[13][8]

The Elemental RP1 has a weight distribution of 47/53 front to rear. It features a paddle shifting, pneumatic actuated gearbox controlled by the ECU.[8] The vehicle offers up to 400 kg of downforce at 150mph, thanks to deep diffusers at the front and rear. The driving position is feet-up, similar to a single-seat racecar, which enhances the aerodynamics with front and rear diffusers.[9] Later variants of the RP1 use the 2.3l Ford Ecoboost engine with a revised output of 375bhp producing 500 kg of downforce at 150mph.[15] In collaboration with ex-McLaren Formula 1 aerodynamicist Mark Taylor,[20] the RP1 underwent enhancements to its bodywork using computational fluid dynamics, resulting in an increase in downforce to 1000kg at 150mph.[21][11]

The car was reviewed by Autocar in 2015[15][21][13] and deliveries started in 2017.[8]

Endurance racer David Pittard worked with Elemental as a test and development driver before returning to pro racing in 2017.[22]

In October 2023, the Elemental RP1[23][24] became an option on the Xbox driving game Forza Horizons 5.[25][26]

See also

  • List of car manufacturers of the United Kingdom
  • Automotive industry in the United Kingdom

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "High performance car built on farm" (in en-GB). BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/av/uk-england-hampshire-39560304. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Definitive Elemental RP1 sports car in action at Goodwood" (in en). https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/definitive-elemental-rp1-sports-car-action-goodwood. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Elemental RP1 (2017) review" (in en). https://www.carmagazine.co.uk/car-reviews/elemental/elemental-rp1-2017-review/. 
  4. ↑ "First Drive: Elemental RP1 Reviews 2023" (in en). 2015-07-10. https://www.topgear.com/car-reviews/elemental/first-drive. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 "Elemental RP1 Review 2023" (in en). 2017-05-03. https://www.topgear.com/car-reviews/elemental/rp1. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "The Elemental RP1 showing off at the Goodwood Festival of Speed" (in en-US). 2014-06-27. https://imaginelifestyles.com/elemental-rp1/. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Elemental RP1: Britain’s latest track car ready for production" (in en). 2016-06-14. https://www.motorauthority.com/news/1104459_elemental-rp1-britains-latest-track-car-ready-for-production. 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 "Elemental RP1 review – could this track day special be a BAC Mono-beater?" (in en). https://www.evo.co.uk/elemental/rp1. 
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 "The Doorless, High-Downforce Elemental Rp1 Is Finally In Production" (in en). 2017-04-12. https://www.carthrottle.com/news/doorless-high-downforce-elemental-rp1-finally-production. 
  10. ↑ "Apex AP-0 revealed as 650hp super-EV" (in en-GB). https://www.pistonheads.com/news/ph-britishcars/apex-ap-0-revealed-as-650hp-super-ev/42023. 
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 "Elemental confirms battery-powered RP1 EV" (in en-GB). https://www.pistonheads.com/news/ph-britishcars/elemental-confirms-battery-powered-rp1-ev/44860. 
  12. ↑ "The Elemental RP1 EV could be your new electric track toy" (in en). 2021-10-28. https://www.topgear.com/car-news/electric/elemental-rp1-ev-could-be-your-new-electric-track-toy. 
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 "Elemental RP1 review" (in en). https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-review/elemental/rp1. 
  14. ↑ "Elemental RP1 officially unveiled – ZigWheels" (in en). https://www.zigwheels.com/news-features/news/elemental-rp1-officially-unveiled/18957/. 
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 "Elemental RP1 gets more power and downforce boost" (in en). https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/elemental-rp1-gets-more-power-and-downforce-boost. 
  16. ↑ "Elemental RP1 2017 review" (in en). https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/elemental/rp1/92133/elemental-rp1-2017-review. 
  17. ↑ "Elemental Rp1 Track Day Performance Car Transmission by Hewland" (in en-GB). https://www.hewland.com/elemental-rp1-hewland-performance-car-transmission/. 
  18. ↑ "Elemental RP1 gains new 2.3-litre EcoBoost engine" (in en). https://www.evo.co.uk/news/19593/elemental-rp1-gains-new-23-litre-ecoboost-engine. 
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 "Caterham 620R v Ariel Atom 3.5 v Elemental Rp1" (in en). https://www.evo.co.uk/caterham/201924/caterham-620r-v-ariel-atom-35-v-elemental-rp1. 
  20. ↑ "Elemental RP1 targets Nurburgring production car lap record" (in en). https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/elemental-rp1-targets-nurburgring-production-car-lap-record. 
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 "Updated Elemental RP1 road car now makes 1000kg of downforce" (in en). https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/updated-elemental-rp1-road-car-now-makes-1000kg-downforce. 
  22. ↑ "Get to know the Elemental Rp1" (in en-GB). 2019-08-14. https://www.vehicledynamicsinternational.com/features/get-to-know-the-elemental-rp1.html. 
  23. ↑ Nowacky, John (2023-10-07). "Forza Horizon 5 Series 26 Update: New Cars and Features Revealed" (in en-US). https://gameishard.gg/news/forza-horizon-5-series-26-update-new-cars-and-features-revealed/308993/. 
  24. ↑ Harrison-Lord, Thomas (2023-10-06). "Four new cars set for Forza Horizon 5's Super Speed Car Pack" (in en-US). https://traxion.gg/four-new-cars-set-for-forza-horizon-5s-super-speed-car-pack/. 
  25. ↑ Boddy, Zachary (2022-10-06). "Forza Horizon 5 cars: Full car list, new additions, DLC, gifts, and more" (in en). https://www.windowscentral.com/forza-horizon-5-car-list. 
  26. ↑ "Buy Forza Horizon 5 Super Speed Car Pack". https://www.xbox.com/en-IE/games/store/forza-horizon-5-super-speed-car-pack/9N8XXXM3ZGQQ. 

External links



Retrieved from "https://handwiki.org/wiki/index.php?title=Company:Elemental_Motor_Company&oldid=3479305"