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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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]
| |
| Company type | Private company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Automotive |
| Founded | 28 November 2012 |
| Founder | John Begley Mark Fowler |
| Headquarters | , United Kingdom |
Key people | John Begley Mark Fowler Guy Colborne Jeremy Curnow |
| Products | Elemental rp1 |
Number of employees | 8 |
| Website | www |
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]
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 2021 racing game Forza Horizons 5.[25][26]
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