What are the lists thoughts on driving the Caparo T1 on an extended road trip? Assume mechanical issues aren't an issue. 3,500 miles over a week.

I'm usually pretty extreme in finding race vehicles comfortable, and can easily drive 12-18 hours in comfort, but afraid this might be just too much.

Concern1: TopGear video shows it fairly hard to control at reasonable speeds. Most of the driving will be at or just above speed limit, afraid it'll just be sliding around non-stop on highways.

Concern2: It'll be the hardtop version, but not sure if a helmet will still fit, and how needed the helmet will be

Concern3: Will have a passenger, pretty sure it'll be ridiculously uncomfortable for her and she'll be *****ing at the end of the first day. Anyone have any experience with the passenger seat in one (only one I saw in person was at SEMA in Michelin booth in 2005 and wasn't allowed to sit in it)

Concern4: Obviously no luggage space, could easily take care of that by shipping change of clothes and disposable toiletries kit to each hotel for each night. More concerned with road snacks, radar detector, police scanner and stereo (road trips are hard w/out Metallica soundtrack!).

Concern5: Police reaction. Do you think midwest police would be cool about seeing the car, or total dicks (like Alabama & Florida cops)

Concern6: Public reaction. Would rubberneckers and cell phone camera drivers create too much of a hazard while driving (was hit 2x's in the maserati at stop lights from people trying to take picture of the car while driving, and that was just a run of the mill Maser...).

There are other options, but not as exciting and as memorable as this car (pretty sure at the end of the week, I'd hold the record for non-test driven miles in the car!).

TIA

Ron

 

i dont have any experience with the T1, but i like your style! im incredibly envious if you get to make a road trip in a T1 !!!

1. I believe the cars in all of the publicized initial tests were not final production versions. From other news I have read, the final cars are more polished/fine tuned. Im not sure if anyone on the forum owns one, but id try to find one.

2. Probably depends on how tall you are! Ask Caparo

3. Lol....you're a badass if you drive the Caparo 3500 miles, but it would be an impressive feat of manly tolerance if you put up with a woman in that cramped space the entire time! lmfao....by day 2 she will be nagging you to death im sure, haha.

4. good idea on shipping the stuff from hotel to hotel........maybe you should use that solution on problem #3 as well, ship the lady!

5. half will pull you over just to take a look at it, and the other half will pull you over to be complete dicks...check with caparo about the federal street legality, im sure they had to pass certain restrictions to get it legalized so i would print out the qualifications just for any cops that happen to pull you over......personally i have gotten tickets from FHP just for having my car lowered, lmfao, and my car is definetly twice as high as a caparo (it has to do with how high the bumper and lights are from the road). you will most likely just get a bunch of $45 warning tickets though...IMO thats worth it just for driving the car on a road trip.

6. lol, cant help ya with that one......caparo will be an extreme attention getting car.

 

My biggest concern would be getting one into the country and federalizing it. Good luck with that.

 

being shipped in and handled by the factory, not my concern at this point

 

well, please post pictures and videos...

please, lol

 

how in the world are they going to get that to pass anything?!?!?

 

Please post some pictures when it arrives! What an unreal opportunity; I wish I had your concerns Should you take the trip, you should definitely blog it or at least keep us updated on 6speed!

 

My main concern would be law enforcement. You can count on being pulled over, which will more than likely lead to impound and arrest if the vehicle is not legit....worse than driving non-registered car. You will also have a hell of a time getting it out of impound, as every tow yard I've ever been to require proof of current registration and insurance in your name on all vehicles and don't care if the vehicle is not able to be registered.....they count on that

 

how well do you think the local police pulling you over (lets say we would never be clocked at more than 20mph over the speed limit, so nothing CRAZY), would look at vin #'s?

Not worried about the Caparo, it's being handled by the factory.

If the Caparo is going to prove to be too uncomfortable, there's a few back-ups I'm still researching. The SLR 722 isn't street legal, but if I took the tags off of another silver SLR street car, do you think it would pass the test? I've been pulled over doing some stupid $hit before, but never had a cop check that my VIN # matched the owners card...afraid the 722 looks too much like a track only vehicle (which it is) and might warrant a closer look

 

Driving that thing would be like riding two up on a sportsbike with a nude Adriana Lima....DANGEROUS. People would be swarming all over you trying to take pictures. Here's a link to a Motor Trend test drive
http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/...ive/index.html

From the article "at the moment legal only in Britain - the U.S. distributor, Chad Mann of Mann Motorsports in Atlanta, says it'll be track-only"

 

The 722 IS street legal in the US. Are you referring to the SLR GT? That is a track car but switching VINs would get you in HUGE trouble. I understand you desire to want to drive something extreme like that across the country but there has to be a point where it's just not worth the hassle of dealing with LEOs all the time and trying to cheat the system by doing some pretty illegal things like switching VINs, right?

 

A lot of my soldiers are police officers in Florida...I ran it by some of them. You're going to be pulled over, and it's going to be examined closely. It's not some challenge version of a normal looking street exotic. We had an incident in Naples, Florida a few years ago with a dealer driving track only Lotuses on the street.......got in a major accident and ended up getting serious time in jail. They looked into his whole operation and hammered him where all of his t's weren't crossed. Let's say you'll drive the vehicle in a reasonable manner...you still have to be concerned with everyone else on the road. One guy runs a light or a stop sign and you now have a lot more to worry about then just your wrecked vehicle, and liability may even be shifted toward you since you shouldn't be on the road in the first place. I'm juts playing devil's advocate here. Personally, I'd take the thing around town at sub 40mph speeds with legit plates on it, and I would do so very sparingly. Life is short...you only live once.

 

Somehow I doubt it. Real race cars are quite uncomfortable (extreme NVH) and 12 hours is just not feasible, much less 18. They require ATTENTION while driving and you simply cannot keep that up for that long. They are also unsafe in highway conditions.

Now if you mean gt3rs or scuderia "race cars" that's a different story and I could see that. I find cars like that quite comfortable and appreciate the extra road feel they give you. Dunno if I could do 12 hours but definitely at least 6 and I could see someone driving one cross-country.

Since no one on this board has driven a Caparo you aren't going to get an informed answer ... BUT it does seem like it is too intense for even a day trip. Plus it's rude to your passenger, isn't it?

I would take a day trip in a lotus exige (rent one) for starters. Say 5-600 miles. Then multiply that by 10 to figure how the Caparo is likely to be.

 

Might want to keep the passenger seat for the chiropractor haha

 

If one gets into the country with plates for a owner I would have to eat my hat. On exhibition plates or tags I could see it, but if its on the road your going to be on JJ and a few others sites so quick that you will be busted.

As for the comfort, I have done drives like this in full out race cars legally with tags, its not fun, its not comfortable and its if the car is to low your going to have all kinds of trouble with just getting where you are going. Watch Top gear on the best roads special and then multiply it by 10x.

A change of socks and some small personal belongings and just buying new shirts and shorts on the trip is easier then pre-sending them out. If you do this good luck, if I can do it in a 356/cobra then you can do it providing you don't have any major back injurys.