Latest super-sports car from England is the Caparo Freestream supercar, which will have a power-to-weight ratio of 1,000 bhp per ton! The Bugatti Veyron which has 1,001 bhp manages about 560 bhp per tonne, so how you can see that the Caparo is streets ahead of any other supercar in power-to-weight ratio, and that is what makes cars accelerate fast. And fast acceleration is very exciting, and can also improve safety of the car in some circumstances.
So how does the Caparo do it? Not with 2,000 bhp because the car would weigh at least 2.5 tons, which would miss the target. In fact, Bugatti has demonstrated that sheer power means a lot of weight, particularly in the transmission and brakes.
To get a high power-to-weight-ratio you need a light car. And why is a high power-to-weight-ratio important? Because it dictates how fast the car accelerates flat out. A car with a high power-to-weight-ratio can cover the ground quicker because it gets out of corners fast and accelerates up the straights faster. So long as the handling is good, the car will be very fast anywhere.
Lightweight solution
Instead of going for a big engine with masses of power, the designers, who worked on the McLaren F1, have gone for ultra lightweight and a compact V-8 engine based on F1 technology. The result is a pencil-slim car with 480 bhp at 10,500 rpm from a supercharged 2.4 liter engine, and a weight of under 1,100 lb. Both the new engine and transmission are very light, as are all the components. The very narrow body without fully enclosed fenders also reduces weight.
