Caparo covers up

Well, we all know that we should be neglecting the attitude that cars are funda­mentally about freedom and fun and campaigning for scrappage legis­lation so that we can trade in our old smelly Alfas for Japanese hybrids. But come on. You have to admire the Caparo’s pure blooded lust for life.

With the limbs, heart, lungs and mind of an F1 car and the practic­ab­ility of a string shopping bag for a Lidl bulk buy, the high end ‘Race Extreme’ version of the car is now available.

With an evolved all aluminium, normally aspirated, fuel injected Caparo V8 engine which has been upgraded to deliver 620 bhp at 10,500 rpm, the thing accel­erates to 100 MPH in 5.8 seconds and pushes out to over 200 mph.

It made us giggle, then, when we read that following a “highly successful launch in the UAE and increased customer demand”, there’s a new ‘climate pack’ going to be available on all new Caparos. But this ‘climate pack’ has nothing to do with the climate change. Oh no. This climate pack consists of a canopy and air con, and is aimed squarely at the middle eastern market. Yes the oil barons who live in Emirates that know not so much as a traffic restriction and who can still afford to buy and run these £250K hypercars.

The canopy in question is made from a toughened acrylic used in armoured windshields and helicopters, and it slides forward over the nose of the vehicle and provides a cosy cockpit space for the driver, just like in, say an F-​​16 fighter. This option costs £21,760. In addition to the canopy config­ur­ation, an air condi­tioning unit can also be fitted. This is a snip at £3,750. Both these extras can also be retro­fitted to existing cars.

So let’s get this straight. Safe from the perils of the blazing desert sun (magnified by the lens of the emissions-​​generated fug that wafts like a shroud over the planet), our Caparo-​​owning oil baron friends can also be protected from assas­sin­ation attempts and having to smell the burning of the troublesome oil wells.

This is political incor­rectness raised to the level of art.

Cool car though, eh?