New Camal Scoperta is a sexy £125,000 Caterham

Design house Camal Studio has revealed its next project - the Scoperta. While it’s currently still a rendering, Camel says the car is ready to be built - with the underpinnings coming direct from a Caterham.

The cost for this lightweight, two-seat speedster is 150,000 euros not including VAT (about £125,000)  - and it’s unclear whether that price will include the Caterham donor vehicle needed for this extensive conversion.  

Camel says the Scoperta’s design is inspired by Italian cars of the 1950s and 60s. Other than the positioning of the cockpit and the overall proportions, the car’s Caterham foundations are almost unrecognisable. Some distinctive features include larger 19-inch wheels, side-exit exhausts placed nearer the front and characterful LED headlights sitting flush with the bonnet - which looks like a single clamshell piece that extends past the new wing mirrors. 

The Caterham Camal chose to underpin its Scoperta is the 485. The body is made from aluminium and carbon, so the kerb weight shouldn’t be too much higher than the 485’s 560kg. Power comes from a Ford Duratec 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine with 237bhp and 204Nm of torque available. We expect the performance figures to be in the region of the Caterham’s 4.1-second 0-62mph time and 139mph top speed. 

Caterham doesn’t exactly festoon its interiors with gadgetry and luxurious features, so the Scoperta is pretty basic inside. The overall layout has changed quite a bit, however, with a wraparound shoulder line, a new steering wheel, twin screens on the dash, new seats and, behind the carbon-fibre roll bar, a spare wheel integrated into the body. There’s also a slick, five-speed gated manual as a centrepiece. Camel says it has gone to lengths to ensure the Scoperta is fully road-legal.

The design house was founded in 2008 in Turin by Alessandro Camorali and in recent times it has worked on projects including the BMW Mille Miglia Concept and the divisively-styled Aznom Palladium. 

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