It features a carbon fibre aerodynamic low drag body design, composed of individual sections, with an adjustable twin element front wing, single element rear wing, adjustable flaps, and a ground effect diffuser, allowing it to create 875 kilograms (1,929 lb) of downforce at 240 kilometres per hour (149 mph).

The chassis of the T1 is composed of a carbon fibre and aluminium honeycomb monocoque with a front composite crash structure and a rear tubular space frame construction.

The suspension is of a double wishbone design with tunable anti-roll bars, front and rear, and five-way adjustable race dampers.

The T1 sports a 116-kilogram (256 lb),[7] 32-valve, 3,496-cubic-centimetre (3.5 L), all-aluminium, naturally-aspirated, Menard V8, with cylinder banks mounted at 90°, and lubricated via a dry-sump oil system.

In addition, the engine has been reported to successfully reach 700 horsepower (522 kW; 710 PS) on methanol fuel.

[15][16] Jason Plato was injured in a prototype T1 in October 2007 at the Bruntingthorpe proving ground when it caught fire at an estimated 250 kilometres per hour (160 mph).

[18]In the associated episode of Fifth Gear, first broadcast 15 October 2007, presenter Vicki Butler-Henderson suggested the fire was caused by a "faulty oil sealing component," which, having been identified, has been fully rectified by Caparo.

[19] While being tested for competing for British television programme Top Gear, first broadcast on 11 November 2007, a floor panel came loose from the test vehicle as it was being driven at speed by Jeremy Clarkson, after he had already made a play of being scared about driving the car because of Plato's experience.

In the same review, Clarkson mentioned two more incidents, one at the press launch, when "some aspect of the front suspension came adrift" while a Dutch journalist was driving, causing him to veer off-road, and one at the Goodwood Festival of Speed when the throttle stuck open.

[20] Immediately after having declared the time and placed it on the Power Board, presenter Jeremy Clarkson removed the record because it did not meet the show's rule that the car must be able to go over a speed bump.