Jiotto Caspita, a Japanese Supercar

The Jiotto Caspita was a prototype supercar developed by Japanese constructor Dome for another company, Jiotto, back in 1988. Touted as the original F1 car built for the road, the original Caspita was powered by a Motor Moderni horizontally opposed twelve-cylinder. This engine developed a very healthy 450hp, which for 1988 was nothing short of spectacular. The 0-100km/h dash took just 4.7 seconds all the way to a top speed of 320km/h.

The car first made its debut at the Tokyo Motor Show that same year, and continued in development until 1990 when it was replaced with a new Judd sourced V10 mated to a six-speed gearbox from Weismann in Caspita II guise. This time ’round, there was 585hp, which was good for a 3.4 second time for the 0-100km/h and top speed was now up to 345km/h. Unfortunately, like many supercars from the 1980’s and early 90’s, the Caspita succumbed to the effects of a global recession and the entire project was canned before production.