This is the 1990 Jiotto Caspita MK II by Dome. The Caspita was designed by Kunihisa Ito, who was the vice-president and chief designer of Jiotto Design Incorporated. After the design was made, the car was then manufactured by Dome, which is a Japanese car constructor that is well-known for their racing history. The Caspita was was considered by Jiotto to be the “F1 for the road”. Because of this, a lot of the cars design had inspiration from Group C race cars of the time. The company made two cars total, one in 1989 and another later in 1990. The first car built had a bonded aluminium and carbon fibre monocoque chassis made by Mitsubishi Rayon which took 2 months to build. The name “caspita” in Italian is an exclamation expressing surprise or amazement, similar to “wow” in English. The first car (MK I) was slightly less powerful than the second car shown here (MK II). The reason the second car received a new engine was because the original car used a detuned formula 1 racing engine which Subaru decided to use for the 1990 season, but ultimately led for disappointing results leaving Jiotto without an engine supplier. Both of the examples built utilized a 6-speed gearbox built by Weismann, in different layouts in order to accommodate for each car having a different engine. The Caspita had a promising future ahead of it, but ultimately due to the global recession taking place in 1993 the demand for sports cars, and the demand for the Jiotto Caspita both dwindled out. The MK I (1989) was finished in a pale blue/grey color & the MK II (1990) was finished in a pale greenish/yellow color.
How many made? Just 2 prototypes are believed to have been built. Both different, but both functional. 1 of 2!
Engine: MK I Caspita which was the first car released featured a Motori Moderni Flat-twelve engine, a detuned Formula One engine rated at 450 hp originally built for Subaru. MK II Caspita featured a Judd GV V10 engine capable of 577 hp at 10,750 rpm.
Debut: the first car initially debuted at the 28th annual Tokyo Motor Show
Top speed: 199mph (320km/h) (claimed)
0-60mph: 4.7 seconds (claimed)
Photo credit: @firngp, @lambolog
Research: @rarecarsonly
1990 Jiotto Caspita MK II
14.01.2025
Dome