Prodrive's interests are so disparate (it has two engineering facilities in the UK, one near Detroit in the US, another in Australia and a manufacturing facility in Thailand), that Richards felt the workforce needed something tangible to see just how far-reaching the company's capabilities have become. Not only that, the P2 shows the wider motoring industry how quickly Prodrive can create a fully EU-compliant, production-ready car. The P2 took just nine months to go from concept to reality. And it's a proper runner, too. Richards is keen to point out that it will 'spin all four wheels from a standing start and hit sixty in under four seconds'.

So, when will we be able to buy one? Richards smiles: 'It would take a multi-national company to invest in the tooling and to carry out the homologation. Subaru has been kept appraised of the project from the beginning and seems happy with the results. At the moment there are no plans for production, though.'

It's a shame, as the car, which would cost around £40,000 should it ever go on sale, is a genuinely exciting concept and faithful to Richards' vision for a 'practical performance car'.

'I didn't want a racer for the road, with no luggage space, poor visibility and prohibitive dimensions. The P2 is about practical performance, and we managed to keep the weight down to 1100kg, despite the crash structures.

'Weight is a constant battle. New safety measures add mass, then people want the same performance, which adds more. It's a vicious circle, but I think we've hit the peak in terms of vehicle weights and they should start to slowly come back down.'

Richards is clearly fired-up by this foray into road car development, but does he still love driving? 'Well, I drive all of our products, including the WRC car - although I never got into the BAR F1,' he says. 'And you'd never believe what I've got the guys building for me now. My wife wants a practical car for our house down in Cornwall. So the same people who built the P2 are now building me a brand new Morris Minor Traveller. It's the car I learnt to drive in.'