Can Anyone Justify a Caterham?

[Rorz de Puniet]

Saw one if these on the weekend. Was OK with the R1 donk. I kinda liked it.

http://www.redbackmotorsport.com.au/...7-mnr-vortx-rt

Is it just me or is this one with the R1 engine cutting better lap times than the turbo one at the start of the thread?

[Mr Purple]

Well, just got back from the UK.

Had my day with the Caterham a couple of weeks back and have answered the question starting the thread!

Managed to do 247 miles in 8 hours around the Yorkshire dales in a 1.6L Caterham Roadsport:



They're fantastic. Bit intimidating at first with the strange driving position and the fact that there's nothing between you and the road, but you get the hang of that pretty quickly...

The one I drove was equivalent to the base 1.6 here, think I'd pay the extra for the 6 speed and 15 inch wheels, but otherwise was fantastic. 0-100 in 5ish seconds feels enough when you're 3 inches off the ground.

Here compared to rental RCZ:



Highlights were Buttertubs Pass:

http://dangerousroads.org/europe/110...s-england.html

This gets pretty exciting in a 500kg car in high winds and pouring rain. Pity I didn't get any footage, but the massive drops both sides while jumping cattle grids got a little interesting.

Also losing a mate's MX5 in about two seconds shortly after this bridge.



Also had a Morgan Plus 4 for a day:



Fantastic looking car, and really well made, but reminds you why they don't make many cars out of wood any more. It was like driving an old house - they creak, and bend a bit in the middle around corners. Did manage to see a new three wheeler in Malvern on the way out, they sound alright...

So, time to start saving...

[tut]

hertz or avis?


also, v12 bro is a shitty plate on a base 1.6

[Sebstar]

Fuck that's an awesome angle on the RCZ. Too bad the car is an underpowered POS

And woah the caterham is tiny compared to even a small car!

[R32Big_boy]

Awesome cars, Roy and I did a track day at Zandvoort in one a few months ago.
I might be a bit big...

Roy chasing his favourite prey, GT3RS's

[Mr Purple]

RCZ was the 200hp model and wasn't exactly underpowered, just had a strange torque curve for a turbo - everything hits at about 5000-7000rpm which makes it hard to drive quickly.

I actually had the opposite problem R32, and needed to sit on a cushion to see over the dash, which sort of detracts from the cool factor.

Side on vs the RCZ:

[gbanger]

So what to verdict on these,I want a track car,need a project it wouldnt be a bad idea to build a LOCOST cateram replica. throttle bodied Duratec powered,6 speed or even a megabussa mill

I rekon I could build a basic one for under $10K me doing all the work from sctratch,anyone care to comment .........Bill you still have yours?????????

Or do I just buy a gay Mx5 and build that up into a trackdayer????

[MZ21]

there was a bike powered on eBay not long ago (think it sold for 13K)

... let me see if I can find it.

[ALLMTR]

Well, one you could be doing sprints in 5 days and the other you could be doing sprints in 5 years

[Bren]

If you build a Locost track car from scratch, I reckon you could do it for around 10k. Don't think you would get a Duratec with throttle bodies in it for that money though.

[ferdie]

there is a lot of good cars available that have rego for the 15k-25k range, way better to buy with rego and modify from there. getting rego over the line is a PITA

gbanger, ive got a spare partly built chassis i would part with so you could have it done in 4years not the 5 that ALLMTR has mentioned.... :w:

[Bren]

there is a lot of good cars available that have rego for the 15k-25k range, way better to buy with rego and modify from there. getting rego over the line is a PITA

gbanger, ive got a spare partly built chassis i would part with so you could have it done in 4years not the 5 that ALLMTR has mentioned.... :w:

Hahaha true that.

If he wanted rego, there are definitely some bargains, but if it is purely a track car, with no need for rego, I reckon it could be worth building. I wouldn't go from scratch though, personally I would buy a chassis that is already made and go from there.

[Billzilla]

I rekon I could build a basic one for under $10K me doing all the work from sctratch,anyone care to comment .........Bill you still have yours?????????

Yep, just about 75% of the way through a big rebuild.

[gbanger]

Yep, just about 75% of the way through a big rebuild.

good,you got any photos?

[Billzilla]

good,you got any photos?

Yep.