Found myself outside Caterham in Caterham yesterday on route to collect some bits from another forum member (thanks again Ben Salt) and popped in for a look.

Lots of cars in the shed out the back including a number of R500s and a couple of full blown racers.

Looking at them closely I was reminded how much smaller and dainty they are than a lot of other 7 kits and soooo much more expensive That said, you can clearly see they are well engineered and the fit/finish on most of them was very good indeed.

Tucked in the corner were a couple of Caterham experience cars in black. These poor little things look like they've been absolutely thrashed to death.

One final observation on what seems to be the standard roll bar setup. It leans forward at quite an angle which seems a little odd. Also, the rear stays appear to go to the top of the rear panel rather than down to the lower part of the chassis, again this seems odd, but I couldn't see what support there was in behind the rear panel - maybe it's well braced. That said, the full cage seems very robust and well secured to the actual chassis.

I left wondering (if I had it) whether I'd actually spend £30-40k on a car like that and I have to say I think I would (if I had it).

Well, I wouldn't.

Neither would I 'waste' my money on a Caterham!

would rather spend 40k doing an ultima/cobra/GT40

They are nicely put together and handle so well with lots of adjustments.
i help my friend race his R300.
Not sure the racer cost that much as it was supplied in a kit.

All the parts are new don't forget so your paying for a brand spanking motor, gearbox and rear end. No donor parts.

The front roll bar is a nice tidy install but adjustment is through changing for differnent thickness bars.

I can't afford one so I'm building a haynes and no I wouldn't spend 30-40k on a new one. Second hand if I had some money maybe.

M

I drove one of the experience cars at silverstone about 6 weeks ago it was a 09 reg and quite tatty,good fun though,compared to my Indy I could not justify the extra expense,I have some pics of the cars so will post up later to shed a bit of light on the roll bar.

Before anyone buys one, pop along to a Caterham track day (if that's your thing) and see if you fit in!
I didn't!

I love them... I would buy one if I had the money...
That said, the BEC bug has me bitten...
As a second car next to the MNR then, maybe...
(goes off to check the bank balance...)

They are TINY!

I could only drive the one I had with race-shoes on as anything else would see my feet get stuck!

For 50k for a top spec one you'd expect a tidy build!!

I can't see why they cost so much more, spec for spec you can build an equal machine for a quarter of the price.

They also have a little attitude if you ring them up as a genuine customer and say you don't want to buy the engine for one from them That attitude put me off getting one.

It was very cramped and nowhere to put your left arm gear stick felt too close ect and I'm not exactly tall lol.

I'm sure when I looked, the basic kits weren't actually that expensive, I can't find out without registering (Or finding the magazine add). I've never met a caterham owner so I can't speak on that front. They seem to hold their values very well (Not that something like that would encourage me to buy anything) and they do seem to be good cars. If I had the money would I buy a Caterham? Only if I could have a Levanté.

Most negative comments about Caterham on this site do seem to be about people rather than the cars themselves.

What's a Caterham?

They bought the rights to the Lotus Seven from Lotus in the Seventies, they finshed off all the parts for the final series cars (S3 I think but I can't be arsed to look it up, the boxy ones) then set to making the more classically styled ones again. They've got about 5 different major varients of Seven that are available in huge numbers of specs and are probably the most well know kit car manufacturer in the UK, though they probably sell most of their cars either built or with litterally everything so they just bolt together. They made a non seven car once but they don't now. They have taken other manufacturers to Court over likeness issues, and openly consider non Caterham Sevens to be knock offs.

Built Caterhams start at about £20K but go to much higher, the top models start at about £40K I believe the the Levantés were more than £100K.

Have a look here for oppinions of Caterham owners and you'll understand alot of this post better.

quote:

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Originally posted by morcus
Built Caterhams start at about £20K but go to much higher, the top models start at about £40K I believe the the Levantés were more than £100K.

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They're amazing machines, I'd love to have a go in one.

Does the guy that made the V8's for them sell the engines still?

I'm sure you could give him a pair of Yamaha bike engines and he could stitch one together for you while you wait... for about a million dollars.