Looking for R400/R500

[tictac]

If any one has one coming up I'd appreciate the heads up. Must be low mileage, must be good history.
Thanks.
Paul.

[rubystone]

tictac said:

If any one has one coming up I'd appreciate the heads up. Must be low mileage, must be good history.
Thanks.
Paul.

They are generally posted on PH or www.blatchat.com. But few come up for sale.

Also worth your posting here on any cars you have found - often ex-owners or people who know the cars lurk and can give you some good background.

[tictac]

Anyone know of the original owner for the R500 EVO SV on BC? I'm a bit concerned about the reliability of the R500 and would be intersted to know the engines history? When Minister carry out a refresh do the give any written report on what they find/remedy?

Edited by tictac on Monday 3rd March 12:53

[rubystone]

tictac said:

Anyone know of the original owner for the R500 EVO SV on BC? I'm a bit concerned about the reliability of the R500 and would be intersted to know the engines history? When Minister carry out a refresh do the give any written report on what they find/remedy?

Edited by tictac on Monday 3rd March 12:53

Yes, and he'll no doubt read this very soon and post here. There are 2 cars - one is a car that was built for the first owner as an R500 SV and then uprated to Evo spec later on. I'll let the original owner post more details about it here. I think that's the car you're talking about on Blatchat. The other car is at Caterham Cars themselves and appears to be the only factory buit from new R500 Evo SV....

Minister keep records on each and every engine they build and rebuild. They'll have the history of the engine in that car. I am pretty sure that the engine on the Blatchat car was rebuilt again not that long ago when it was owned by the second of the 3 owners.

As I said, there aren't many R500s about and as such, you can often find previous owners. I found the original owner of my car by searching through Blatchat archived posts and had lunch with him last year!

[fcat]

Hi Tictac, I was the original owner. I've emailed you with my phone number - give me a call if I can help.

regards
Nigel

[Finchy172]

You could always twist Rubystones arm and make him sell you his!

Its very special!

I must say the R500 is the most amazing car ive ever driven on the road, and scared the st out of me which certainly is a good thing. If i ever had the funds to buy one and keep it clean in the garage then i wouldnt think twice!

[tictac]

A very low mileage R500 at the right price does sound nice, but I'm a bit of a coward on the reliability front and the thought of a total engine failure is putting me off. That said I will not be doing many miles and would not be tracking it that much if at all. However I think it's more likely to be an R400 when I can find what i'm looking for.

[SaliMali]

I know of a bombproof 270 bhp Duratec that's for sale

[tictac]

Too much money for me I'm afraid. Probably an even better reason to "limit" myself to a K R400.

[MikeE]

Isn't an R500 (or 270bhp Duratec) totally over the top for the road. If you're not planning to track it then why bother, get yourself an R300 plenty fast enough for the road, should be reliable and not too expensive for a 2nd hand one now?

[rubystone]

Finchy172 said:

You could always twist Rubystones arm and make him sell you his!

Its very special!

I must say the R500 is the most amazing car ive ever driven on the road, and scared the st out of me which certainly is a good thing. If i ever had the funds to buy one and keep it clean in the garage then i wouldnt think twice!

I don't intend to sell it, Brad

tictac said:

A very low mileage R500 at the right price does sound nice, but I'm a bit of a coward on the reliability front and the thought of a total engine failure is putting me off. That said I will not be doing many miles and would not be tracking it that much if at all. However I think it's more likely to be an R400 when I can find what i'm looking for.

Total engine failure ought to be rare nowadays - especially if the engine has been rebuilt in the last few years and the owner has agreed to let Minister fit the upgraded parts they specified initially and if he's agreed to limit the revs to 8600. Fcat's old car has had a pretty major Minister rebuild not very long ago. the threat of engine failure recedes rapidly if you're only going to use the car on the road - but how long is it going to be before you get bitten by the trackday bug?...and then you will be using all of that power at somewhere like Snetterton!

The theory is that the R500 engines were built with higher quality parts than the R400s...I'm not so sure about that, but would add that a 200bhp engine is perfectly adequate, provided it is dry-sumped.

There is some satisfaction in owning what was once (and I'd say still is) a car that represented the pinnacle of Caterham's range...but then, the R500 was only following in the footsteps of such illustrious predecessors as the JPE, itself a pretty stunning car...

[will_]

MikeE said:

Isn't an R500 (or 270bhp Duratec) totally over the top for the road. If you're not planning to track it then why bother, get yourself an R300 plenty fast enough for the road, should be reliable and not too expensive for a 2nd hand one now?

I think the R400 is worth the premium over the R300, it is so much more of a kick in the back. Bang for buck I'd rather have a Superlight than an R300 (and for less money). The R500 was too much for me and the reliability/maintainance was an issue that put me off. I think the R400 is more than enough for the road, without the problems of the R500.

But, as an R400 owner, I would say that.....!

ETA - what is the OP looking to spend?

Edited by will_ on Monday 3rd March 18:18

[Finchy172]

Rubystone one day you will have to let her go when i can afford her!!!

I must admit that my R400 is fast yes but the R500 just has something extra, with a raceco can popping flames on gear changes and generally being waay too fast for anyone without a decent driving abilities. Remove the carbon plenum and the octopus trunking and my god that sound alone is worth the 25k!!

[rubystone]

Finchy172 said:

Remove the carbon plenum and the octopus trunking and my god that sound alone is worth the 25k!!

But you'll never get on a trackday anywhere in this country. Even with the plenum and Raceco, mine is still at 102-103 db.....

As to Will's comment, I totally agree. The nature of the VHPD engine is such that it gives you a great boot in the back at around 4250 - very addictive indeed. As I said, 200bhp is just right in a 7, although we do have a original Superlight in the garage too and that really is a peach of a car.

[will_]

rubystone said:

Finchy172 said:

Remove the carbon plenum and the octopus trunking and my god that sound alone is worth the 25k!!

But you'll never get on a trackday anywhere in this country. Even with the plenum and Raceco, mine is still at 102-103 db.....

As to Will's comment, I totally agree. The nature of the VHPD engine is such that it gives you a great boot in the back at around 4250 - very addictive indeed. As I said, 200bhp is just right in a 7, although we do have a original Superlight in the garage too and that really is a peach of a car.

It was speaking to people on here that persuaded me that 140bhp would not be enough of a jump from my Roadsport, and that the extra cash to get an R400 would be worth it. Having driven a few R300s I was underwhelmed by the straight line poke, so I put in a few more quid to get something that would keep me happy for longer. In the long run it's cheaper than upgraditis and the residuals are still strong, so you should get a chunk of the extra cost back when you sell.