Conundrum - 911 or Caterham?
Discussion
My conundrum: to sell my 2022 992.1 911 GTS cabriolet and buy a Caterham Seven 360 or stick with the 911.
As a teenager in the early 90s, I built a Caterham with my late dad and got to drive it once or twice when I turned 17. I have fond memories of both the build and the drives. I since ans long ans I can remember I’ve always wanted a Porsche. That itch has been scratched with a Cayman 4.0 GTS, a 991.2 GTS coupe and now the 992.1 Cabriolet, which I feel very lucky to own and am more attached to than any car I have owned before (40 and counting, plus a few sports bikes). The Porsche is a weekend car with an electric Audi S6 as a daily. I don’t have the space for a Caterham and the Porsche so the Porsche would have to go to make room for the Caterham. Use for the Caterham would be similar to the Porsche - weekend jaunts and road trips. They’re both such different cars, am I mad to be considering this switch? Would I regret letting the Porsche go? How to solve this conundrum?!
As a teenager in the early 90s, I built a Caterham with my late dad and got to drive it once or twice when I turned 17. I have fond memories of both the build and the drives. I since ans long ans I can remember I’ve always wanted a Porsche. That itch has been scratched with a Cayman 4.0 GTS, a 991.2 GTS coupe and now the 992.1 Cabriolet, which I feel very lucky to own and am more attached to than any car I have owned before (40 and counting, plus a few sports bikes). The Porsche is a weekend car with an electric Audi S6 as a daily. I don’t have the space for a Caterham and the Porsche so the Porsche would have to go to make room for the Caterham. Use for the Caterham would be similar to the Porsche - weekend jaunts and road trips. They’re both such different cars, am I mad to be considering this switch? Would I regret letting the Porsche go? How to solve this conundrum?!
Obviously as you say they are very different cars. Is there a halfway house between them that could help tick both boxes? Lotus perhaps?
Ultimately if the most important thing is the raw lightweight experience of a Caterham then a 911 cab is quite a long way from that so if you can’t have both you’ll have to scratch the itch and let go of the 911.
I’d imagine they would complement each other rather than replace one another though so if you can, find a way to keep both!
Ultimately if the most important thing is the raw lightweight experience of a Caterham then a 911 cab is quite a long way from that so if you can’t have both you’ll have to scratch the itch and let go of the 911.
I’d imagine they would complement each other rather than replace one another though so if you can, find a way to keep both!
They are very different cars - size, weight, refinement, style, practicality. Quite a few Caterham owners also have a 911.
Road trips in a 911 will be a LOT easier than the Caterham. You could daily the 911, you wouldn't want to daily a Caterham, but it does make a good toy
I think my wife would rather be a passenger in a 911 over a Caterham. Not so sure about the kids
I guess it depends on how 'exciting' you want your weekend jaunts to be.
Road trips in a 911 will be a LOT easier than the Caterham. You could daily the 911, you wouldn't want to daily a Caterham, but it does make a good toy
I think my wife would rather be a passenger in a 911 over a Caterham. Not so sure about the kids
I guess it depends on how 'exciting' you want your weekend jaunts to be.
Edited by benp1 on Thursday 16th July 19:31
Edited by benp1 on Thursday 16th July 19:32
Ignoring other options as mentioned above it comes down to this;
Does your fun mileage involve trips within a 50ish mile radius of home or do you regularly venture further afield?
The Caterham is a wonderful steer and a must do. But, and it’s a big but, they are a pain if you want to travel further.
Does your fun mileage involve trips within a 50ish mile radius of home or do you regularly venture further afield?
The Caterham is a wonderful steer and a must do. But, and it’s a big but, they are a pain if you want to travel further.
It looks like it's fairly easy to hire a Caterham for a few days eg https://www.highlandcaterhamhire.com/
Why not make a short break and hire one for a trip around a fun part of the country. That way you'll be able to judge how viable it would be for you for road trips.
Either you'll decide it's not a viable 911 replacement, in which case at least you've had the experience and learned, or you'll fall for it and have a good sense of what you're looking to buy.
The two biggest things in my mind going for the Caterham would be.
- every trip no matter how short would be an adventure, and longer trips would give you a sense of achievement.
- it would still be fun when stuck behind a car doing 45.
plus you have done the 911 thing so, time to try another toy and while I don't know how old you are, you (we all are) only getting older. So you could go back to a 911 later?
- every trip no matter how short would be an adventure, and longer trips would give you a sense of achievement.
- it would still be fun when stuck behind a car doing 45.
plus you have done the 911 thing so, time to try another toy and while I don't know how old you are, you (we all are) only getting older. So you could go back to a 911 later?
Elise, Exige V6, Tuscan.
I love a Caterham on track but they are too uncomfortable and exposed for the public road imo. By contrast I took my Elise to the Alps for an early summer jaunt. Even an Atom has so much more safety structure around the passengers.
sounds like the itch is already there and there's certainly more weekend fun than a 992, but I'd be broadening the search.
I love a Caterham on track but they are too uncomfortable and exposed for the public road imo. By contrast I took my Elise to the Alps for an early summer jaunt. Even an Atom has so much more safety structure around the passengers.
sounds like the itch is already there and there's certainly more weekend fun than a 992, but I'd be broadening the search.
Mr Tidy said:
For weekend jaunts and road trips I'd be keeping the Porsche.
A Caterham might be fantastic on a twisty back road or a track, but I wouldn't want to drive one on a Motorway.
Alternatively why not sell the daily, use the Porsche for that and have a Caterham to go with it?
What's wrong with driving a Caterham on a motorway. Apart from no cruise control it will sit at 70 quite happily. A Caterham might be fantastic on a twisty back road or a track, but I wouldn't want to drive one on a Motorway.
Alternatively why not sell the daily, use the Porsche for that and have a Caterham to go with it?
I owned a couple of Caterhams and, in the company of others, toured around Scotland, Ireland, Scandinavia and Western Europe.
Can you drive one on the motorway? Yes of course you can. One with a bit of power will top out at 140mph and those with less will see 120 so you can easily cruise along with the other traffic. You have to be a bit more aware of other people NOT being aware though as you're both harder to see and much more exposed.
One of the things that stopped me from using it as a daily very often was the fact that you tend to get quite dirty in one. When I tried to commute in mine, it was back in the days when we all wore suits to work and... well... you don't want that.
Thing is OP, a Porsche and a Caterham are so so different, you really ought to know what you're asking. They're not remotely comparable. I hear you when you say "weekend car" but for what kinds of occasions? And are you either happy struggling under the Caterham hood or are you happy being in the elements? "Weather" can be one of those things that dissuades some people from using their Caterhams, and even the hardcore tend to use theirs less over the colder, wetter months.
Can you drive one on the motorway? Yes of course you can. One with a bit of power will top out at 140mph and those with less will see 120 so you can easily cruise along with the other traffic. You have to be a bit more aware of other people NOT being aware though as you're both harder to see and much more exposed.
One of the things that stopped me from using it as a daily very often was the fact that you tend to get quite dirty in one. When I tried to commute in mine, it was back in the days when we all wore suits to work and... well... you don't want that.
Thing is OP, a Porsche and a Caterham are so so different, you really ought to know what you're asking. They're not remotely comparable. I hear you when you say "weekend car" but for what kinds of occasions? And are you either happy struggling under the Caterham hood or are you happy being in the elements? "Weather" can be one of those things that dissuades some people from using their Caterhams, and even the hardcore tend to use theirs less over the colder, wetter months.
Mr Tidy said:
I wouldn't be so worried about other cars, it's big things like coaches and HGVs that would scare me!
A caterham isn’t going to fare well against the average 2T+ SUV. The occupants, even less so.And remember, it doesn’t need to be the caterham drivers fault.
I’d probably take a Lotus as an alternative. Risk aside, I know I’d much prefer the Lotus for a Euro jaunt.
Having owned and tracked some very different sports cars, I think a Caterham is incredible at what it is designed to do, but I would struggle to replace a 911 with one.
A close friend has owned a Caterham for years, and we have done plenty of road trips together. On a sunny Sunday blast or a track day it is absolutely brilliant. However, as a road-trip car .. no.
For me, the compromises are simply too great: poor headlights, tiring motorway driving, very limited weather protection, minimal security if you need to leave it parked overnight, and a level of build quality that feels difficult to justify at the price. On track they are hugely capable, but I have also seen my friend's car suffer multiple oil and brake fluid leaks over the years.
If the Caterham would be a second or third toy, absolutely. As a replacement for a 911 that you enjoy using for weekend trips and touring, I think you would miss the Porsche sooner rather than later.
A close friend has owned a Caterham for years, and we have done plenty of road trips together. On a sunny Sunday blast or a track day it is absolutely brilliant. However, as a road-trip car .. no.
For me, the compromises are simply too great: poor headlights, tiring motorway driving, very limited weather protection, minimal security if you need to leave it parked overnight, and a level of build quality that feels difficult to justify at the price. On track they are hugely capable, but I have also seen my friend's car suffer multiple oil and brake fluid leaks over the years.
If the Caterham would be a second or third toy, absolutely. As a replacement for a 911 that you enjoy using for weekend trips and touring, I think you would miss the Porsche sooner rather than later.
I too had a Caterham itch a few years ago and looked into building one, something I've always wanted to do. I had a classic Mini at the time as my weekend toy so it wouldn't have been the jump between the two that you're contemplating! I did what was suggested earlier and hired one for a weekend to see how I would cope and by the end of the first day I was having a lot of fun but also craving the better toad manners and comfort of the Mini! Have it a few weeks thought, hired a Caterham again and decided it's better just to hire one when I felt I wanted to instead of owning one despite the solid residuals. Even after I sold the Mini last year (loss of storage and workshop) I haven't had a hankering for getting one, just hiring one will be enough.
So I wood go the 'hire one for a weekend' route and see how you feel a week after that.
So I wood go the 'hire one for a weekend' route and see how you feel a week after that.
I’ve had both, and at the same time.
Built my 7 in 2005 and did 26,000 miles in it over the years. I didn’t daily it and the majority of those miles were done on road trips across Europe. France, Germany even down to Italy and with an aero screen fitted. It’s amazing the amount of space you have if you remove the passenger seat.
There is nothing like the experience of hooning a 7 through the Alps on a sunny day or even the peak of Stelvio in the snow. Absolutely brilliant. Getting there and back on the autoroutes was a pain. It’s just ear plugs in, hunker down and get on with it. Mine was an SV so I could get comfy but on more than one occasion I got caught in really heavy rain and had to stop to bale the car out and remove my buff so I could breathe again.
I loved it! Really glad I did it.
In 2015 I bought my 997. Again not a daily but I have used it as such on occasion. Once the Porsche arrived the 7 got used less and less. European road trips were taken in the 997 and became more comfortable, less stressful and just as much fun but in a slightly different way. I could travel further in a day and the transit sections on motorways to get to the far flung exciting roads became less of a chore.
You always come across a stretch of road where you think “this would be brilliant in a Caterham” but I’ve been there, done that and was really glad that I did.
I miss my 7 but I don’t miss some of the ownership hassle of having to constantly tinker and fix things.
I sold mine after 15 years but still have the 997 and still love it.
If you’re hankering after a Caterham I’d say buy one, enjoy it and get it out of your system. Mine opened up a whole new world to me, there really is nothing like it.
Built my 7 in 2005 and did 26,000 miles in it over the years. I didn’t daily it and the majority of those miles were done on road trips across Europe. France, Germany even down to Italy and with an aero screen fitted. It’s amazing the amount of space you have if you remove the passenger seat.
There is nothing like the experience of hooning a 7 through the Alps on a sunny day or even the peak of Stelvio in the snow. Absolutely brilliant. Getting there and back on the autoroutes was a pain. It’s just ear plugs in, hunker down and get on with it. Mine was an SV so I could get comfy but on more than one occasion I got caught in really heavy rain and had to stop to bale the car out and remove my buff so I could breathe again.
I loved it! Really glad I did it.
In 2015 I bought my 997. Again not a daily but I have used it as such on occasion. Once the Porsche arrived the 7 got used less and less. European road trips were taken in the 997 and became more comfortable, less stressful and just as much fun but in a slightly different way. I could travel further in a day and the transit sections on motorways to get to the far flung exciting roads became less of a chore.
You always come across a stretch of road where you think “this would be brilliant in a Caterham” but I’ve been there, done that and was really glad that I did.
I miss my 7 but I don’t miss some of the ownership hassle of having to constantly tinker and fix things.
I sold mine after 15 years but still have the 997 and still love it.
If you’re hankering after a Caterham I’d say buy one, enjoy it and get it out of your system. Mine opened up a whole new world to me, there really is nothing like it.
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