Up until yesterday I thought my Exige was quick.......
Discussion
I have heard them described by people who drive VERY fast cars as "stupid quick" and you dont so much drive but hang on. I was offered a test drive / pax drive but the dealer was too scared and just packed it off to caterham for them to sell.
I had the driving experience described to me, the driver said the suspension was so harsh and the accelerator so sensative that on a smooth road anything that could be translated into a bump was and this minor bump would cause your foot to moove on the accelerator and to make the rear wheels spin!
I really want to try one now!
I had the driving experience described to me, the driver said the suspension was so harsh and the accelerator so sensative that on a smooth road anything that could be translated into a bump was and this minor bump would cause your foot to moove on the accelerator and to make the rear wheels spin!
I really want to try one now!
I thought that the ride quality was excellent, it felt softer than the Exige. The performance was brutal and I don't think we were anywhere close to its maximum potential. When my pilot mentioned (shouting over the engine roar) that he'd had wheelspin at 100mph in 4th I didn't see any reason to doubt him. Brilliant experience but definitely too quick for our roads.
Not been in a CSR yet but a mate of mine has a Superlight R and Jesus H Christ on a bike it's fast.
...and by fast I don't mean, "Wow! That's pretty impressive dude" I mean "F**K ME WITH A FROZEN CHICKEN I DON'T KNOW IF I'M GOING FOR A SH*T OR A HAIRCUT!" fast.
I've been in a few quick cars in my time (E30 M3, ZMCoupe, 4/4.5 & 5 litre Chimaeras, Integrale EVO, my S160, an SC Honda'd Exige at Brands) and this thing would blow them all away in terms of outright pace, handling, jaw-dropping accelleration... everything, the whole shooting match.
Oh and it's for sale.... www.pistonheads.com/sales/56650.htm if I had £17k and a place to put it I'd pull his arm off. Stunning car.
>> Edited by S Works on Monday 12th December 12:08
...and by fast I don't mean, "Wow! That's pretty impressive dude" I mean "F**K ME WITH A FROZEN CHICKEN I DON'T KNOW IF I'M GOING FOR A SH*T OR A HAIRCUT!" fast.
I've been in a few quick cars in my time (E30 M3, ZMCoupe, 4/4.5 & 5 litre Chimaeras, Integrale EVO, my S160, an SC Honda'd Exige at Brands) and this thing would blow them all away in terms of outright pace, handling, jaw-dropping accelleration... everything, the whole shooting match.
Oh and it's for sale.... www.pistonheads.com/sales/56650.htm if I had £17k and a place to put it I'd pull his arm off. Stunning car.
>> Edited by S Works on Monday 12th December 12:08
I owned a Caterham for three years and it was simply sensational 
Caterham's courtesy car is an R300, and I had that whilst mine was being serviced. Fantastic!! 
The 'R' cars with the roller barrel throttles are my favourite. They sound completely animal under hard acceleration, and yes, you are busy a lot of the time and have to be very smooth to avoid getting out of shape. Far and away my favourite road cars! Around a track they're just something else... go kart handling - feels like you're never gonna spin - but really livewire 80mph oversteer is easy and calm!!
To put things into perspective, the Exige 240R has 240bhp (is that right?), and weighs about 900kg, which gives it 2 about 267bhp/tonne. The R300/400 and 500 have 330, 441 and 507 bhp/tonne respectively! To equal an R500 EVO's (551 bhp/tonne) performance in an Exige you would need 496bhp...
So why am I looking for an Elise? Well, the Caterham just wasn't useable everyday, and the Elise is!
Caterham's courtesy car is an R300, and I had that whilst mine was being serviced. Fantastic!! The 'R' cars with the roller barrel throttles are my favourite. They sound completely animal under hard acceleration, and yes, you are busy a lot of the time and have to be very smooth to avoid getting out of shape. Far and away my favourite road cars! Around a track they're just something else... go kart handling - feels like you're never gonna spin - but really livewire
80mph oversteer is easy and calm!! To put things into perspective, the Exige 240R has 240bhp (is that right?), and weighs about 900kg, which gives it 2 about 267bhp/tonne. The R300/400 and 500 have 330, 441 and 507 bhp/tonne respectively!
To equal an R500 EVO's (551 bhp/tonne) performance in an Exige you would need 496bhp... So why am I looking for an Elise? Well, the Caterham just wasn't useable everyday, and the Elise is!
Drove Track-clubs one back-to-back with their S1 Elise 190.
The speedo only worked in the Elise, but the CSR was obviously much faster (obvious when watching from the paddock) - however, it didn't feel that manic. This was at Bruntingthorpe so I would expect the road to feel more scary, but it never really felt out of control.
I'm sure it would bite, but the Ariel Atom just running 115bhp felt far more raw and fast than the CSR. Maybe the wider chassis made the car feel more refind than their roadsport B but it didn't blow me away as much as it did everybody else there... then again, by this time I was smitten by the Atom, so whilst I did drive the CSR I wasn't taking so much notice of it as I may have done otherwise.
The speedo only worked in the Elise, but the CSR was obviously much faster (obvious when watching from the paddock) - however, it didn't feel that manic. This was at Bruntingthorpe so I would expect the road to feel more scary, but it never really felt out of control.
I'm sure it would bite, but the Ariel Atom just running 115bhp felt far more raw and fast than the CSR. Maybe the wider chassis made the car feel more refind than their roadsport B but it didn't blow me away as much as it did everybody else there... then again, by this time I was smitten by the Atom, so whilst I did drive the CSR I wasn't taking so much notice of it as I may have done otherwise.
Yes, the CSR is jolly fast in a straight line, but from what I hear from people that have driven it, it doesn't have that 'Caterham' live-wire excitability that traditional Caterhams have. If that's true, then I'll always stick with a traditional Caterham. I don't buy a car because it is stable and fast. The CSR is faster, but it is the nervousness and immediacy of a standard Caterham that I like.
James here:
I'm considering a R400 and have drivwn the CSR260...the R400 felt quicker than the CSR because the CSR coped far better with power. The R400 had a race car feel the CSR was a fast road car albeit impractical. I liked the menatl feel of the R400 better than the CSR. However the CSR did feel far more controled suspension wise than the R400.
I'm considering a R400 and have drivwn the CSR260...the R400 felt quicker than the CSR because the CSR coped far better with power. The R400 had a race car feel the CSR was a fast road car albeit impractical. I liked the menatl feel of the R400 better than the CSR. However the CSR did feel far more controled suspension wise than the R400.
Of course, if you're going for a lap time then extreme smoothness will pay off and there won't be many corrections necessary, although you'll get bucketloads of feedback about what's going on.
That's the beauty of a Caterham, you can drive it like a hooligan and not spin, but also the very same car can be used to post some very quick lap times with minimum fuss. In order to go quickly, you need to be delicate and very smooth, which is wonderful as it improves your driving and is very satisfying. Other cars seem to "soak up" lack of smoothness, which is a shame as consequently those rewards aren't there.
That's the beauty of a Caterham, you can drive it like a hooligan and not spin, but also the very same car can be used to post some very quick lap times with minimum fuss. In order to go quickly, you need to be delicate and very smooth, which is wonderful as it improves your driving and is very satisfying. Other cars seem to "soak up" lack of smoothness, which is a shame as consequently those rewards aren't there.
Yes, I admit that at times they were hooning around, but even on corners where the car was silky smooth from the outside and perfect lines taken, the drivers seemed to constantly be making miniscule corrections. Their speed was staggering though - I mean I would have a clear rear view mirrow and then seemingly 2 seconds later, a red and a yellow caterham went blasting by! They were definitely having fun.
Sounds like fun! I want my Caterham back!!! The speed is equally as surprising from the driver's seat, yes. You'll spot a car up ahead like a 911 or an Elise or something and then within a few corners you'll be on top of it! You have to be very careful actually, as not a lot of people check their mirrors frequently enough for you to just sail past when you come across them.
I remember at the last trackday I attended in the 7 there were two M3 drivers chatting in the pits, and then they went out on track together in front of me. It was clear that they were going round as fast as they could. In fifteen minutes I had lapped them both... In the process I took several 911s and a few other cars. The best bit is that I never replaced the tyres or brakes on my Caterham - they barely showed any signs of wear, despite me measuring both before and after trackdays.
What is a concern though is that I only had a VVC (150bhp). Would an R400 or 500 just be too fast for a mixed trackday?
The nice thing about having the more potent engine, would be the ability to outdrag other cars on the straights - there are cars running with serious power that just don't handle. With overtaking only on the straights, these are really tough to get past if you don't have the straight line speed.
I got taken for a drive in an R500 evo at silverstone. I was scared s**tless. Probably a bit fragile though.
I got taken for a drive in an R500 evo at silverstone. I was scared s**tless. Probably a bit fragile though.
Yes, very good point; though I must admit I didn't often get this problem (bear in mind your corner exit speed will be much higher in a Caterham). For the cars that are quicker in a straight line, you rely completely on sensible drivers, and most are, but some people just think that because they're on *their* personal limit, they're on yours as well..
OK, well I've been in that SLR (IIRC its a 400, so about 200bhp) and it's straight line speed is other worldly. At 130mph it is still pulling hard and at 140 (when we eventually backed off) it still felt like it had more to give.
Simply astonishing. I had complete sensory overload (as a passenger), elation, bone chilling fear, joy, shock, awe... lock-stock, the effing lot.
If you ever get a chance, even as a passenger, you must try one.
Simply astonishing. I had complete sensory overload (as a passenger), elation, bone chilling fear, joy, shock, awe... lock-stock, the effing lot.
If you ever get a chance, even as a passenger, you must try one.
I agree with "S Works". It should be obligatory for all petrolheads to try a Caterham at some point - even if they don't want to own one. It is fantastic to experience what cars can be like when they weigh less than 500kg and have no driver aids. I reckon 80% of people who love cars would come away wanting one... badly!
Most other cars feel like you're driving through treacle afterwards!
Most other cars feel like you're driving through treacle afterwards!
my CSR 260 experience has made the Exige feel quite sanitised. In fact, when I first drove it after being in the Caterham, it felt as if Dale Winton and Larry Grayson had given it a full engine conversion while John Inman and Will Young had been working hard sorting the steering and the brakes.
In retrospect they are very different cars, you wouldn't want to use Caterham every day. Still can't help feeling that a few more horses wouldn't go amiss in the Exige. Has anyone experienced the effect of a supercharger on the Toyota engine?
In retrospect they are very different cars, you wouldn't want to use Caterham every day. Still can't help feeling that a few more horses wouldn't go amiss in the Exige. Has anyone experienced the effect of a supercharger on the Toyota engine?
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