RE: Caterham Superlight

RE: Caterham Superlight

Friday 6th January 2006

Caterham Superlight

Henry Biggs checks out the latest back-to-basics Caterham


Caterham Superlight
Caterham Superlight

Colin Chapman once said: "If you want to go faster, you will have to add lightness". Having recently taken the horsepower route with the new CSR version of Chapman's creation, the Seven, Caterham has now gone back to basics with a new Superlight.

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Based on the standard Roadsport, the Superlight gains four-piston AP Racing brakes, Caterham's own close-ratio six speed gearbox, and wide-track, adjustable front suspension. It sits on bespoke 13 inch KN lightweight alloys wearing Avon CR500 rubber, developed as a lightweight road and track tyre for the car and looking suspiciously like a pair of cut slicks. The spare wheel has been ditched in favour of a can of foam, the carpets are gone as are the standard seats in favour of lightweight composite buckets with four-point harnesses and carbon fibre is used for the dashboard, rear arch protectors and front wings.

Add lightness

All this means the Superlight weighs 55Kg less than the Roadsport, which may not sound like much but in the case of such a tiddler actually represents a 10 per cent saving. Less weight means less inertia and less for the tyres to do in simply supporting the mass of the car so they can work harder gripping the road.

This one however has a windscreen, roof and even a heater, adding a whopping 18Kg -- Caterham list options for the Superlight by weight as well as price -- so I made up for it by packing light and skipping lunch. Wearing a tango paintjob, the loud, brash and bright orange Superlight is the automotive equivalent of a footballer's wife so what else is there to be done but thumb the optional red starter button and head cross-country for Cheshire and in particular the A537 Cat & Fiddle road.

Spitfire

From inside it sounds like a Spitfire with the whine of the gearbox, a resonance through the uncarpeted cockpit and stones rattling like bullets off the underside (and on more than one occasion my forehead). From outside it sounds more like a big capacity sports bike and it starts up with that same muted explosion as the engine sucks in a massive gobbet of fuel and spits it out through the beautiful 4-2-1 exhaust. This, combined with a different air-intake help liberate 140bhp and 124lb-ft from the 1.8 X-Power K-series but it never sounded like this in a Rover and the rev counter certainly never flicked round the dial as quickly. It translates into a 0-60 dash in 4.7 seconds, over half a second quicker than a Roadsport with the same X-Power motor. The 130mph speed is largely academic and possibly rather conservative of Caterham (but that's just a guess, honestly officer).

Through town the car grumbles to itself, revs rising and falling from 1,250 to 1,750rpm at traffic lights and the clutch assaulting your nose with its own protest. But it's difficult to resist the occasional blip of the throttle when passing a bunch of schoolkids, making them stop and stare open mouthed. That engine reveals a great deal of flexibility, it's possible to stick it in top around town, smoothing out the power delivery and making it easier to pootle along at urban speed limits.

Dobermann

But the free breathing K-series thrives on revs and when the road clears, dropping down a couple of cogs has a similar effect to poking a Dobermann with a stick. There is an almost VTEC-type surge at 4,000rpm and the exhaust really starts to bellow. The accompanying acceleration rapidly becomes addictive; resulting in an arrival at the next corner at what seems an inadvisable rate of knots.

Fortunately the brakes are superb with plenty of feel even through a pedal not much bigger than a 50 pence piece and resisting fade even after a few runs up and down some Peak District climbs. With just a roll of the wrists, turn-in is instant but on a trailing throttle, the unladen front wheels lend a slightly vague feel to the steering and there's a hint of understeer. Add some power and give the boots some work to do and suddenly all is neutral and the Superlight sticks to a line like a supermodel. Those bespoke boots are so sticky in fact that once round the corner you realise that actually your speed was limited by bravery and respect for the rules of the road rather than mechanical grip.

The power is there to play fast and loose and overwhelm the grip of the rear tyres at least in tight second and third gear corners and roundabouts but it happens so smoothly and progressively that it is easily caught. Besides, showboating, whilst it might look good at a Southend cruise, has never been the fastest way round a circuit or down the road.

Superlight or superbike?

Hacking up and down the Cat & Fiddle road on a fine autumnal day the Superlight was the closest I could get to being on one of the superbikes that come and play on what is one of Britain's best stretches of tarmac. Smooth and well surfaced with a challenging mix of bends and good sightlines, the road is the ideal off-track playground for the Caterham.

And far better to stick to this than typically badly surfaced British B-roads which show up some shortcomings. The stiffer front suspension struggles over rough tarmac, knocking you off line whilst the De Dion rear can hop disconcertingly. Both ends can hit the bump stops hard on undulating surfaces.

Usable every day?

At £19,995 for a self-build (£22,450 for a factory finished version) the Superlight is four grand more than a Roadsport but a whopping £11,000 cheaper than the new CSR200 and as such can be seen as a bit of a bargain track day tool. As a road car though it can, even in Caterham terms, seem a bit rough and raw. It is very loud and the seats become uncomfortable after a couple of hours but going for a few of the soft options when ordering it should sort out those niggles.

Not quite the 'usable, everyday sportcar' that Caterham's PR claims, but not far off.

Pictures by Gerry Biggs

Author
Discussion

bob_defly

Original Poster:

3,642 posts

230 months

Friday 6th January 2006
quotequote all
Catreham's PR people must sleep on beds of nails!

L100NYY

35,075 posts

242 months

Friday 6th January 2006
quotequote all
God I want a Caterham again!



Matt W

153 posts

237 months

Friday 6th January 2006
quotequote all
Me too

It should be a fab car and the one tested looks nearly identical to my old 7. Oh well, in 10 years time I might be able to afford another.

weed

211 posts

240 months

Friday 6th January 2006
quotequote all
How does the tester get unladen wheels on trailing throttle?
If you're trailing throttle, you are easing off the go-pedal, therefore weight is transferred to the front wheels.
m

R300 CYA

241 posts

227 months

Friday 6th January 2006
quotequote all
Anyone know if it is meant to be lighter than an R300?

gridgway

1,001 posts

244 months

Friday 6th January 2006
quotequote all
cant be lighter than an R300 if it doesn't have carbon rear wings (assuming a fully carboned up R300).
Graham

R300 CYA

241 posts

227 months

Friday 6th January 2006
quotequote all
0-60 time quoted is same as an R300. 20bhp less, weighs the same at best. am i missin something in how it manages to do 0-60 in that time

dannylt

1,906 posts

283 months

Friday 6th January 2006
quotequote all
R300 CYA said:
0-60 time quoted is same as an R300. 20bhp less, weighs the same at best. am i missin something in how it manages to do 0-60 in that time
Better tyres/tarmac surface?

dannylt

1,906 posts

283 months

Friday 6th January 2006
quotequote all
weed said:
How does the tester get unladen wheels on trailing throttle?
If you're trailing throttle, you are easing off the go-pedal, therefore weight is transferred to the front wheels.
m
Because even with a trailing throttle, there's still some throttle. Lifting of the throttle will change the rate of acceleration, but still be acceleration if you see what I mean. Anyway, most of this crap is just tester hyperbole and filler

R300 CYA

241 posts

227 months

Friday 6th January 2006
quotequote all
only issue for me with the new one being, how much i love the drone of my roller barrels

smele

1,284 posts

283 months

Saturday 7th January 2006
quotequote all
dannylt said:
weed said:
How does the tester get unladen wheels on trailing throttle?
If you're trailing throttle, you are easing off the go-pedal, therefore weight is transferred to the front wheels.
m
Because even with a trailing throttle, there's still some throttle. Lifting of the throttle will change the rate of acceleration, but still be acceleration if you see what I mean. Anyway, most of this crap is just tester hyperbole and filler


Hmm, off throttle is accelerating? Hmm, not sure about that. If I had the option of heading to the nearest tree with throttle on, throttle off or in neutral, I know what I would choose.

grahamw48

9,944 posts

237 months

Saturday 7th January 2006
quotequote all
R300 CYA said:
0-60 time quoted is same as an R300. 20bhp less, weighs the same at best. am i missin something in how it manages to do 0-60 in that time



Different diff ratio ?




dannylt

1,906 posts

283 months

Saturday 7th January 2006
quotequote all
smele said:
Hmm, off throttle is accelerating? Hmm, not sure about that. If I had the option of heading to the nearest tree with throttle on, throttle off or in neutral, I know what I would choose.
Easing off is not the same as off! Trailing throttle means keeping some throttle...

karll

59 posts

239 months

Sunday 8th January 2006
quotequote all
when are they going to ditch the K and put some thing a bit more up to date ?

canam

9,114 posts

271 months

Monday 9th January 2006
quotequote all
karll said:
when are they going to ditch the K and put some thing a bit more up to date ?

I think it could be that they introduced the new 'Superlight' as a means of using up the last of the K Series.

proscriptus

35 posts

220 months

Wednesday 11th January 2006
quotequote all
One might consider cleaning up the car before photographing it.

L100NYY

35,075 posts

242 months

Wednesday 11th January 2006
quotequote all
proscriptus said:
One might consider cleaning up the car before photographing it.


????

jaker

3,925 posts

268 months

Saturday 14th January 2006
quotequote all
karll said:
when are they going to ditch the K and put some thing a bit more up to date ?


C400 details to be released in Feb (I think). 2.0L Duratec by Cosworth.

when they will modernise the engines of the lower end of the model range is anyone's guess. When stocks of k series are sold I guess.

leozwalf

2,802 posts

229 months

Thursday 9th February 2006
quotequote all
Firstly I just want to say I really enjoyed reading that, very well written and informative (makes me want to have a go in one too!)

Re: K series - They are lightweight, (just shy of 100kg IIRC) I'd imagine that's why they are used in applications such as this. they should have used the 160bhp version tho

rubystone

11,252 posts

258 months

Thursday 9th February 2006
quotequote all
leozwalf said:
Firstly I just want to say I really enjoyed reading that, very well written and informative (makes me want to have a go in one too!)

Re: K series - They are lightweight, (just shy of 100kg IIRC) I'd imagine that's why they are used in applications such as this. they should have used the 160bhp version tho


Wouldn't that be competing with the R300 though - or have they stopped making that now?