Want to join the high-mile track car club? Here's your chance...
Track-focused cars such as Caterhams tend to have a relatively easy life. Sure, when they're driven, they're driven hard, but they tend not to get driven all that often, only get brought out when the weather is clement (Dan's sodden Seven weekend being the exception to the rule) and are generally a little more mollycoddled than your average motorway hack.
That's definitely not the case with this particular car. It's a Superlight R that belongs to trackday company Bookatrack, and it's about to be retired after six years of faithful service.
During that time it's covered a whopping 157,000 on-track miles over the course of 600 track days and 1,000 different customers (proving the phrase 'one-owner' car doesn't necessarily mean all that much).
This isn't a Trigger's broom Caterham though. Even though it's been through 480 tyres, 300 brake pads and a whopping 1.575 million gearchanges it's still on its original engine and gearbox. Which is pretty impressive, given its not exactly easy life.
Interestingly, the Bookatrack Seven is also the last Superlight R built with a Rover K Series power plant.
To get your hands on this decidedly leggy Caterham, you'll have to stump up around £10K. As for whether its unusual history makes it a sound or stupid secondhand buy, well we'll leave that one up to you.
2006 Caterham Superlight R Price: £10,000 Why you should: You know it's been looked-after well, the price should be tempting Why you shouldn't: It has had a hell of a hard life
Quite interesting really, would have to be cheap tho. BTW Is that Chris H chasing it down the straight in his 4.0 GT3 RS? Saw one on the roada few weeks back.
Which is why light cars are good for the petrolhead and the treehugger.
My old 7 could lap round knockhill all day while the lardier trackday machines like scoobies etc would be doing ten laps before sitting the pitlane to cool down.
I presume because they want to invite potential buyers to open the bidding.
I'd say a similar car that's had a 'normal' life and mileage would probably be worth around £20k, so maybe if you went in with an offer of £12k and came out the other side having paid £15k you might be happy... but that's merely conjecture...
Interesting there's no price; it's not road legal, and has done lots of hard miles, so you'd think it would have to be one hell of a chunk less than current SuperLight Rs in the classifieds. I wonder how much to make it eligible for some of the Caterham race series though, which will probably be a good route for it.
To be honest, there is nothing particularly complex about the car and given that it's been a track car, it'll have been well looked after. The owners are not going to scrimp on maintaining the car as they know it is their duty to keep it in good order because people are paying to drive it. If the price was right, it could be a cracking buy for someone.
Interesting that they don't want to list a price, they either don't really know what a super leggy Catherham is worth or they're hoping someone will come in with a high offer.
Shameless plug for Jonny and the rest at BaT, but credit where credit is due. I've done a fair few TDs and without question they are probably the best indy TD operator IME.
They don't suffer people driving like dheads on track and ensure that anyone driving discourteously has the error of their ways promptly pointed out; be it dangerous overtaking or holding people up.
If you're looking for a nice safe environment in which to break your TD cherry, you could do a lot worse than BaT.
Good old K-series lump as well. I wonder if it's on it's original head gasket.
I knew someone would mention this. Arrrrrrrhhhhhhhh The K series was a great engine. I believe a relative of the K series is doing quite well in saloon car racing at present with a Mr Plato. Other car engines have problems, lets hear some of those or is it because we prefer to damn home grown stuff?
I knew someone would mention this. Arrrrrrrhhhhhhhh The K series was a great engine. I believe a relative of the K series is doing quite well in saloon car racing at present with a Mr Plato. Other car engines have problems, lets hear some of those or is it because we prefer to damn home grown stuff?
All sniping aside, I wondered the same thing, because that engine does (justified or not) have a reputation. It would be interesting to know if a regularly well used and maintained example had escaped the net.
My old Golf 16V made it to about 185k before needing a HG.
Good old K-series lump as well. I wonder if it's on it's original head gasket.
I knew someone would mention this. Arrrrrrrhhhhhhhh The K series was a great engine. I believe a relative of the K series is doing quite well in saloon car racing at present with a Mr Plato. Other car engines have problems, lets hear some of those or is it because we prefer to damn home grown stuff?
You miss understand me, I also think it's a great engine and I was wondering if ina light application such a s a caterham if it had avoided HGF. Because while it may be a great engine, they do suffer from HGF rather a lot.
Sadly Mr Plato's MG doesn't have a K series engine in it but the NGTC TOCA sourced engine.
I knew someone would mention this. Arrrrrrrhhhhhhhh The K series was a great engine. I believe a relative of the K series is doing quite well in saloon car racing at present with a Mr Plato. Other car engines have problems, lets hear some of those or is it because we prefer to damn home grown stuff?
Blimey...
Anyway, I'm in the "has to be for peanuts" school of thought.
heads on track and ensure that anyone driving discourteously has the error of their ways promptly pointed out; be it dangerous overtaking or holding people up.
