caterham levante v6

[rossb]

thought i was pretty much acclimatised to quick 7's - i have had one for years with an alloy bdg and took it for a play last weekend for the first time in ages - it was good / bordering on irresponsible fun on the road and gave a few friends an insight into brisk motoring in a brick shaped sportscar

yesterday was over at Russell Savory's and had a passenger ride in a levante - with a v6 2.2 with rotrex/sadev sequential etc - 510 bhp with low boost - 600 possible - probably weighs about 690kg (think approx 740-870bhp/tonne) - looked reasonably innocuous had a screen - no badges - only the central stack derived dash with 12000 rev counter and twin two box silencers either side hinted at was to come. not ridiculously noisy although at road speeds the sadev box was clearly agricultural at road speeds

we went for a gentle pootle around the lanes to warm things up - traction control turned off - and then with an empty straight - he used half throttle and short shifted at 8500 rpm. forget cammy 4 pot 2 litres - this thing has proper torque

i can assure you a priest would struggle not utter a stream of profanities the first time he experienced that level of acceleration - at approximately a ton - clean wheelspin for about 20 yards - he then shortshifted as i uttered a few expletives and then burst out laughing in shock.

i promise you - untill you have been in one and you think a 300/400/500bhp/tonne 7 is quick you will not believe the other worldly g that these things pull on acceleration - it has really recalibrated my understanding of the word quick. i went on to a meeting afterwards and could not stop babbling and had pupils which suggested i had been liberally sampling some pure colombian marching powder.

inevitably you find yourself asking the question of how much - which is £100-130k if you are interested. i asked what happened if you revved it out and used full throttle - apparently with traction control switched off it can get a bit exciting on a bumpy road but the power delivery is just linear fk off stomp. Obviously it's a road legal track car really - Russell told me a customer took his to a trackday in France recently and completely monstered an MP4.

We all know you do not need to have that much power to have fun in a 7 - of course you don't - but it is nevertheless utterly intoxicating/stupid/brilliant. I want one. I salute the lucky few who have got a Levante.

I am now on the way to my local - a quick detour for some Euro lottery tickets will be in order - it would be another toy that would get hardly used - but fk me - what a way to blow out the cobwebs

Edited by rossb on Friday 9th August 19:00

[mickrick]

You like it then?

[Toaster]

Nice write up had me smiling.................must buy a lottery ticket

[Noger]

Isn't it a V8 ?

Or is he now S/Cing a V6 ? Interested to know the derivation if it is.

But as the OP says, the Levante is mind-warpingly fast. To be honest I didn't like it at first, it was all too much. I know, MTFU !

[rossb]

Noger said:

Isn't it a V8 ?

Or is he now S/Cing a V6 ? Interested to know the derivation if it is.

But as the OP says, the Levante is mind-warpingly fast. To be honest I didn't like it at first, it was all too much. I know, MTFU !

No - V6 is latest derivative - supercharged - they have done a number of derivatives i think based on original engine architecture. did not see under the bonnet but it is obviously going to be shorter - and even with rotrex might be lighter - i am not sure - i seem to recall they said that the V6 can run more boost too when you are chasing big numbers. they have a 2.4 v8 in build for a customer - n/a - which i think on balance might be the one as at least you get a chance to max it out on a long enough road - and the sound is fab from the n/a v8. so saying on a track with big run off areas like silverstone and slicks fitted the s/c car must be amazing. sadly not a spec choice dilemma i need to ponder at the moment! the pneumatic actuated paddle shift was pretty hardcore too - cumbersome at traffic speeds - but when you are opening the taps - both hands on the wheel seemed like a good plan...

[DaveK-S1]

The latest V6 is based on Yamaha 1150cc triple snowmobile engines on a 120deg angle iirc , i think Russell reckons on 380bhp Na , not sure on the S/charged version , but i suspect 500 wouldn't be too far off the mark.
Looking at the install RIF did with the V6 a few years ago, when it was first shown,it all seems remarkable low in the chassis , and the sound must be superb

[Risky]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTQwjolJJtA

RIFs car project will be for sale shortly if anyone is interested.

[Pdelamare]

Risky said:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTQwjolJJtA

RIFs car project will be for sale shortly if anyone is interested.

The RiF car is mine now, it was delivered back to RS Performance to complete.

Hopefully it should see the light of day in a month or two. I'm really looking forward to experiencing it for the first time

[cambuscat]

Having known Richard (and Henrietta) I am glad that his car is finally going to see the light of day. It was a hugely ambitious project and must have consumed a frightening amount of money. Please keep us updated on your progress and vid of your first drives.

David

[DaveK-S1]

Would be good to see how this engine works in a CSR chassis

[Pdelamare]

cambuscat said:

Having known Richard (and Henrietta) I am glad that his car is finally going to see the light of day. It was a hugely ambitious project and must have consumed a frightening amount of money. Please keep us updated on your progress and vid of your first drives.

David

Yes, bills to complete outstanding tasks aren't of the low value variety unfortunately, it is a £120k car afterall. But, it will be done asap. I've had possession of it since Jan 17th and quite a bit has already been achieved by RS, they don't hang around!

I've already booked Silverstone GP on May 26th for its first proper trackday, there'll be shakedown tests at North Weald and more suspension tuning at Bedford Autodrome in March/April to get it all ready.

[rubystone]

Pdelamare said:

Yes, bills to complete outstanding tasks aren't of the low value variety unfortunately, it is a £120k car afterall. But, it will be done asap. I've had possession of it since Jan 17th and quite a bit has already been achieved by RS, they don't hang around!

I've already booked Silverstone GP on May 26th for its first proper trackday, there'll be shakedown tests at North Weald and more suspension tuning at Bedford Autodrome in March/April to get it all ready.

Brave man indeed I costed that car with a word in Russell's ear and decided to beat a retreat. It isn't a £120k car really...you are basing that on what a Levante costs and the finished car isn't a Levante; it's a unique car built to Richard's spec; and that's not meant as an insult; Richard was a perfectionist.

One tip, don't go for the paddle shift...I am sure Russ has already advised you on that?

Btw for anyone interested, Russell does have a Levante V8 for sale. And whilst it isn't cheap, it is a chunk below 6 figures...

[Pdelamare]

rubystone said:

Brave man indeed I costed that car with a word in Russell's ear and decided to beat a retreat. It isn't a £120k car really...you are basing that on what a Levante costs and the finished car isn't a Levante; it's a unique car built to Richard's spec; and that's not meant as an insult; Richard was a perfectionist.

One tip, don't go for the paddle shift...I am sure Russ has already advised you on that?

Btw for anyone interested, Russell does have a Levante V8 for sale. And whilst it isn't cheap, it is a chunk below 6 figures...

The finished car will be registered as a a Caterham Levante Superlight. The only main difference is the S3 chassis, whereas the usual Levantes are SVs, and all alloy panels have been replaced with CF. Everything else is Levante really, motor/clutch/box/prop/diff, instruments,ECU, brakes, suspension (SV DeDion), fuel pump, fuel tank, looms, lights, cooling, exhausts, etc. There won't be a windscreens or wipers, that's another difference.

I'm not particularly bothered about the cost of the car, except for insurance purposes, as a crashed Levante suffered £87k worth of damage on the M1 a while ago. When asked what this car would cost bought from RS, the answer was £120k. I'm not in the habit of making stuff up to keyboard race my cars or motorbikes

Russell advised to run the motor and box in first and then activate the paddle shift system.

Edited by Pdelamare on Saturday 8th February 22:26

[rubystone]

Pdelamare said:

The finished car will be registered as a a Caterham Levante Superlight. The only main difference is the S3 chassis, whereas the usual Levantes are SVs, and all alloy panels have been replaced with CF. Everything else is Levante really, motor/clutch/box/prop/diff, instruments,ECU, brakes, suspension (SV DeDion), fuel pump, fuel tank, looms, lights, cooling, exhausts, etc. There won't be a windscreens or wipers, that's another difference.

I'm not particularly bothered about the cost of the car, except for insurance purposes, as a crashed Levante suffered £87k worth of damage on the M1 a while ago. When asked what this car would cost bought from RS, the answer was £120k. I'm not in the habit of making stuff up to keyboard race my cars or motorbikes

Russell advised to run the motor and box in first and then activate the paddle shift system.

Edited by Pdelamare on Saturday 8th February 22:26

Of course. I had forgotten that it doesn't have an identity yet. I guess Russ will strip it back though; it had been half assembled when I looked into it? Also, Dave Mountain told me he couldn't be sure the spec of the engine was up to date...but easy to check now it's in Stow Maries I guess! I look forward to seeing it in the flesh.

[Pdelamare]

Yes, Russell has had the motor and gearbox out to install a few missing clutch parts and to sanity check the installation. All good, though it had standard SV drive shafts so those had to be upgraded, and the motor spec is up to date.

There'll be a 'project closure' article in the club mag with Henrietta and everyone else involved at the unveiling, plus I'll attend some club events with it as well.

[ayton 1]

The three Levante's that were built are all V8 engines. If yours is the V6, its a lot different motor !

[Pdelamare]

ayton 1 said:

The three Levante's that were built are all V8 engines. If yours is the V6, its a lot different motor !

There have been significantly more than 3 Levantes built, and the v6 motor is the latest design being both lighter and more powerful. It is offered in the Levante cars and also the Birkin Blower 7 in South Africa.

[ayton 1]

Pdelamare said:

There have been significantly more than 3 Levantes built, and the v6 motor is the latest design being both lighter and more powerful. It is offered in the Levante cars and also the Birkin Blower 7 in South Africa.

Pdelamare, the original idea behind the Levante was a ltd run of SV body cars in monster black fitted with the S/Charged RSTV8 engine, & there was only 3 of these built, one in France, one in the North East & the accident damaged one from Manchester that was rebuilt . There are various other caterhams from RS with V6 & V8 engines fitted. But 3 proper Levante's.
Good luck with yours, it will be some car when finished !

[Pdelamare]

Ok, thanks for that. Look for it in Low Flying magazine

[Dave211]

V6 Levante for sale here http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/c...

They also have a v8 version.....choice, choices for some lucky devils