RE: Caterham Levante Sold Out

[andrew.delamare]

Isn't the caparo's engine very similar to this one?

I seem to remember its a 2.4 litre V8 from Evo magazine. Same people or different?

[Stevie Mojo]

angus54 said:

Utterly pointless for £115k and in my opinion a complete rip off.

How on earth do they justify that money????

My guess is they build them for circa £30k tops and that includes build time.

Some people have more money than sense.

Just think what a garage you could buy for £115k and I'm talking used vehicles here....

Come on Angus, if any of us had any sense then we wouldn't be petrol heads in the first place. It's all about fun and that thing looks like a bucket full of fun.

[darth_pies]

stripy7 said:

darth_pies said:

angus54 said:

My guess is they build them for circa £30k tops and that includes build time.

The RST-V8 engine costs circa 40k on its own. So your guess is wrong.

2x bike engines, circa 10K, a bit of welding and a supercharger- behave

Wow, you make it sound so easy. I'll go and buy two R1 engines this weekend and do 'a bit of welding' and hey presto i'll have a reliable 500bhp V8 on Monday.

Oh wait, it took 16 years to develop, weighs 90kg, revs to 15k RPM, makes 400bhp (500bhp with S/C) and the only Yamaha OEM parts it uses are the cyclinder heads? Maybe not then....

[ro_butler]

andrew.delamare said:

Isn't the caparo's engine very similar to this one?

I seem to remember its a 2.4 litre V8 from Evo magazine. Same people or different?

I thought Caparo were going to use this engine but it didn't prove to be reliable enough?

[cvegas]

ro_butler said:

andrew.delamare said:

Isn't the caparo's engine very similar to this one?

I seem to remember its a 2.4 litre V8 from Evo magazine. Same people or different?

I thought Caparo were going to use this engine but it didn't prove to be reliable enough?

Caparo uses a detuned US race car engine.

I did read that the RS performance engine was also going to be used in the Atom?

[stripy7]

darth_pies said:

stripy7 said:

darth_pies said:

angus54 said:

My guess is they build them for circa £30k tops and that includes build time.

The RST-V8 engine costs circa 40k on its own. So your guess is wrong.

2x bike engines, circa 10K, a bit of welding and a supercharger- behave

Wow, you make it sound so easy. I'll go and buy two R1 engines this weekend and do 'a bit of welding' and hey presto i'll have a reliable 500bhp V8 on Monday.

Oh wait, it took 16 years to develop, weighs 90kg, revs to 15k RPM, makes 400bhp (500bhp with S/C) and the only Yamaha OEM parts it uses are the cyclinder heads? Maybe not then....

My humours wasted on you

[R16H OD]

I've had a ride in this - ABSOLUTELY AWESOME - took my breath away and I'll probably never experience anything as quick on 4 wheels again!

[dino ferrana]

It isn't merely two bike engines welded together it is a bespoke developed unit with just the heads remaining. If you had any appreciation of low volume manufacturing then you would realise that casting new blocks, sumps etc. is not cheap and is not "a bit of welding".

This is far froma chassis and an engine anyway, lots of custom designed very low volume carbon parts etc. which are serious money. The engine was going to be used by Caparo, but their power requirements kept going up and up as the projected weight did.

RS Performance RST-V8 Engine Technical Specification

Configuration
90° V8

Capacity
2.4 litre

Valves
40

Construction
Aluminium main frame with dry sump

Max Power
380 bhp @10,000rpm / 500+bhp @ 10,000rpm (supercharged)

Max Torque
190 lbsft @ 8500rpm / 300 lbsft@ 8500rpm (supercharged)

Gearbox
6-speed

Overall length
45.6mm

Overall width
45.6mm

Height
48mm

Weight
90kg

Service intervals
8000 miles (minor) / 30,000 miles (major service & belt change)


RS Performance ‘Levante’ Technical Specification

Price
£115,000 (dependent on specification)

Chassis
Caterham SV

Engine
2.4-litre, 40-valve RST-V8 supercharged

Max Power
500+bhp @ 10,000rpm

Max Torque
300 lbsft @ 8500rpm

Supercharge boost
0.8 psi

Gearbox
6-speed sequential, paddle shift option

Transmission
LSD

0-60mph (claimed)
Less than 3 seconds

Top Speed
150mph (limited)

Wheelbase
2305mm

Overall length
3530mm

Overall width
1685mm

Height
1140mm

Weight
From 520kgs

Suspension
de Dion rear, Nitron 3-way adjustable shocks all corners

Wheels
Image Billet; front 8 x 15, rear 10 x 15

Tyres
Avon CR500; front 195/45-15, rear 245/40-15

Brakes
Hi Spec; front 280mm vented, rear 260mm.

Exhaust system
BTB 2 x 4-2-1 rear exit

Dashboard
Farringdon and SPA design

Driver aids
Traction Control, Launch Control

Additional
Two day driver training course provided on delivery of vehicle

[fuzzymonkey]

angus54 said:

Utterly pointless for £115k and in my opinion a complete rip off.

How on earth do they justify that money????

My guess is they build them for circa £30k tops and that includes build time.

Some people have more money than sense.

Just think what a garage you could buy for £115k and I'm talking used vehicles here....

Not really, Ive seen that car in real life at that airfield. Its mostly made from carbon fibre so that pushes up the price and everything else is made from trick aluminium bits.

[wiler]

I have driven it at north weald this week with new paddle shift system developed by quaif the term fast isnt enough to describe this car the linear power delivery means that traction is fantastic even without traction control and handling well its a caterham and thats what they do best more fun than anything else money can buy trust me

[sprinter885]

I can't think there would be many people who genuinely would say "If money no object etc.... I still wouldn't have one" -if only for use on closed (straight ) roads.

..with helmet, fireproof suit ..and probably a bible under your butt as extra safety.

[custardtart]

darth_pies said:

angus54 said:

My guess is they build them for circa £30k tops and that includes build time.

The RST-V8 engine costs circa 40k on its own. So your guess is wrong.

But you can buy a Hartley V8 which is essentially the same engine minus the supercharger for $20000 US which is probably circa £13K imported. Still, as has been pointed out, they sold the lot! Is that possibly more a comment on Caterham owners? Headline, "Caterham owners spend extra £80k to not get their own hands mucky!"

OK, I'm sorry, that was a bit harsh

[compact_23]

I really like it!

The sound on the youtube promo vid is amazing, let alone in reality!?

If I had silly amounts of money to play with, i'd splash out on one =)

[LukeBird]

Madly, brilliantly wonderful!

[GPSS]

If money was no object, I would definately have one. I had an old 1.8 roadsport for a while when living in Spain. A caterham on a good road with the sun shining is one of lifes great pleasures. I have also been in a few of the MK indy BEC's R1 with 4 secs 0-60 mph.
I think if you gave some of those kitcar builders a budget of 30K they could build you a BEC with near as damn it performance though.

[anonymous-user]

dino ferrana said:

Max Power
380 bhp @10,000rpm / 500+bhp @ 10,000rpm (supercharged)

Weight
90kg

Service intervals
8000 miles (minor) / 30,000 miles (major service & belt change)

SERIOUSLY impressive if true.

(gimme an old school r500 any day though)

Edited by fbrs on Friday 17th October 17:54

[Wilder]

sidesauce said:

Maybe it's just me but there absolutely no way I could ever justify spending that much money on a car like this, regardless of how much I was worth.

Good luck to those who own them though, I think the term "widowmaker" is definitely applicable here.

These souped up 7s are known as BEC = bike engined coffin...this one certainly fits.

[exocet ape]

But i think if they could 'weld' two 1098 dukes 'together' chuck on(sticky tape might do) a custom Termignoni system. Now that would sound sweet

[Paperboy]

Wilder said:

BEC = bike engined coffin

It really pisses me off when someone makes a sweeping statement like that without basing it on anything factual, it shows complete ignorance. I've seen many 7's that have been crashed and the passenger cell holds up well. In the most bent one the steering column was measured to have only moved 10mm. Things like wings, wheels and wishbones often get ripped off but the more of them that do the better as they're absorbing energy as they do so.

Next time you feel like making statements like that get educated first.

Edited by Paperboy on Friday 17th October 19:00

[mylesmcd]

love it. would want a cage tho. aswell as the lid, suit, boots. gloves and bible.