RE: Driven: Caterham Supersport R

[ewenm]

Maybe I should stop evangelising and keep the Caterham experience for the lucky few

[coppice]

The insurance premiums for Sevens are very low- which says a lot about the risk involved in owning one. I have driven them for 15 years and after the initial shock of what an intimate experience it is after normal cars you very quickly adjust to the extent that a daily driver feels so unwieldy, heavy, underbraked and sluggish that the Seven actually feels a cafer and better place to be. Unless you have driven cars this light many people would be amazed at how different a car weighing almost 1000kg less than typical daily driver can feel. Braking distances are astonishingly short and the overall feel is one of total control. Of course I wouldn't want to be hit in mine but your concentartion tends to be turned up to 11 when driving a Seven-no distractions like radio, hands free etc to interfere. But if folk don't like them it suits me- I know what they are missing

[ayseven]

There are two main problems with the type: it attracts an inordinate amount of attention everywhere you go, which gets tiring, and somewhat dangerous on a motorway, as somebody tries to film you driving along, instead of driving themselves. The second is that you have to have a lot of right foot discipline, or you end up backwards in a ditch.

It is like no other experience on the road, and the only thing that's close to formula car performance. It is completely mad, which is the whole point!

[Alex Gurr]

In my experience there is a direct correlation between the size of the thrill and the risk....it depends where you sit on that spectrum as to whether you get a 7 or not. I race one and use it a lot on the road and have honestly never given the consequences a second thought...but then I realise we all think differently.

[AVES]

I sit at home wrapped in bubble wrap and st myself if the doorbell rings - Is this the car for me?

[Fury1630]

I drive a Fisher Fury - a seven type chassis with a full bodyshell. I'd agree entirely with what the pros above (not "that" kind of pro) have said. To the cons I'd say the chassis is immensly strong - forged in a thousand motorsport chashes (the Fury & it's seven-alike, the Striker have been QUITE successful in racing) they are also extremely light, so it doesn't take much to stop them - you won't get a tree embedded 3ft into the front of a Caterham, because there isn't 2 tonnes of car still pushing from behind when the impact happens.

Yes, t-boned by a 4x4 is the nightmare scenario - so don't pull out in front of one then maybe?

[Hatchoo]

On the safety front, I'm embarassed to say that I have crashed a Caterham and although a wheel was ripped off and the front half of the chassis needed to be replaced both my passenger and I were fine. The chassis is very strong and a harness is much, much better than a conventional seat belt.

My pride however was severely injured.

[mattmurdock]

AVES said:

I sit at home wrapped in bubble wrap and st myself if the doorbell rings - Is this the car for me?

No, but I may be able to recommend some specialist websites or publications to you.

[Smitters]

Jeez - let the guy alone! He loves his kids. Commendable.

I've always approached the whole Caterham experience with a view that nobody wants to get in an accident. If I do as much as I can to safeguard myself, use my eyes, ears, mirrors and don't do anything stupid, then I'm really only open to plain bad luck. If I'm going to shirk that, I'll have to stop walking under ladders, poking tigers with a short stick and all my other hobbies.

Frankly, the car looks like the bargain of the century to me. Short work with a spanner and an aeroscreen for the summer/track, but still useable for a big roadtrip round Europe. Perfect.

[Schnellmann]

For all those belitting the comments about safety...how many have actually been in a life-threatening crash? Or watched someone you were riding with being killed in an accident? It is easier to dismiss the dangers if you haven't personally suffered the consequences (although of course not impossible: there are plenty of bikers and racers that have had big offs or seen people killed and carried on).

Having said the above, although I have reservations about safety in a Seven I still might buy one.

[ewenm]

Schnellmann said:

For all those belitting the comments about safety...how many have actually been in a life-threatening crash? Or watched someone you were riding with being killed in an accident? It is easier to dismiss the dangers if you haven't personally suffered the consequences (although of course not impossible: there are plenty of bikers and racers that have had big offs or seen people killed and carried on).

Having said the above, although I have reservations about safety in a Seven I still might buy one.

Very few I expect as most people won't have any life-threatening crashes in their entire driving career. It is up to the individual how significant the safety structures and systems in their car are in the unlikely event of such a crash. As said earlier it's about whether, for the individual, the extra risk of being in a Caterham AND having a serious crash outweighs the joy of driving it.

It's not about taking irresponsible risks, but nor is it about inflating perceived risk way beyond the actual risk of an activity.

[coppice]

Schnellmann said:

For all those belitting the comments about safety...how many have actually been in a life-threatening crash? Or watched someone you were riding with being killed in an accident? It is easier to dismiss the dangers if you haven't personally suffered the consequences (although of course not impossible: there are plenty of bikers and racers that have had big offs or seen people killed and carried on).

Having said the above, although I have reservations about safety in a Seven I still might buy one.

I wouldn't belittle safety for a minute nor would I do that daft 'live fast die young push the envelope ' riff which the more extreme biker will relay. I did lose a very close friend in a car crash (his fault -and it was a bloody Audi..)but frankly if you have any imagination you don't need to have lost somebody to make you think about risks when dricing anything. I drive my Seven with care but make progress when appropriate- and oddly I have never frightened myself in it whereas I have had a few buttock clenching incidents over the years in more mundane stuff. I think the typical Seven(including all Seven-esque cars)driver takes a lot of pride in their driving , possibly because you sort of feel rather on public view in such an odd little car

[tonys]

AVES said:

I sit at home wrapped in bubble wrap and st myself if the doorbell rings - Is this the car for me?

If you'd have said you wore ear-defenders to protect you from the noisy door bell, I'd have said 'not for you'. However, you're obviously happy to take some risks, so it's a 'maybe'

[tonys]

Itsallicanafford said:

housen said:

pretty sure is game over

proberly drive over you

either way when i had mine the thigh was right up against that thin tin they use as a shell

but was a fun car

Thanks for the info. Yeah, i thought as much, just cannot risk it at my stage of life (2 kids under 2.5 years)...the thought of orphaning them because a yummy mummy in a Range rover sport wasn't looking where she was going (excuse the stereotype)is a bit too much to contemplate.

You could always make allowances for the fact that some people just don't see you, either hidden by dips in the road (or the kerb ), in the same way that some motorcyclists do. The Range Rover analogy was a good one, I parked my 7 (close) behind a friend's Rangie on the drive, sat in the Rangie and with a quick look couldn't see the 7 in the mirrors. The rollbar was just visible if you looked closely. Just make allowances for it, or fit some very load air horns

[speedsix]

The Caterham is not about pretty looks.
Really loved the CSR with Cosworth engine I rented for a weekend a few years ago.
Drove superbly and I thought it looked stunning.

What I don't understand is what they have done with the rear axle on the one described here - the space between rear wheel and rear wing looks absolutly appalling.
Does anyone know what the necessity is behind this? The CSR did not have that and looked great.

[jason61c]

speedsix said:

The Caterham is not about pretty looks.
Really loved the CSR with Cosworth engine I rented for a weekend a few years ago.
Drove superbly and I thought it looked stunning.

What I don't understand is what they have done with the rear axle on the one described here - the space between rear wheel and rear wing looks absolutly appalling.
Does anyone know what the necessity is behind this? The CSR did not have that and looked great.

Going back to the car, I can't see why/how its so expensive? £25-28k before you even add bits pictured? Profit per unit must be massive.

[kambites]

jason61c said:

Going back to the car, I can't see why/how its so expensive? £25-28k before you even add bits pictured? Profit per unit must be massive.

Economies of scale, or rather lack of them.

[jason61c]

kambites said:

Economies of scale, or rather lack of them.

They've not got massive overheads, they sell a fair few also.

[B@W]

Value with any low volume car will always be a thorny issue.

A lot of people put value on gadgets and toys. I put value on the engineering.

Is an R500 worth over £40k: of course not - until you drive one.

I'd love a BAC Mono but £80k for a car with a single seat and no weather protection?

[m7a]

"especially if you’ve a capacious backside like your correspondent"

Hmm...not sure that's a great choice of adjective...

OED says: capacious, adj. Able to hold much