Daily Driving Caterham

[VictorS]

Hi guys,
I'm turning 16 and the country that i live in only allaws me to drive 3 or 4 wheeled automobiles up to 550 kg with 16.I allready know how to dirve pretty well and i'm thinking of buying a caterham kit and asembeling it with my dad I was thinking at first of an 160s but than i heard about the 270 sv .the only problem with the sv is ;i dont know if i can make it appear in the paperworks to weigh 550 or less .bowbody cares what it actually wieghs . I am open to other car sugestion im looking for a car with at least a mediocre ride and a daily drive aspekt to it



Thanks in advance

[bcr5784]

The Caterham cars site quotes the weight of the 270 as 540kg. However that will be a base car without any extras - windscreen, hood, trim - even paint and fluids will probably put the car over the 550kg. So it depends on how the 550kg is defined and if it will ever be measured.

[framerateuk]

Do you need an SV? I'd sit in one first before deciding. I was very uncomfortable in the SV I drove! Too far to the pedals and the gearstick was too far back (compared to the seat being all the way forward!).

[bcr5784]

Obviously SV will actually put the car over 550kg - and will unquestionally put the car over the limit if it actually weighed.

[Steve Campbell]

I'd look at the 160.

"Able to drive pretty well" can mean a lot of things. If you are race / track trained then a more powerful 7 won't be a problem. If you've driven around a field a few times it's a different matter.

A 7 as a daily driver needs a certain amount of commitment (especially when it's tipping down with rain or if you have snow where you live). What country ?

I'd also take a serious look at insurance costs for a Caterham before deciding unless daddy has ££££.

Good luck.

Edited by Steve Campbell on Tuesday 21st March 17:11

[VictorS]

i have trained on go carts before and i have a simulator at home,though i'd like to start with the 160 but i fell i'd outgrow it fast and i'm also thmpted by the 270 because of its sv chasis.Insurance wont be a problem ,i'll put the car on my fathers name so he has a lot of driving experience and has never had an accident .For the weather conditions i do have snow and rain in my country but i have un uncle who is an engeener and he'll help me build a hand made hard top to put on during the colder months

[Master Bean]

I think a Reliant Robin would suit you better.

[framerateuk]

There's a big difference between racing a kart/car on a circuit and driving a car on the road, with other traffic.

Honestly, as an every day car for snow and rain, I'd avoid and save your money for when you can afford something with a proper roof.

[bcr5784]

It's not clear from your posts what real skill you have. If, for example, you have kart race experience at (say) national level and you have obtained a car race license (assuming your race governing body imposes significant race license tests) then you may well be able to drive a Caterham safely. If not, I suspect, you are being over confident.

135bhp may not seem much but a Caterham 270 is still a fast car, and without any driver aids - no ABS, no stability controls, no airbags etc does required significant skill to drive safely.

[nigelpugh7]

Which country is it out of interest?

[VictorS]

you see i have raced in a national championship and was the 3 though im a bit sceptic aswell about the ideea that it has nearly no seafty measures so i could lean to an 160 ....but here comes an other problem i know that the one 160 is a blast (with its weight ) but after a full tank of fuel and 2 passangers you can feel its weight and given that im gonna ad maybe 100-150 with etrasto make it a daily driver (hand made hard top ,a stereo,a glove box,some other small extras maybe an a bit of luggage ) your gonna fell its weight even more thats why a 270 i find mor apropiate because with the extra weight of making it a daily driver its bhp per ton wont be 270 and yes it maight be a bit of a learning curve but i wont outgrow it as fast sa the 160 which i think with the extra weight would be overwhelmed wouldn't you agree

[VictorS]

nigelpugh7 said:

Which country is it out of interest?

i live in Romania

[nigelpugh7]

VictorS said:

i live in Romania

Ok thanks for the clarification.

I have a friend that lives in Romania, with two children without are 17 and 16, but he tells me neither can get a licence to drive until they're 18?

Romania

Cover, first, and last pages of the Romanian driver's licence between the 1970s and the 1990s
In Romania the driving licence (Romanian: Permis de conducere) is a governmental right given to those who request a licence for any of the categories they desire. It is required for every type of motorized vehicle. The minimum age to obtain a driving licence is 18 years. Regardless of age, in the first year after obtaining the licence the driver is called a beginner (Romanian: începător) and has to display on the windscreen and the back window of the car the distinctive sign (a black exclamation mark (!) on a yellow disk).

Beginning with 1999, the driving licence format was changed from that of a pink booklet to a credit-card sized card.

[VictorS]

nigelpugh7 said:

Ok thanks for the clarification.

I have a friend that lives in Romania, with two children without are 17 and 16, but he tells me neither can get a licence to drive until they're 18?

Romania

Cover, first, and last pages of the Romanian driver's licence between the 1970s and the 1990s
In Romania the driving licence (Romanian: Permis de conducere) is a governmental right given to those who request a licence for any of the categories they desire. It is required for every type of motorized vehicle. The minimum age to obtain a driving licence is 18 years. Regardless of age, in the first year after obtaining the licence the driver is called a beginner (Romanian: încep?tor) and has to display on the windscreen and the back window of the car the distinctive sign (a black exclamation mark (!) on a yellow disk).

Beginning with 1999, the driving licence format was changed from that of a pink booklet to a credit-card sized card.

You see you are not entierly correct because there is a driving licence b1 which was invented for atv but now a days there are cars which qualify the main requirement is that the vechicle must be under 550kg and it is and must be able to achive atleast 50kph the caterham is kinnda of a loop hole but completly legal

[Master Bean]

This guy is putting a stereo in a Caterham! May as well fit cruise and aircon to go with.

[coppice]

You don't actually need huge technical skill to drive a Caterham, let alone a bloody simulator(kids today eh ?) - but you absolutely do need restraint, foresight , judgement and common sense. I had none of those until my late twenties , when I started grudgingly to accept that I just might not be immortal. Buy something sensible.

[nigelpugh7]

VictorS said:

You see you are not entierly correct because there is a driving licence b1 which was invented for atv but now a days there are cars which qualify the main requirement is that the vechicle must be under 550kg and it is and must be able to achive atleast 50kph the caterham is kinnda of a loop hole but completly legal

Ok i didn't know about that.

But how will you be able to drive it at 16 as you can't take the actual test to get a licence until your 18?

[VictorS]

Too clear it out
a) i know how to dirve well im sure il handle a 160 still thinking about the 270
b) my father isnt rigged but i run a business which makes me enought money to own a caterham
C) i really want and need a car because of my business and motorsport enthusiast and the caterham is the only sporty option under 550 kg on the papers so ill make it work yes I'll be the first idiot to have a stereo in a caterham because its gonna be a daily and i dont care of this opinion
D) I'll make a hardtop so weather wont be a problem
E) the roads aren't that bad especially in my area which is in the wealthyer part of the country

[VictorS]

nigelpugh7 said:

Ok i didn't know about that.

But how will you be able to drive it at 16 as you can't take the actual test to get a licence until your 18?

You cant take the whole B category ;for b1 you can get your license from 16 and drive alone.
So that won't be a problem

[Eric Mc]

Why did you start two threads on the same topic?

I would suggest that having a Seven as a first car at the age of 16 is utter silliness.

They are not practical from a day to day point of view.

Even the humblest versions have a performance level way beyond your average family hatchback.

At the age of 16 the insurance needed to drive a 7 would be excessive.

Even if your country's driving licence arrangements allow you to drive a 7 doesn't make it sensible for you to drive one.

The ability to drive a kart around a kart circuit prepares you in no meaningful way to drive a car on the public roads - whether the car is a 7 or a Fiesta. Road driving is 10% about the technical ability to drive a car and 90% about real world road and situational awareness.