First Se7en

[cyderbelly]

Hi all bit of an old git (47) getting in to Se7en's always admired them (20 years plus) and have just sold my last and final sports motor bikes. Been looking at Se7en's for about a year what should I go for? Got £36K to spend driven a R300 on the road which was 10/10. But being as I am I like the power and resale of the R500 is this motor going to be too much for general road use, travel over to France and the odd track days?

R400 is a happy in between! so much to chose from also CSR 200/260.

I do by cars for life however and it will be a polished love of my life and never resold. Also the wife will drive it too but not in reverse!

This is my dream car and I need to get it right. ...R500...wife like Leather seats. Please help. Chris.

PS do you have a Se7en for sale must be a superlight/csr.

[Dave J]

if your after performance then the R500 will deliver but also tootle around in 5th gear at 30mph. It's very tractable.
leather seats can be fitted no problem.
if your very tall - over 34" inside leg or more than 16 stone a csr or sv may sit you better and be more comfortable .

[coppice]

R400 with roller barrels will keep you smiling- lots of go (allegedly only 10bhp more than the standard 210bhp but feels a LOT more), great noise and fine in town , track or touring. Lots of b**cks about how thirsty they are - if you habitually use full throttle it wil drink fuel but on Planet Earth where there are speed limits, traffic etc it's barely more thirsty than standard R400

[Some Gump]

OP, for driving to france, you want a roadsport, not a superlight!
If you are going R500, don't go sequential (too loud on road), or race damper (too hard). You'll want the weather gear / heater, too =)

[Steve Campbell]

I have a 2008 R400D .... to be honest, any more power would be completely wasted for me except for on the track....and 400bhp/tonne is quite enough for my skills on track anyway.

For me the R400 is a happy medium as it will plod around the roads on a fine summers evening when you just want to drive steadily (like a purring pussycat....) and is like a raging tiger when you put the foot down....all the R500's I've seen seem to be more tiger than pussy cat and would be too much for everyday summer use for me.

It will depend on how much you want to use it and for what in the end.

We all succumb to upgraditis at some point (I used to have a 1.6 ss).......although I can't see me ever wanting more than the R400 can give unless I was only using it on the track ... and my first spend would be on me with driving tuition and not the car as it's way better than I am :-)

I'll be driving it down to Le Mans for a track day in August.....

Edited by Steve Campbell on Friday 15th June 12:55

[coppice]

Some Gump said:

OP, for driving to france, you want a roadsport, not a superlight!
If you are going R500, don't go sequential (too loud on road), or race damper (too hard). You'll want the weather gear / heater, too =)

I have done some very long -500 mile + - days in both 5 and 6 speed cars and quite honestly there is not alot in it except on motorways. The 6 speed does get abit frenetic at 85 plus but Sevens are so noisy anyway it hardly matters. The ideal for a Duratec car would be a 5 speed with decent ratios I think.

[Some Gump]

coppice said:

I have done some very long -500 mile + - days in both 5 and 6 speed cars and quite honestly there is not alot in it except on motorways. The 6 speed does get abit frenetic at 85 plus but Sevens are so noisy anyway it hardly matters. The ideal for a Duratec car would be a 5 speed with decent ratios I think.

I agree. However, I was referring to the 6 speed sequential box, which is very, very loud indeed - by far the dominant noise, even at full chat.

[philmorton]

I would look at the CSR260. If it's more than just the ultimate track day screamer you want then you've more comfort and similar power to the R500. I confess to making one my first 7 and have not regretted it at all (and it's fantastic on track). We've gone for headsets and intercom though as long journeys were a little painful.

[ian2144]

My first and current se7en is an SV with a R400 dry sump spec K series, with a 5 speed box

love it to bits. But, I do have that CSR260 itch ??

[ChrisG C2S]

I have a very well spec'd 2011 R400 Duratec I'm maybe looking to sell. It's only done 1350 miles. It will be going on the market for a fair bit less than your budget.
Let me know if it's something you might be interested in and I'll forward you the full details.