Conundrum - 911 or Caterham?
Discussion
My conundrum: to sell my 2022 992.1 911 GTS cabriolet and buy a Caterham Seven 360 or stick with the 911.
As a teenager in the early 90s, I built a Caterham with my late dad and got to drive it once or twice when I turned 17. I have fond memories of both the build and the drives. I since ans long ans I can remember I’ve always wanted a Porsche. That itch has been scratched with a Cayman 4.0 GTS, a 991.2 GTS coupe and now the 992.1 Cabriolet, which I feel very lucky to own and am more attached to than any car I have owned before (40 and counting, plus a few sports bikes). The Porsche is a weekend car with an electric Audi S6 as a daily. I don’t have the space for a Caterham and the Porsche so the Porsche would have to go to make room for the Caterham. Use for the Caterham would be similar to the Porsche - weekend jaunts and road trips. They’re both such different cars, am I mad to be considering this switch? Would I regret letting the Porsche go? How to solve this conundrum?!
As a teenager in the early 90s, I built a Caterham with my late dad and got to drive it once or twice when I turned 17. I have fond memories of both the build and the drives. I since ans long ans I can remember I’ve always wanted a Porsche. That itch has been scratched with a Cayman 4.0 GTS, a 991.2 GTS coupe and now the 992.1 Cabriolet, which I feel very lucky to own and am more attached to than any car I have owned before (40 and counting, plus a few sports bikes). The Porsche is a weekend car with an electric Audi S6 as a daily. I don’t have the space for a Caterham and the Porsche so the Porsche would have to go to make room for the Caterham. Use for the Caterham would be similar to the Porsche - weekend jaunts and road trips. They’re both such different cars, am I mad to be considering this switch? Would I regret letting the Porsche go? How to solve this conundrum?!
Obviously as you say they are very different cars. Is there a halfway house between them that could help tick both boxes? Lotus perhaps?
Ultimately if the most important thing is the raw lightweight experience of a Caterham then a 911 cab is quite a long way from that so if you can’t have both you’ll have to scratch the itch and let go of the 911.
I’d imagine they would complement each other rather than replace one another though so if you can, find a way to keep both!
Ultimately if the most important thing is the raw lightweight experience of a Caterham then a 911 cab is quite a long way from that so if you can’t have both you’ll have to scratch the itch and let go of the 911.
I’d imagine they would complement each other rather than replace one another though so if you can, find a way to keep both!
They are very different cars - size, weight, refinement, style, practicality. Quite a few Caterham owners also have a 911.
Road trips in a 911 will be a LOT easier than the Caterham. You could daily the 911, you wouldn't want to daily a Caterham, but it does make a good toy
I think my wife would rather be a passenger in a 911 over a Caterham. Not so sure about the kids
I guess it depends on how 'exciting' you want your weekend jaunts to be.
Road trips in a 911 will be a LOT easier than the Caterham. You could daily the 911, you wouldn't want to daily a Caterham, but it does make a good toy
I think my wife would rather be a passenger in a 911 over a Caterham. Not so sure about the kids
I guess it depends on how 'exciting' you want your weekend jaunts to be.
Edited by benp1 on Thursday 16th July 19:31
Edited by benp1 on Thursday 16th July 19:32
Ignoring other options as mentioned above it comes down to this;
Does your fun mileage involve trips within a 50ish mile radius of home or do you regularly venture further afield?
The Caterham is a wonderful steer and a must do. But, and it’s a big but, they are a pain if you want to travel further.
Does your fun mileage involve trips within a 50ish mile radius of home or do you regularly venture further afield?
The Caterham is a wonderful steer and a must do. But, and it’s a big but, they are a pain if you want to travel further.
It looks like it's fairly easy to hire a Caterham for a few days eg https://www.highlandcaterhamhire.com/
Why not make a short break and hire one for a trip around a fun part of the country. That way you'll be able to judge how viable it would be for you for road trips.
Either you'll decide it's not a viable 911 replacement, in which case at least you've had the experience and learned, or you'll fall for it and have a good sense of what you're looking to buy.
The two biggest things in my mind going for the Caterham would be.
- every trip no matter how short would be an adventure, and longer trips would give you a sense of achievement.
- it would still be fun when stuck behind a car doing 45.
plus you have done the 911 thing so, time to try another toy and while I don't know how old you are, you (we all are) only getting older. So you could go back to a 911 later?
- every trip no matter how short would be an adventure, and longer trips would give you a sense of achievement.
- it would still be fun when stuck behind a car doing 45.
plus you have done the 911 thing so, time to try another toy and while I don't know how old you are, you (we all are) only getting older. So you could go back to a 911 later?
Elise, Exige V6, Tuscan.
I love a Caterham on track but they are too uncomfortable and exposed for the public road imo. By contrast I took my Elise to the Alps for an early summer jaunt. Even an Atom has so much more safety structure around the passengers.
sounds like the itch is already there and there's certainly more weekend fun than a 992, but I'd be broadening the search.
I love a Caterham on track but they are too uncomfortable and exposed for the public road imo. By contrast I took my Elise to the Alps for an early summer jaunt. Even an Atom has so much more safety structure around the passengers.
sounds like the itch is already there and there's certainly more weekend fun than a 992, but I'd be broadening the search.
Mr Tidy said:
For weekend jaunts and road trips I'd be keeping the Porsche.
A Caterham might be fantastic on a twisty back road or a track, but I wouldn't want to drive one on a Motorway.
Alternatively why not sell the daily, use the Porsche for that and have a Caterham to go with it?
What's wrong with driving a Caterham on a motorway. Apart from no cruise control it will sit at 70 quite happily. A Caterham might be fantastic on a twisty back road or a track, but I wouldn't want to drive one on a Motorway.
Alternatively why not sell the daily, use the Porsche for that and have a Caterham to go with it?
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