Caterham Superlight R500 | The Brave Pill
When it comes to highly-tuned Caterhams, daring is spelt with a K
Nobody likes to be too predictable, but regular readers will have noticed that Brave Pill definitely has a type. One that, most weeks, puts a tick against a majority of these boxes: large, complicated, German, powered by eight or more cylinders, worth less than a fifth of what it cost new - and able to deliver unexpected bills faster than sending your bank account details to that nice-sounding African prince.
That's obviously not the case this week. The Caterham Superlight R500 is as light and frill-free as any car can be, has a 1.8-litre four-cylinder engine, hails from England and - in impressive proof of the sturdy residuals that have always underwritten the brand's appeal - is being offered for just eight grand less than the £35,000 it cost when new 20 years ago. So a total bust against Pill's regular criteria? Well, not quite...
Daring comes as standard with any Brave Pill, and in the case of the Superlight R500 that comes down to the less-than-stellar reputation its highly tuned K-Series engine possesses for long-term durability. Or, indeed, short-term durability, thanks to the oft-reported need for low-mileage rebuilds. More than enough edge to justify featuring of what remains one of the fastest and most exciting sports cars of all time.
Colin Chapman's adage about adding lightness was never better applied than to the original Lotus Seven. As launched, it managed to deliver impressive rapidity using nothing more than a 40hp Ford side-valve engine. But although Lotus added more muscular powerplants later on it took the Seven's second era - after the sale of rights to built it to Caterham - to see serious progress being made on the other side of its power-to-weight ratio.
By the early 1990s punchier versions of the now digitized Caterham 7 were being offered with the GM's 'red top' 16-valve engine, which made up to 175hp in regular form and, in what was pretty much race trim, 250hp in the fondly remembered JPE special edition. Yet it was the arrival of what initially seemed like a considerably more sensible unit, the Rover K-Series, which unlocked a new era for Caterham performance.
There isn't room here to do much than touch on the story of the K-Series, but the general theme of defeat from the jaws of victory is common to many tales of the British motor industry. These days it tends to be remembered with all the fondness of that toilet blockage that flooded your house on Christmas Eve, especially by anyone who suffered from its well-documented tendency to blow its head gaskets.
But when shiny and new it was widely considered to be state of the art, and considerably cleverer that it really needed to be given its typical duty cycle was powering Alf and Doris's Rover 214 to the bingo. This was a light, rev-happy, all-alloy unit which soon proved to have a real appetite for being tuned. Power outputs for aftermarket versions were soon climbing, with few getting higher than the 230hp that Minster Race Engines extracted from the 1.8-litre version.
In 1996 Caterham had decided to create a road-legal but track-biased version of the 7, stripped of pretty much all the regular 7's limited creature comforts. While the normal car was hardly a lardy-arsed salad dodger, the Superlight absolutely delivered on its name by shedding trim, heater and even windscreen, while even gaining various bits of carbon trim. In its lightest form it tipped the scales at just 468kg. In the summer of 1999 Caterham did the obvious thing, combining the fully stripped body (an even lighter, 460kg one in fact) with the fully whipped K-Series, and the Superlight R500 was born.
The name referred to the car's horsepower per tonne, a figure that only the McLaren F1 prevented from being the biggest seen on any factory-spec road car up to that point. As a junior road tester I had never driven any Caterham before experiencing the Superlight R500 for the first time, which has to be a bit like joining the RAF and getting thrown the keys to a Eurofighter Typhoon on your first day. I had previously experienced both a Hayabusa-engined Westfield and also the V8 powered SEiGHT, which I thought would be some preparation, but it was immediately obvious that the Caterham was in a different league. In the same way that Athletico Madrid is in a different league to Accrington Stanley.
My contemporary write-up had a casual tone I clearly thought would make it seem I was entirely familiar with Exocet power-to-weight ratios: "even experienced drivers will find they need to serve an apprenticeship before coming close to the outer limits." Which, although strictly true, did little to convey the reality of what had been, by some margin, my most extreme automotive experience to that point. Two decades on I still remember the sort of superbike acceleration that made it hard to focus on objects, the R500's insatiable appetite for both its 9,000rpm redline and fresh gears thanks to the closeness of its transmission ratios. Also, just as clearly, the uncomfortable sensation of having to waddle around after getting out it in clothes squelching with cold sweat.
While pretty much all the write-ups were glowing, the R500 soon developed an unfortunate reputation for mechanical meltdown. Caterham had warned that the highly-tuned engine might need to be rebuilt after 3,000 miles of track use. That's a serious tally for even the most dedicated trackday junkies to run up, of course - but many saw the number without the proviso. It didn't help anybody when several early R500s did indeed suffer from catastrophic engine failure, often due to being 'buzzed' thanks to the narrow planes of its stubby gearshifter.
It was the K-Series's wider reputation that really put the boot in. If the base engine was unreliable then it stood to reason that the most highly tuned version must be the most prone to sudden borkage. I saw the effect close up when a friend bought an R500, but then put minimal miles on it, for fear of still having his name on the V5 when the music stopped. It was his dream car, yet he was scared of it, eventually selling it on because he couldn't enjoy it.
Yet the real kicker for the K-Series-powered R500 was when Caterham swapped its engine supply to Ford-sourced Duratecs. While the base engines were heavier, they were soon turned up to create similar and even greater performance, with the Duratec R500 (and its more powerful successors) having a much better reputation for holding together under hard use. Now the K-Series R500 trades at a substantial discount, even accounting for the difference in age.
Our Pill is being sold by the same specialist that sold it to its previous owner in 2014, and which has been looking after it since. Indeed, the same specialist - Andy Noble, at Sevens and Classics - who had a hand in the original development. Which is interesting. Enzo the hamster hasn't turned up the MOT history for this one, but it does look stunning in the pictures and the advert lists several significant upgrades. Beyond its engine the rest of the R500 requires minimal courage, being pretty much the same as any other high-spec Caterham of the era. That means it's tried, tested and - as somebody once put it - about as much fun as you can have with your trousers on. Even with the risk of that highly-strung engine factored in, the early R500 looks to be an outright performance bargain.
Personally I think an R500 is a bit over the top. Perhaps if you are doing lots of track days. But for road use an R300/R400 is more than enough.
I spent half a day yesterday in a Fraser - a NZ 7 Rep. 140 bhp and 600 kg. Yes for overtaking I would have liked a bit more zip but when I hit some really good back roads it was more than enough.
4 years in just need to be sensible with maintenance, have a contingency. I know I would have spent an fortune on a 20 year old 911 or 360 compared to this. Much different cars I know but either way only driven as a weekend or track car.
The fact that Caterhams don’t depreciate is how I’m going to try and convince wifey that they’re a great idea for the summer - if we get a summer season on the track this year.
However, the K series is a phenomenal engine and so right for a Caterham, in a way that the Duratec is not!
The 500 is extreme and i'd probably choose a version in a lower, more robust tune. I'd warm up gradually, cool down sympathetically and even accept a rebuild at some point (not expensive). Let's celebrate great cars.
If someone had done their research about the K series and the R500 it would have been a little better.
The facts;
1. A K series is ok at 230HP, it’s safe when not built by muppets.
2. Revs kill engines, and some R500’s rev high.
3. A duratec is a really dull power plant, and tbh the 7 in S3 chassis guise doesn’t need more than 200HP anyway, and can’t really exploit it on the road.
4. I’m glad they are trading at a lower value. If you know what you’re doing it’s not going to be a bad experience.
5. Caterham roller barrels are poor, great at WOT but other DTH bodies are much nicer to use.
6. 3000 track miles is a lot.
But hey, anyone with a K series R500 I’ll give you a tenner....
I would love to own one for track days though.
Having now been accepted rides in 3 Westfields because “its the same as you 7 mate” I’ve either been unlucky or they are all straight line hero’s but zeros in the corners, I guess the lack of the stressed skin and not being allowed to be like a 7 means they actually aren’t...
Anyway, poor article IMO, lack of research. K-Series HGF’s in a 7 are pretty rare, even the grenade spec motors like this because its hauling over a tonne less car around they don’t suffer the same strain I suppose?
Looks like a cracking can. I can promise you, if you have not been in a 7 you should put it on your bucket list- properly sending one on a country road, on a warm summer evening, cornering like it has a slot car magnet under the floor you will laugh your arse off that such things are legal.
Its a absolute toy admittedly but oh so very good, a straight shot of class A motoring.
I’d imagine the only thing comparable is a snorting quick sport bike (which FYI would need seriously pedalling to shake you in an R500, even a lesser 7, on a twisty road)
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