RE: Caterham R500

Wednesday 18th June 2008

Caterham R500

The new R500 is not just a car - it's a sensory overload, writes Adam Towler



The Caterham R500: a Molotov cocktail on wheels, diminutive, outrageously loud, obscenely quick… We all have our treasured R500 references, whether we’ve felt the force ourselves or know it from devouring ecstatic prose and provocative images of a Seven teetering on the edge of lunacy.


The original Rover K-series-powered car has become a landmark, especially in even more highly strung Evo form. It’s a synonym for sheer accelerative ridiculousness: the car that offered a little bit more when there was already more than enough. And now the people at Caterham have done it again – taken a regular Seven narrow chassis (not the CSR model) and stuffed the nose with as many fireworks as they could find.

Actually, it’s a great deal more complicated than that. Caterham has put the already anorexic Superlight on an even more self-loathing diet, paring back an additional 9kg over the R400. Note the use of carbon-fibre for the wings and thinner aluminium for the bonnet, along with other detail tweaks such as aluminium rear light clusters.


Up front sits a heavily tuned 2.0-litre Ford Duratec engine equipped with roller-barrel throttle bodies and, if so specified, a carbon-fibre airbox. Result: it produces a substantial 263bhp. However – and this is where Caterham is keen to draw a line under the old car – it has been mapped to provide a wholesome but progressive mid-range to make the car more driveable on the public road and more friendly to drivers of a wider range of ability. The initial – and optimum – mapping provided more power but was notably less friendly, apparently, which is frightening and strangely alluring in equal measure…

Adjustable Bilstein dampers are fitted as standard, with a track-biased Eibach set-up available as an option. In fact, you’ll be tempted to spend quite a bit on options for this car because they include a launch control system and a sequential six-speed gearbox for £2950. Let’s face it: who wouldn’t be tempted by that?


The R500 also features tiny carbon winglets on the nose cone and introduces a new dashboard with fancy back-lit buttons – not that you’ll give a damn once you’re underway.So, now to the big question: just how fast is it? Well, simple maths will give you a fair idea of the enormity of performance on offer here. So with apologies for my awestruck behaviour to the lucky few PHers who frequently experience a car with over 500bhp per tonne and who can therefore portray a cool air of mild indifference, for the rest of us I’ll say just this: it is completely outrageous.

Driving around and mining the mid-range power, yes, this car feels seriously quick. And thanks to the very loud exhaust fitted to this example, it sounds very quick in a wonderfully guttural, typically four-cylinder manner. But when the right moment arrives and the revs climb beyond 5500rpm, a whole new world opens up before you.

How to describe this sensation? Well, in this new world there is nothing but the road and you. Scenery – in fact, anything that exists beyond the kerb – is void, blurred through speed and the way time compresses right down so that only the vital functions associated with driving and surviving remain. There is no time to look at the scenery.


There is barely even any time to notice the shift lights. The Caterham guys told me about that particular aspect in advance but I didn’t really take it on board fully until I’d experienced it myself. Sure, the brain sees a few different colours flashing away in the peripheral vision, but there’s no time to focus on them, even for a microsecond.

When the R500 is in ‘the zone’ – yes, a cheesy expression but one that sums up the situation – it is utterly insane. It can do 0-60mph in 2.9sec and I’m not surprised. As you accelerate through this ‘zone’, things happen so quickly, especially on a public road with the close proximity of road furniture and scenery, that it becomes hard actually to see anything.


The vibration generated by that engine going nuts adds significantly to this sensation. Before you know what’s happening, you’re lifting your foot off the throttle a tad and pulling back firmly on the gearlever at 8750rpm without even thinking to use the clutch. The accelerative process then continues unabated well into three figures. This Caterham still pulls strongly well over 120mph.

The sequential ’box is fantastic. Yes, it’s pricey – and fearfully noisy all of the time, although I’ve always found that there’s something exciting about the whine of straight-cut gears – but you get used to its banging and clonking around town. In normal driving it’s recommended to use the clutch all the time but, as mentioned, you can forget it when you’re changing up in a hurry.

It is easy and understandable to be overwhelmed by the R500’s pace, but the chassis is nicely sorted, too. It has great Caterham qualities in the steering and chassis balance, and although it will spin the rears easily – it must be crazy on a wet road – it’s not snappy or too uncompromising in character. Presumably, as with the driveability of the engine, Caterham has worked hard to get the right balance between thrills and fear.  


During my time with the R500, there were times when I simply wished to drive it no longer. It defeated me, and I heaved my tired frame from the cockpit, lifted my stinking, sweaty lid from my head and staggered around, red faced, wide eyed, dry mouthed, more or less out of it. But on every occasion, without fail, as soon as the minutes started to tick by, I felt utterly compelled to jump back in again and experience that manic rush once more. Why? I suppose it is just part of the human condition: a primeval need to push oneself and experience life’s extremes.

Days later I find myself mourning the lack of an R500, wishing it was tucked up at home ready for a drive with no destination or particular purpose. It’s just that kind of car. It may well cost more than most of us can logically justify on such a vehicle, and it doesn’t offer twice the thrills of a good Roadsport (which is half the price), but if you can afford it the R500 is an essential experience.


On sale: now

Price: £36,995

Engine: Ford Duratec i4, 2.0-litre, 263bhp, 177lb ft

Transmission: 6-speed manual / 6-speed sequential optional

Performance: 0-60mph 2.9sec / 150mph

Weight: 506kg (516kg with seqential ’box)

Size: 2225mm w/b, 3100mm length, 1575mm width, 800mm height

Author
Discussion

Dagnut

Original Poster:

3,515 posts

192 months

Wednesday 18th June 2008
quotequote all
Is it better than the 300bhp Ariel Atom?

1st_petrolhead

1,430 posts

237 months

Wednesday 18th June 2008
quotequote all
Hmmmmmmmmmmm, very tempting smile

1st_petrolhead

1,430 posts

237 months

Wednesday 18th June 2008
quotequote all
Dagnut said:
Is it better than the 300bhp Ariel Atom?
Would be interesting to see a back to back test. Was in an Aton last thursday and very impressed with the power delivery

sprinter885

11,550 posts

226 months

Wednesday 18th June 2008
quotequote all
Loopy, bonkers beyond belief & I would never buy one.
Doesn't stop me wanting a damn good thrash in one tho' hehe

What about Atom V8 ??

Oli S

214 posts

198 months

Wednesday 18th June 2008
quotequote all
sprinter885 said:
What about Atom V8 ??
Watch this space!wink

Edited by Oli S on Wednesday 18th June 12:33

VladD

7,853 posts

264 months

Wednesday 18th June 2008
quotequote all
1st_petrolhead said:
Dagnut said:
Is it better than the 300bhp Ariel Atom?
Would be interesting to see a back to back test. Was in an Aton last thursday and very impressed with the power delivery
They did one in Evo in one of the last few issues, with the Brooke RR as well I think.

What are roller-barrel throttle bodies and how do they differ from normal throttle bodies?

BigBen

11,610 posts

229 months

Wednesday 18th June 2008
quotequote all
VladD said:
1st_petrolhead said:
Dagnut said:
Is it better than the 300bhp Ariel Atom?
Would be interesting to see a back to back test. Was in an Aton last thursday and very impressed with the power delivery
They did one in Evo in one of the last few issues, with the Brooke RR as well I think.

What are roller-barrel throttle bodies and how do they differ from normal throttle bodies?
Seems the Atom and Crate come out about honours even in most tests with the Crate tending to have a slight edge. The reasons for this are many but in the main Caterham have gone racing for years so have a much more developed product and front engine rear drive should be less of a handfull on the limit.

V8 Crates and Atoms due soon !

Ben

The Black Flash

13,735 posts

197 months

Wednesday 18th June 2008
quotequote all
VladD said:
1st_petrolhead said:
Dagnut said:
Is it better than the 300bhp Ariel Atom?
Would be interesting to see a back to back test. Was in an Aton last thursday and very impressed with the power delivery
They did one in Evo in one of the last few issues, with the Brooke RR as well I think.

What are roller-barrel throttle bodies and how do they differ from normal throttle bodies?
I think they use a kind of sliding door as the throttle instead of a butterfly, so you don't have the restriction caused by the butterfly axle.

Fume Troll

4,389 posts

211 months

Wednesday 18th June 2008
quotequote all
VladD said:
What are roller-barrel throttle bodies and how do they differ from normal throttle bodies?
http://www.sevenbuilder.com/id/53/lumenition-roller-barrel-throttle-bodies/

Cheers,

FT.

Mars

8,670 posts

213 months

Wednesday 18th June 2008
quotequote all
The Black Flash said:
I think they use a kind of sliding door as the throttle instead of a butterfly, so you don't have the restriction caused by the butterfly axle.
Dave Walker @ Emerald did some back to back test with roller TBs and Jenveys and found no measurable differences.

It's not a sliding mechanism... that'd be sliding TBs. These look more like the inside of a washing machine water tap. Only much bigger.

atom-ick

110 posts

193 months

Wednesday 18th June 2008
quotequote all
sprinter885 said:
What about Atom V8 ??
What about the V8 Caterham?!!

In answer to the above question, i am lucky enough to have been in both an Atom 300 and the new R500(all be it very briefly in the R500 and it was mainly a passenger ride by the sales guy at Caterham) - the Atom feels every bit as quick due to the "hurricane" effect due to lack of body work.

However, the R500 is brutally, mind bendingly fast and utterly relentless due to the sequential box - i have to say (and without sounding a bit girly) i was genuinely, utterly and completely shocked by the R500's pace. More importantly, i think you can use it more of the time. I am not unexperienced in fast cars either - i have owned both an Atom and a Caterham before.

In combination with this, the figures say it all - in EVO's track test a month or so back the R500 was quicker around the track and had a higher peak speed on the straight.I am probably more than a bit biased as i have convinced myself to buy one but even so, i do really like the atom (i bought one of them too!)but i think the R500 has upped the game.

I want one so much - just waiting for the missus to give me the thumbs up and a finance quote.

Mick

SpunkyM

250 posts

243 months

Wednesday 18th June 2008
quotequote all
Yeh, it's getting close to the performance of a 600cc sports bike. Herein lies the problem for me - it's about as practical as a bike, you have to wear a helmet, you never actually go anywhere in it (mad weekend blast around your favourite B roads and back home) and it's probably just about as dangerous as a bike.... BUT the bike costs £6K, this costs £36K.

Just can't justify it to myself.

Nice article though, well written with a real sense of what it might feel like to experience that sort of shocking acceleration (for those that have never owned a sports bike).

Edited by SpunkyM on Wednesday 18th June 13:28

cater_racer

29 posts

230 months

Wednesday 18th June 2008
quotequote all
IMHO this kind of vehicle is totally unsuitable for road use, the problem is 2 fast 2 furious 2 many idiots. Lets see it on the track asap.

paulejacobs

118 posts

244 months

Wednesday 18th June 2008
quotequote all
"0 - 60 2.9 seconds"

Has this ever been verified by any unrelated source, such as Autocar?

Many car manufacturers are a little optimistic with their figures sometimes!

LukeBird

17,170 posts

208 months

Wednesday 18th June 2008
quotequote all
Mars said:
The Black Flash said:
I think they use a kind of sliding door as the throttle instead of a butterfly, so you don't have the restriction caused by the butterfly axle.
Dave Walker @ Emerald did some back to back test with roller TBs and Jenveys and found no measurable differences.

It's not a sliding mechanism... that'd be sliding TBs. These look more like the inside of a washing machine water tap. Only much bigger.
RTB's will only ever give more power at maximum throttle opening as the odd shape of the sliding barrel creates very turbulent air heading towards the inlet valve. Whereas when the throttle is fully open, there is nothing to obstruct the airflow (obviously no throttle butterfly valve in the way, disturbing air).
Interesting they mention Carbon Wings, which are AFAIR standard on the R400 as well... scratchchin
Those Carbon 'winglets' on the nose are inspired by those on the CSR as well. nerd

crofty1984

15,830 posts

203 months

Wednesday 18th June 2008
quotequote all
My fury has 130bhp and I reckon low 5's high4's if you get it just right, so 2.9 with the cat's power and *shudder* launch control doesn't seem unreasonable. Provided you can get it to the tarmac.

AdamMX-5

2,406 posts

225 months

Wednesday 18th June 2008
quotequote all
atom-ick said:
just waiting for the missus to give me the thumbs up and a finance quote.

Mick
Presumably she won't give you the finance quote until she's given you the thumbs-up?wink

tomTVR

6,909 posts

240 months

Wednesday 18th June 2008
quotequote all
So its quite nippy then?

derestrictor

18,764 posts

260 months

Wednesday 18th June 2008
quotequote all
cater_racer said:
IMHO this kind of vehicle is totally unsuitable for road use, the problem is 2 fast 2 furious 2 many idiots. Lets see it on the track asap.
I'm sure the communist zeitgeist currently dismantling western economies will deliver you from this fret soon enough.

In the meantime, excellent review. thumbup

filski666

3,841 posts

191 months

Wednesday 18th June 2008
quotequote all
Oli S said:
sprinter885 said:
What about Atom V8 ??
Watch this space!wink

Edited by Oli S on Wednesday 18th June 12:33
WHAAAAAAAAAT!!!! lick a V8 Atom!!!.....ok you have my attention......tell me more!!!!