If you're thinking of investing 60k in
a new Caterham-Lola SP/300.R
to race next year, there are only eleven build slots left.
Caterham pledged to build only 25 examples of its new 300hp 'aero' machine for its first racing season, and managing director Ansar Ali expects the remaining cars to sell quickly.
"We are delighted with the way the car was received at the Autosport show in January. It's the first new model Caterham has built for 15 years but, even so, we were bowled over by the reaction and the interest, which led to several deposits being placed almost immediately.
"There are many more people who have registered their interest in buying the remaining 11 cars so I'd anticipate that our order book will be filled quite soon."
As well as individuals, several teams have placed deposits with Caterham to buy cars. The first team to order a SP/300.R was Staffordshire-based Fauldsport, the reigning Caterham Superlight R300 Teams Champion, which placed deposits on three cars.
Racing starts in 2012, when Caterham motorsport manager Simon Lambert expects a grid of around 20 cars - a handful are going overseas and thus won't enter the series.
"We'll be tied in as a part of the support package for F3 GT, and will have grids that look very healthy for sports prototype racing," he says.
On top of the purchase price, the race fees and registration will add about £5k to your budget, and there'll be limits on tyre usage to make sure costs don't spiral. Although dates have yet to be confirmed it's hoped that at least one round will form the climax of a Caterham racing festival including the Academy cars.
As for a road car version mooted in the press release when the car was revealed in January, don't hold your breath says Simon. "When somebody asks us if we'll do one, we ask them if they're going to buy it. If they say 'no', so do we, but one day somebody will probably say 'yes' and we will!"
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