“I have got to get me one of these” August 31, 2007
Posted by openroadhire in Testimonials, What the Magazines say, cars, sports cars.add a comment
“I have got to get me one of these” (at least for a day)
As one famous Hollywood actor said “I have got to get me one of these!” (Will Smith, Independence Day).
Not that I expect you to race out and try to get your hands on the next space ship you see but I do expect you to call Open Road Hire and get your hands on a Caterham 7 for a day. Ok for most of the people reading this they won’t have even heard of a Caterham 7 but none of you had heard of “Google” a few years ago, including me. Now whilst one of these will help you find almost anything you want the other will give you as much fun as is legally possible with your clothes on!
As a few of you who either know me or have been reading my articles over the past couple of months you will understand that I have a passion for performance cars and that I have been fortunate to drive some of the best a cars on the market as well as having driven a number of road and race cars around a few tracks over the years. So when Andrew Still of Open Road Hire comes up with an idea that you can rent a Caterham 7 for a day (or longer if you wish) then I just had to get in touch with him and sample things for myself!
First of all though a little history lesson, the Caterham 7 is a car that takes it sole from the very best of British Motorsport having first been designed and produced as the Lotus 7 by, in my opinion, the best racing engineer of all time, Colin Chapman. He designed and built the car with a simple though in mind that it was a “race car for the road”. Take this along with the fact that the legendary late Jim Clark who raced for Lotus was born in Fife at Kilmany and you will soon realise that when you sit in the Caterham 7 you’re not just getting into a car but it’s like stepping back in time and getting a glimpse of what it was like to be them.The cars themselves are basic and that’s the way they should be. If you’re looking for all the modern day comforts then just get back into your box and “peddle on down the road”. These cars are built to be enjoyed for what they are, “open road sports cars”. Andrew was very kind in letting me try two of his machines. On the Saturday I was up early and picked up his 2004 registered Caterham at approx 9am. This car is the one with the K series Rover engine with the 6 speed gear box and will give you all the drive and excitement you need and then some. When you rent one of the cars you get a number of suggested routes to try so that you can get the most from your day but as the British Ladies Open Golf was on in my home town of St.Andrews I decided to head back there using some if the well known back roads through Fife that I have come to love. Once you work out how to put the “full harness” safety belt on and you’ve adjusted your seat to suit you soon realise that this experience is going to be fun! With the roof off, even if it did look as if it would rain, I was on my way with a “wee boy’s smile” on my face as if I’d just walked into the sweet shop to be told everything was free! The feel, the sound, the acceleration is something else. This experience isn’t all about driving fast it’s is about getting a chance to enjoy driving the way it should be. These cars are just a pure joy with all their quirky little switches for the indicators etc. Oh and you don’t need to worry about a heater your legs run along the side of the engine and there’s plenty heat coming off that to keep you warm in this lovely summer we’re having!The brakes the steering, in fact everything about driving one of these cars just tingles your senses. The steering isn’t power assisted and before you wimp at this thought just let me tell you that the car doesn’t need it. Having spent a full day driving in and around St.Andrews being stopped by friends and strangers who wanted a look at the car, to the little lads who would shout out “cool car mister” and even the tourists taking a photographs because they, like some of you, had never seen a Caterham before.
This is one “fun day out”I headed back to Perth later in the afternoon to meet Andrew where we talked about the drive and what I thought of the car. What could I say? Can I have another go please?I then jumped into one of his new 07 registered models which run on the new Ford engine and even before I started her up you can notice the subtle differences in the car. This one had softer seats, the steering wheel was a little chunkier and you were back to 5 gears. Starting her up you notice a different tone but this engine has a little surprise up its exhaust, it tends to backfire slightly. For any of you that have been close to a real race car you will know what I mean, it all adds to the fun! Back onto the open road and this one’s definitely a little more user friendly for the novices amongst you there’s not so much feed back through the steering as the dampers and suspension are softer on this model. This means that for those of you who may be a touch nervous about driving a Caterham, don’t be, it won’t bite.
I headed home toward St.Andrews this time taking the slower route through Newburgh towards Cupar and out the back roads towards Strathkinnes. There is something about driving at this time of night in an open top sports car that needs to be done to be appreciated. The only thing I didn’t appreciate was the call from my son to take him to the driving range, with a set of golf clubs! I managed but it was a bit of a squeeze.Sunday morning and it was time to head down the coast towards Crail and then around towards Anstruther and Pittenweem. The Pittenweem Festival was on so the roads were a bit busy which I didn’t mind because I wasn’t in a hurry I just wanted to enjoy the experience. By the way if you’ve never been to the Pittenweem Festival I can highly recommend it. Its arts and crafts etc. I then turned in land and took the back roads up through Largoward towards The Peat Inn. It’s around roads like this that you really get a feel of what a car like this can do. Don’t be afraid to put your foot down just make sure you know your limits and don’t push your luck. Then it was to the sad part of the day when I realised it was time to take the Caterham home, but not before I had one more blast up the back roads of Dundee to Coupar Angus and then down to Perth, I couldn’t resist it.
There are simply some things you have to do in life and hiring a Caterham from Open Road Hire has to be on your list. You will experience one of the best cars ever built and be able to take in some of that superb Scottish country side you have been talking about seeing. What could be more enjoyable?
Iain Sommerville, Motoring Correspondent, IS Magazine.
Test Drive July 25, 2007
Posted by openroadhire in What the Magazines say.add a comment
First Drive: Caterham R400 Superlight
May 21 2007
- What – Caterham R400 Superlight
- Where –North-west England
- Price – £25,995
- Available – Now
- Key rivals – Lamborghini Superleggera, Porsche 911 GT3, Ariel Atom, Westfield SEi, KTM X-Bow, Lotus 2-Eleven
Summary
Fittingly for its 50th birthday, the Seven is back with Ford power. The extra torque plus chassis and suspension modifications make it the best yet.
- Likes: Supercar performance without the price tag, agility, supple ride
- Dislikes: even supercars are more practical, lack of pedal and shoulder room on the standard chassis model
Click images to enlarge, more below
There are two new cars bearing the ‘Lightweight’ moniker. The first, the Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera costs £150,990, offers up 392bhp per tonne and will sprint to 62mph in 3.8 seconds. The Caterham R400 on the other hand, has a nice even 400bhp per tonne and matches the Lamborghini in the aforementioned benchmark sprint although it is a good 50 miles-an-hour shy of its 195mph top speed. But then it is one-sixth of the price and in fact £1,700 less than the outgoing model…
First impressions
Look at a Caterham and it’s rather difficult to tell where exactly the company’s engineers can strip weight from, since the entire thing looks like it weighs the same as a packet of crisps. Closer inspection reveals front cycle wings made from carbon fibre, matching the dashboard and the splashguards on the rear wheelarches. Standard Superlight spec also includes four-point racing harnesses and a wind deflector in place of a windscreen although the press car was fitted with such outrageous luxuries as a screen and heater, pushing weight beyond the standard 525kg.
Performance
Replacing the 1.8 K-Series with the 2.0-litre Ford lump has only led to a 10bhp increase in power to 210bhp and torque is virtually identical at 152lb/ft. But the way in which it is delivered has changed, the great majority of that torque now being available as low down as 4,000rpm, 16% more than the ‘K’ managed at that engine speed. Performance is, as mentioned, up there in the supercar league, knocking a tenth of a second from the previous R400’s 3.9 second sprint to 62mph. Road and engine speed apparently make not a jot of difference to the acceleration available which won’t tail off until twice the motorway limit, rather faster than would be prudent in such a tiny projectile on public roads.
The bare figures fail to convey the savagery of the acceleration – there’s enough torque to spin the wheels in the damp in the first four gears. The six-speed Caterham built gearbox has a set of very closely spaced ratios so a charge up through the ‘box requires deft coordination between feet and left hand as soon as the change-up light blinks to avoid running into the limiter. The side-exit exhaust with its beautiful four-into-one pipework now sits on the right of the car, exiting a foot or so from the driver’s ear and emitting a fearsome bellow out of all proportion with the car’s size – blipping the throttle on a downchange results in a deep boom like a shotgun blast.
Ride and handling
With such a low centre of gravity and so little intertia to overcome, the Seven changes direction with the sort of alacrity usually reserved for superbikes, never mind supercars. Diving towards the apex of a corner is accomplished by a mere roll of the wrists, the cycle wings making it possible to place the car to the nearest centimetre, let alone inch. Squeeze the throttle hard after the apex and in the first three gears there may be a squirm from the tail but it is easily caught and in fact grip levels are astonishing, only afterwards do you realise that you could have carried 10 or 20 miles an hour more speed into the corner.
The handling prowess of course is a given but the real revelation of this Superlight was the ride. The spaceframe chassis is now robot welded, improving torsional rigidity by 12%, vital if the De Dion tube rear suspension is to transmit all that power faithfully to the road surface through the relatively modest 15-inch alloy wheels and Avon CR500 tyres. The disadvantage of the non-independent rear suspension is of course the fact that bumps affecting one wheel will also affect the other but the Caterham engineers have worked wonders with the damper, spring and anti-roll bar settings.
A Caterham is never going to glide like a Jaguar but the crashes and shudders that would knock the previous car off its line over typical broken British B-roads have gone. Even a 200 mile motorway schlep proved comfortable with no aches and pains at the other end. There’s no longer any need to give manhole covers a wide-berth and the car will transmit its power cleanly without the wheels hopping and spinning the power away, helped by the standard fit limited-slip differential that allows gentle, progressive slides that are easily caught and neutralised.
Interior and safety
Carbon fibre dashboard or not, sliding down into a Caterham is very much a step backwards. A flat slab of black carbon fibre faces you, sprinkled liberally with unmarked toggle switches for lights, wipers, indicators and, well, that’s about it. Our car swapped the standard composite racing bucket seats for more generously padded items and a word of advice for Caterham novices – always to remember to do up your four-point safety harness before securing the door otherwise it becomes impossible due to the restricted elbow room.
The harnesses are basically the only safety equipment you will find in any Caterham, the fout-pot ventilated brakes are strong but lack ABS, traction control is provided by a delicate right foot and long travel throttle and the shirt-button sized steering wheel is far too small for an airbag. There is the security of a hefty rollbar behind the seats but anyone losing control in a manner likely to turn turtle in a car just 80cm tall probably has other things to worry about. Where the Caterham really majors of course is active safety – the swiftness with which it can both gain and shed velocity as well as change direction should keep it out of harm’s way.
The MSN Cars verdict: *****
Cheaper than the car it replaces, the R400 is the current pinnacle of the genuine De Dion Seven experience. The CSR may offer even more eye-widening acceleration but a different driving experience and a hefty price tag. We’ve no doubt there will be madder, badder models in the pipeline but for now this is the king.
Ratings out of five: Caterham R400 Superlight
| Performance | ***** |
| Interior | ** |
| Safety | *** |
| Price | **** |
| Practicality | ** |
| Fuel economy | **** |
| MSN Cars verdict | **** |
Drive one of these ON THE ROAD. Try before you buy? Why buy a weekend car at all when you can hire one?
We have 150hp SV Caterham Sevens for hire in Perth. Cut out the motorway drive and head for the hills: stunning scenery and fantastic roads. Leave the congestion behind and discover how much fun motoring can be. Hire a Seven
Test Drive Report May 23, 2007
Posted by openroadhire in What the Magazines say.add a comment
First Drive: Caterham R400 Superlight
May 21 2007
- What – Caterham R400 Superlight
- Where –North-west England
- Price – £25,995
- Available – Now
- Key rivals – Lamborghini Superleggera, Porsche 911 GT3, Ariel Atom, Westfield SEi, KTM X-Bow, Lotus 2-Eleven
[ Try before you buy or why buy at all? Why not hire one and hire it in Perth with easy access to miles of quiet mountain roads? Hire one. - note: our cars are SVs larger cockpit and have 150hp]
Summary
Fittingly for its 50th birthday, the Seven is back with Ford power. The extra torque plus chassis and suspension modifications make it the best yet.
- Likes: Supercar performance without the price tag, agility, supple ride
- Dislikes: even supercars are more practical, lack of pedal and shoulder room on the standard chassis model
Click images to enlarge, more below
There are two new cars bearing the ‘Lightweight’ moniker. The first, the Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera costs £150,990, offers up 392bhp per tonne and will sprint to 62mph in 3.8 seconds. The Caterham R400 on the other hand, has a nice even 400bhp per tonne and matches the Lamborghini in the aforementioned benchmark sprint although it is a good 50 miles-an-hour shy of its 195mph top speed. But then it is one-sixth of the price and in fact £1,700 less than the outgoing model…
First impressions
Look at a Caterham and it’s rather difficult to tell where exactly the company’s engineers can strip weight from, since the entire thing looks like it weighs the same as a packet of crisps. Closer inspection reveals front cycle wings made from carbon fibre, matching the dashboard and the splashguards on the rear wheelarches. Standard Superlight spec also includes four-point racing harnesses and a wind deflector in place of a windscreen although the press car was fitted with such outrageous luxuries as a screen and heater, pushing weight beyond the standard 525kg.
Performance
Replacing the 1.8 K-Series with the 2.0-litre Ford lump has only led to a 10bhp increase in power to 210bhp and torque is virtually identical at 152lb/ft. But the way in which it is delivered has changed, the great majority of that torque now being available as low down as 4,000rpm, 16% more than the ‘K’ managed at that engine speed. Performance is, as mentioned, up there in the supercar league, knocking a tenth of a second from the previous R400’s 3.9 second sprint to 62mph. Road and engine speed apparently make not a jot of difference to the acceleration available which won’t tail off until twice the motorway limit, rather faster than would be prudent in such a tiny projectile on public roads.
The bare figures fail to convey the savagery of the acceleration – there’s enough torque to spin the wheels in the damp in the first four gears. The six-speed Caterham built gearbox has a set of very closely spaced ratios so a charge up through the ‘box requires deft coordination between feet and left hand as soon as the change-up light blinks to avoid running into the limiter. The side-exit exhaust with its beautiful four-into-one pipework now sits on the right of the car, exiting a foot or so from the driver’s ear and emitting a fearsome bellow out of all proportion with the car’s size – blipping the throttle on a downchange results in a deep boom like a shotgun blast.
Ride and handling
With such a low centre of gravity and so little intertia to overcome, the Seven changes direction with the sort of alacrity usually reserved for superbikes, never mind supercars. Diving towards the apex of a corner is accomplished by a mere roll of the wrists, the cycle wings making it possible to place the car to the nearest centimetre, let alone inch. Squeeze the throttle hard after the apex and in the first three gears there may be a squirm from the tail but it is easily caught and in fact grip levels are astonishing, only afterwards do you realise that you could have carried 10 or 20 miles an hour more speed into the corner.
The handling prowess of course is a given but the real revelation of this Superlight was the ride. The spaceframe chassis is now robot welded, improving torsional rigidity by 12%, vital if the De Dion tube rear suspension is to transmit all that power faithfully to the road surface through the relatively modest 15-inch alloy wheels and Avon CR500 tyres. The disadvantage of the non-independent rear suspension is of course the fact that bumps affecting one wheel will also affect the other but the Caterham engineers have worked wonders with the damper, spring and anti-roll bar settings.
A Caterham is never going to glide like a Jaguar but the crashes and shudders that would knock the previous car off its line over typical broken British B-roads have gone. Even a 200 mile motorway schlep proved comfortable with no aches and pains at the other end. There’s no longer any need to give manhole covers a wide-berth and the car will transmit its power cleanly without the wheels hopping and spinning the power away, helped by the standard fit limited-slip differential that allows gentle, progressive slides that are easily caught and neutralised.
Interior and safety
Carbon fibre dashboard or not, sliding down into a Caterham is very much a step backwards. A flat slab of black carbon fibre faces you, sprinkled liberally with unmarked toggle switches for lights, wipers, indicators and, well, that’s about it. Our car swapped the standard composite racing bucket seats for more generously padded items and a word of advice for Caterham novices – always to remember to do up your four-point safety harness before securing the door otherwise it becomes impossible due to the restricted elbow room.
The harnesses are basically the only safety equipment you will find in any Caterham, the fout-pot ventilated brakes are strong but lack ABS, traction control is provided by a delicate right foot and long travel throttle and the shirt-button sized steering wheel is far too small for an airbag. There is the security of a hefty rollbar behind the seats but anyone losing control in a manner likely to turn turtle in a car just 80cm tall probably has other things to worry about. Where the Caterham really majors of course is active safety – the swiftness with which it can both gain and shed velocity as well as change direction should keep it out of harm’s way.
The MSN Cars verdict: *****
Cheaper than the car it replaces, the R400 is the current pinnacle of the genuine De Dion Seven experience. The CSR may offer even more eye-widening acceleration but a different driving experience and a hefty price tag. We’ve no doubt there will be madder, badder models in the pipeline but for now this is the king.
Ratings out of five: Caterham R400 Superlight
| Performance | ***** |
| Interior | ** |
| Safety | *** |
| Price | **** |
| Practicality | ** |
| Fuel economy | **** |
| MSN Cars verdict | **** |
Need to know
| Petrol engines |
2.0-litre, four-cylinder |
