Anyone own or drive a Caterham/Lotus Super 7?

[Ronbo]

Being tall surprisingly isn't an issue, as they have tons of legroom. Chris Tchorznicki of Sevens & Elans is 6'3"-ish and fits just fine. I'm 5'7" and have to have the seat all the way forward for a comfortable driving position. A problem is if you have wide feet, as the pedals are very close together and hitting the brakes and throttle at once is too easy to do.

[agrimmitt]

Twobone: I had one in high school for a year, since my father owned a British repair shop. It's not a fun car in wet or cold weather, but you will fall in love with it time you take it up a canyon road. And at an autocross what a blast to drive. It's a true sports car, with little in the way of comfort. But next to my Sunbean Tiger the best sleeper I ever owned; and would buy it back in a second! You want it in British racing green and in you face yellow!
Hope you get one, a true motoring legend!
Art

[ERH]

You know you want one....

[Mark Morrissey]

Seems weird posting these on a Porsche forum but, what the heck...
My shots from the 2009 Equinox Hill Climb

[N11Porsche]

They are fast and fun to drive, 2 out of 3 isn't too bad.

[dan79brooklyn]

My Father in Law has one (and a 993) super fun car to drive, amazingly impractical, and uncomfortable for long periods of time however.

Here I am with my son after a nice drive (in Japan).

BIG SMILES

[twobone]

Huge respect for that driver!

I shouldn't be surprised by the correlation of 911 and super 7 owners.....

I hope to join this group soon

[MikeD930]

dan79brookyn,
Looks like you and your son had a blast in your Super 7!

ERH,
About the video, what happened at 2:11? Why did the Super 7 driver had to fight for a second to keep the 7 straight right after he got passed? Did he hit a bad bump? You can tell the Super 7 has great handling.

[ERH]

At about 1:50 he is getting air at Flugplatz with little drama (not being in the car). At about 2:12 he goes airborne again and I have been told that is a combination of a slight hill and perhaps more importantly front end lift at 150ish MPH.

Here is the view from the Porsche:


For the hard core Houston to San Francisco with a group of Sevens in 2005.....
USA2005 - An American Roadtrip

I met them in Vail. It was truly a great trip. If you are happy touring on a motorcycle you will enjoy touring in a Seven.

Ed

[pmason]

Its one of those cars I would love to drive. Years ago the mechanic I used had one in which he put a 911 engine in it, he used for SCCA AutoX, the oil tank pretty much sat in the passenger seat. Joked his oil temp gage was his hand reaching over to the filter.

[JohnCh]

I have a 993, and a Westfield. Se7ens (the generic term for cars inspired by the Lotus Seven) and 911s make fantastic stablemates. Both cars have great turn in and beg you to use the throttle when cornering. Although with the Westfield, there is a delicate balance between using the throttle to plant the rear end and using it to invoke power oversteer in almost any gear The two cars also share similarities in that they aren’t for everyone, but if they are right for you, it’s an unholy connection. As ERH wrote earlier, I’ll have one until I can no longer can get out unassisted.

As for safety, before I bought mine, I thought I would avoid freeways, and only use it on weekends to blast down winding roads. Turns out I was wrong. Freeways aren’t a big deal, I take it to work on nice days, and use it as my weekend runabout, including trips to the grocery store and Costco (although not when I’m doing a lot of damage to the debit card). Think of it like a motorcycle that’s a lot harder to tip over at a stop light. Comfort isn’t an issue for me – in fact my wife and I did 4000 miles in two weeks in the car a few years ago.

Definitely check out usa7s.com if you are interested in learning more about the cars. Good community with helpful folks.



-John

[twobone]

Joh is that a Westfield (Miata powered)? Right now it seems like that is the only want to get into a Seven up here in Canada.

Did you build it up from a kit or buy it used?

Feedback on complexity of the design?

My current thought is to buy the kit, take it as far as I can and then hire my friendly mechanic to take it to completion including the drivetrain install.

[twobone]

PS. I love that picture....it perfectly captures my automotive day dream....except mine has my kiln red 84 carrera fronted by a British racing green Westfield

[JohnCh]

No, it’s their standard kit, not the Miata SDV, and is powered by a 2.0L Duratec with various Raceline bits. The car has had two lives. One, when it was purchased used from a friend (original owner) and the second when it was rebuilt from a kit.

It started out as a crossflow-powered car built by the US distributor for magazine tests (it was the test subject in the 3/96 issue of Road & Track). About 7 years ago I tore the car completely apart and rebuilt it with all new parts with an aim of making it lighter, faster, and more focused. About the only pieces that carried over were the frame, rear suspension arms, F&R uprights, driveshaft, rear brakes, fuel tank, most of the wiring harness, and windscreen. Everything else, including the body, engine, trans, suspension, diff, front brakes, and interior were replaced. Weight went from 1405lb to 1238lb and power from 120hp to 210hp. It was such a massive transformation that I consider it my second Westfield.

I don’t think the cars are very complex to build. Most of the trouble I ran into was because I did a lot of non-standard things. Although the Duratec is now the standard engine in the Westfield (and the Caterham), I was one of the first to install the engine in a Westfield and one of the first to install it in a left-hand drive se7en. Consequently I was a bit of a guinea pig for some of the conversion parts and had to do a lot of extra work. I also deviated from stock in a lot of other ways (some of those are highlighted here) so it took extra time as I figured things out.

Unless you don’t have any mechanical skill, there is no reason you can’t finish the car yourself. Even installing the drivetrain is dead easy. It is not like a normal car – there aren’t a lot of pieces to remove, and everything is easy to reach. For example, last weekend I removed the wet sump to fix an oil leak. In less than an hour, I had the car on jackstands, engine hoist attached, starter removed, the block separated from the bell housing, and the old sump off - and I am a slow wrench. If you don’t have a hoist, you can buy one for <$200 and then sell it for $125 on Craigslist if you don’t want to keep it.

-John

[twobone]

Much appreciated John. Thanks for the inspiration!


I really wish Canada did not have such tight laws against specialty vehicle manufacturing. "Kit cars" are an absolute no-no up here. It sounds like Westield Mazdas via Flying Miatas have found a way around it based on the degree of Miata parts used. They have followed the lead of Factory Five Cobras in terms of compliance to Canadian regulations.

[JohnCh]

The North America distributor for Westfield and the guys at Flyin Miata are good people who provide great customer service, so you are in good hands if you decide to go that route.

I’m assuming you are already aware of Flyin Miata’s Westfield forum that focuses on the Miata-based cars, but you should also check out the WSCC forum for general Westfield info. It is a very active Westfield club in the UK with an enormous knowledge base.

-John

[Hansi]

I own a 993 turboS and a Caterham Superlight R400. I use the 993 for trips across Europe, but I use my Caterham when I want max fun, including track days with the Porsche-club in Norway.
The Caterham weigh approximately 500 kg, and has 200hp (hence R400 - 400hp per ton). It`s extremely quick, and I urge you guys to buy one

[jpnovak]

If you are interested in a DIY version with a little different look you should check out this site.

http://www.exocars.net/

There are several manufacturers that create a similar low mass, high power car that would really scoot. I like the Nemasis single seater. I am saving funds to build my own Sonic7. Most of these kits use the Ford focus as a donor.

[Thrlls]

Very interesting...sub

[Rekced]

I'm surprised that no one has posted this yet as a Canadian source.
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