Caterham!.....wow great driving by Mr Stig-ness awesome control. http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=NQfEO-gIqSg
wow impressive. imagine what that car could do with more mechanical grip the stig easily lost another few tenths from sliding all over the place. masterful control on his part. i never realized the veyeron was faster around that track than an enzo that's mind-boggling considering how heavy the car is.
Gumpert Apollo on Top Gear (video) http://videos.streetfire.net/video/Top-Gear-Gumpert-Apollo_174124.htm
this is the caterham with carbon fiber everything and the little v8 right? EDIT: What's that car in the background?
Yes, more grip would result in a faster lap, but Stiggy sure looked like he was having fun out there!
The video is composed of several laps, it is not continuous, I am sure they chose the footage of the car sliding around to make it more exciting. That said, it was supposedly like 30 degrees outside when they did this and they could not get the tires warmed up enough, so the car could possibly go faster. A privateer took a CSR260 Caterham, which is a bit bigger and heavier than the R500, around the TG track in 1:17.4 in better conditions http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6hjM1VrElE I have an Caterham R400 (only 200hp) and it is an absolute riot, no Ferrari, Lamborghini, Porsche, etc I've ever driven is anywhere near as fun or as visceral, IMO the only [road legal] car that compares is an Atom. With 200hp it is extremely quick (0-60 in 3.8) and the handling is very forgiving and sliding the car around corners like in the video is not difficult. Of course it is a complete toy and not something you can really take the Mrs out on the town in (my wife puked in it ) No, the fenders and nose are CF, the rest is Aluminum, Engine is a 2.0liter 4 cylinder. You are thinking of the Caterham Levante which is sort of aftermarket and has a 400hp supercharged v8 in it, which is a bit ridiculous IMO
100% agree! Ferrari is WAY BACK on the scale of real road cars that go fast nowadays, as they seem to be focussing more on other things imho. Have not driven an Atom yet plan to do so in 2009 (at the track of course). Frankly, am amazed how amazingly fast a 'cheap' $20k track car (1999 F2000 Van Diemen chassis) with a paltry 150HP can do. Of course it is about power to weight. Some of the newer F2000 cars have the Zetec engine and when run fully open (not SCCA or PRO engine map restricted) it is said to be awe inspiring. Sad to see Ferrari losing their way and being totally trounced by much lower priced cars that are far less expensive to maintain.
Hate to say it, but as for Ferrari (except a few handfull models), few can compare with the top end Caterhams in pure fun and thrills Everything is you and the car, no electronical gadgets. Everything else is boring after a ride - all the noises (harsh mechanical noises), grip and handling is addictive... First Caterham experience reminds me the most of my first motorcycle experience. After I got of the bike, a normal car seemed like the most boring thing on earth.
Actually I love the design. I'm a big fan of wings and all that. It reminds me a bit of the Saleem, which I also like. Needless to say I loved to hear that they are working on the upside down idea. Something I've been dying to see one day. PS: I don't really get the excitement of the folks on here for the Caterham. That thing is pot ugly (looks like a car from the fifties or sixties) and I'm not sure I even call that a car.
I think the Caterham is a pure drivers car's, I don't like the look, but I don't like the look of the other car either. I love the look of Ferrari's don't care if they get trounced on track...
Funny, I find the Caterham to be great looking, especially in person where you can see how small and purposeful it is, and it makes no bones about having a vintage look, that is what is cool about it. The Gumpert is hideous, even in person it looks terrible, it looks slapped together with horrible fit and finish for a $300k+ car
I could be the only one on earth (except the designer himself) that thinks the Gumpert looks great. Certainly cannot argue with the performance. Despite understanding that the Lotus 7/ Caterham thing is all about the drive, I do not like the way they look at all. It shouldn't matter, but it does.
The Gumpert shouldn't even be allowed on their lap time chart, it won't clear a speed bump, as witnessed at Cars and Coffee a few months ago when it got stuck and people had to help lift it over
Gumpert gets caught on Speed bump http://www.autoblog.com/2008/07/27/gumpert-apollo-takes-on-america-foiled-by-speed-bump/
Seems to me that if the weather had been warmer than the reported 33° F for the R500 lap, it would have lapped faster than the Gumpert anyway. That lap looked a bit ragged due to the inability to get the tires up to anything near optimal temperature.
