Automobiles Review

Tag: Ford Duratec

  • Caterham Cars offers two new models to US customers

    Caterham-Seven-480_thumbCaterham-Seven-480_651

    The British sports car maker Caterham Cars has unveiled two new versions of its iconic Seven, designed for the US market – the Seven 480 and Seven 360.

    The creation of the two new models comes as a response to increased interest towards the brand on the US market and this is the reason why both models will go on sale immediately. Both Seven 480 and Seven 360 models are powered by two-liter Ford Duratec engines with the Seven 480 offering a bit more power. It can reach 0-100 km/h (0-62 mph) in just 3.4 seconds thanks to an engine that produces 237 bhp (240 HP/176 kW) of power. Top speed is 140 mph (225 km/h). The Seven 360 reaches 0-100 km/h (0-62 mph) in impressive 4.9 seconds thanks to an engine with 180 bhp (182 HP/134 kW) of power. Top speed is 130 mph (209 km/h).

    The Caterham Seven was first created in England over 40 years ago and is now one of the most recognisable British sportscars. The Seven is famed for its distinctive, classic styling, lightweight structure and legendary performance and handling. Sevens are shipped to the USA in part-built form and sold as rolling chassis via Superformance’s nationwide dealer network for customers to then complete personally.

    The Seven 360 can be yours for USD 44,900, while the Seven 480 starts at USD 52,900.

    Source: Caterham Cars

  • 2012 Caterham SP 300 R

    Finally, the mighty Caterham SP 300 R will be ready for testing by the customers. They will get the chance to put the new car through its paces for the first time on Thursday, 1 March. This race car is built with only one purpose – to give maximal thrills to its driver. The project is co-developed by Lola Cars and will sit alongside the legendary Seven in Caterham’s product portfolio.

    “The SPR is very quick and a little like a formula car in that I could feel the downforce working and giving it lots of grip and balance. It was great fun to be able to give it a blast in Jerez and I look forward to testing Caterham’s road and race cars more often.”, commented Heikki Kovalainen.

    “We can’t wait to see how our customers react to the SP/300.R, it’s a real thrill to drive and very engaging so we know they’ll love it. These coming weeks are the culmination of a massive effort from a big team of people and we are very close to achieving our objective, so it’s very exciting for everybody involved. Over the coming months, there will be numerous opportunities for people to experience the SP/300.R.”, Simon Lambert, Caterham Motorsport Manager added.

    The SP 300 R is powered by a 2.0 liter Ford Duratec engine with 304PS (224 kW), which is coupled with a Hewland semi-automatic FTR gearbox. The overall weight is just 600 kg (1 323 lbs). This means a power-to-weight ratio of 500BHP per tonne.

    The performance is astonishing – 0-100 km/h in 2.5 seconds and a top speed of 274 km/h (170 mph).

    Other interesting point are the full race suspension, 13” race rims with Cooper Avon Tyres, an integrated roll-cage, a 6-point harness, a fire extinguisher and fuel cut-off switch. There are also AP racing brakes and steering wheel with data display.

    The price for this toy is £60 000.

    2012 Caterham SP 300 R
    2012 Caterham SP 300 R
    2012 Caterham SP 300 R
    2012 Caterham SP 300 R

    Source: Caterham