Caterham RST-V8 Levante - 550hp!

[lateapex]

http://www.autoblog.com/2008/02/26/c...n-mark-scares/

PRESS RELEASE

Caterham announces official performance arm:
powerhouse V8 engine delivers 1,000 plus bhp-per-tonne

For those wanting an expression of British sportscar exclusivity, Caterham Cars has joined forces with RS Performance to offer the ultimate in bespoke Seven coachbuilding.

Caterham has long been the epitome of personalised motoring with almost every version of the 12,000 Sevens on the road differing from one another. The joint venture takes that famous philosophy to an altogether new level.

RS Performance is an exclusive, niche engineering house. Born out of the passion and pedigree of its founder, Russell Savory, it will offer an 'everything is possible' service to Caterham customers wanting cars truly 'built to order'.

Using the motorsport-honed Caterham chassis and benchmark technology as a cosmetic and engineering base, RS Performance, will "turn imagination into reality," says Savory.

The heartbeat of every RS-monikered Seven will be the unique RST-V8 engine.

With more than 16 years of development behind it by Russell Savory, the 40-valve, 2.4 litre engine reliably delivers an incredible 400bhp in normally aspirated mode, or over 500bhp as a supercharged varient, whilst weighing only 90kg in full running gear.

The unbridled lightness of the RST-V8 matched to the already featherweight Seven chassis delivers a power-to-weight ratio of over 1000bhp per tonne – more than double of a Bugatti Veyron.

This unique partnership will be open to customers looking for the ultimate in exclusivity, and carry a price tag to reflect the tailoring, detail and hand-built craftsmanship that will go into every RS-badged Caterham.

Validation of the engineering house's abilities comes in the form of the supercharged 'Levante'. This is the first Seven to rollout of RS Performance's Hertfordshire doors and which only seven more of this type will be available.

With a 12 week waiting time and costing over £115,000, this supercharged engineering masterpiece boasts a modern interpretation of the Seven's classic looks with a sophisticated electronics package with traction and launch control to help get the phenomenal power to the floor. Weight reduction runs throughout the car, from the carbon fibre interior finished with Kevlar seats down to the hosing used on the cooling systems

The RS Performance badge will sit alongside the established, and soon to be expanded, Ford powered Caterham Seven range.

"Caterham and Russell Savory have a long history, and this seemed a natural progression of that relationship and shared engineering philosophy," explained Ansar Ali, Caterham Cars managing director.

[shay2nak]

wow! i want the motor!

[IamBatman]

that is pretty baddass... I love the engine, new bodywork, and especially the hightech looking lights, but I don't understand why they kept the DeDion suspension.

and the wheels need to be BLACK.

[MightyMike]

This is my new dream car. It's a dragster that goes fast around corners.

[jallingt]

Looks a bit retro but still modern. Twin binnacles with small windscreens look great, I have a problem with six headlights.
Curious what the 2.4L V-8 looks and sounds like, I bet it will be rather "F1."

[Noble]

Originally Posted by jallingt

Curious what the 2.4L V-8 looks and sounds like, I bet it will be rather "F1."

I was thinking the same thing but it turns out the audio is quite different:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mx62obeje0o

Still very drool-worthy though

Noble

[PhlypSide]

Drooooool!

Alas, I think ~$230,000 (US) is abit out of range for many!

[V-RAPTOR]

Enough said!

[BusaLoco]

We've got half of that engine in our car!



Our se7en runs just fine on 4! ... Doesn't misfire or anything! ... and the whole project cost just $30,000!
(Of course we did have to assemble it ourselves.)

[mjf]

from the article:

500+bhp @ 10,000rpm
300 lbsft @ 8500rpm

and here's a nice standard option:

Two day driver training course provided on delivery of vehicle

[mjf]

Originally Posted by PhlypSide

Alas, I think ~$230,000 (US) is abit out of range for many!

To be fair: £115,000 = $161,195 in current exchanges. Still an awful lot.

[IamBatman]

Originally Posted by Noble

I was thinking the same thing but it turns out the audio is quite different:

Still very drool-worthy though

Noble

I know thats what it says on the description but it really doesn't sound like a v8 and the headlight is not the fancy 3 lens type in the picture..

[tvacc]

I have driven a lot of Sevens....and this does look nice.

but.....

The new Birkin is really great with the IRS and Wide track suspension. And you can get the 275HP Duratec for like 40K.

I am planning on driving one next month....and perhaps start to sell them.
edit...

It is not 400HP...but I think that without much more coaxing...you could get 350Hp out of a Duratec.

[mopho]

Originally Posted by IamBatman

I know thats what it says on the description but it really doesn't sound like a v8 and the headlight is not the fancy 3 lens type in the picture..

That's because it isn't the Levante. This thread is over a year old (bumped by a troll today that appears to have been deleted) and there are other threads about this car too

The RST V8 was put into a caterham years ago, but it was normally aspirated and about 380hp and that is what is in the video.

The Levante version adds a supercharger and brings the power up to 500hp (ridiculous)

Here is some video

YouTube - Veyron-Beating Caterham Levante - Part 2

[jallingt]

Is that a flappy paddle gearbox?

[ads_green]

The V8 caterham was entered in a sprint event against elises ages back. It lost to a 300bhp supercharged honda elise. the power overwhelms the car even with a skilled driver in control.

[IamBatman]

its seems a little ridiculous to me the people always think too much horsepower is detrimental to handling. just push down on the right peddle less!

I think the misconception comes from the fact that most "overpowered" cars are modded and have drivability and throttle response issues and the fact that that it requires more "restraint" on the driver when applying the power. Most "overpowered" cars are also built to go straight and have pre-'70s chassis (muscle cars and hot rods)

A properly engineered car with more horsepower will always beat a lesser powered car with similar suspension, weight and brakes