Caterham R500 Superlight Details & Photos Emerge
Well, that was one of the most short lived teasers of recent memory. CarTribe.co.uk has busted the nut open just one day after we posted our smart teaser article. According to CarTribe, Caterham recently had a viewing of the vehicle and some press materials were made available.
Far from the rumored 2.4 liter superharged RS Performance V8 engine, the R500 will receive a reworked 2.0-liter Duratec Ford engine which pumps out 263bhp and revs to 8,500 rpm. Standard is a 6 speed manual transmission but as an option a Quaife 6 speed sequential transmission is available plus launch control. Unfortunately, no weight figures have been given, yet. Where's my calculator...
On the outside the R500 Superlight to non-afficionados looks exactly like every other Caterham, however, for those in the know, the R500 gets the CSR nose, aero wishbones, 13-inch anthracite wheels and clear lens tailamps.
The R500 Superlight costs a tear jerking £37,000 but teletransports itself to 60mph in under than 3 seconds!?! For supercar thrill seekers, that's a bargain...
The current CSR superlight gets 260hp and weighs 550kg. This model, has the same power. I am guessing the 500 stands for 500kg. Not really ground breaking, but for the price/performance ratio... it remains the car for people who dislike the looks of the Ariel Atom. I'd still like to find out the 0-60 times on the 500hp atom.
such amazing how light a car can be. And how it works then with "less" power
0-60 under 3 seconds...now that's the spirit!