CRAZY Caterham 620R - Is it TOO POWERFUL ?!
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- Опубликовано: 23 авг 2024
- 311bhp...535kg...6 speed sequential box...is the 620S the perfect track weapon or does it have much power to handle ?
I'm spending 2 weeks with Caterham's most hardcore 7 ever. There is no doubt it is an awesome car to drive. I give you a good look at the details of the car and then go out on the road for a full on adrenaline fix !
A huge thank to Caterham UK for lending me the car. If you've never driven one you really should. Get in touch and they can arrange a test drive...
uk.caterhamcars...
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Imagine being a tourist and you see some Brit flying by in a yellow kitcar, yelling at an imaginary passenger
LOL 😂😂
Great review, I have had mine for over a year and covered 9000 miles including a trip to across Europe. Completely mental thing to drive but very sedate when you get used to the clutch.Love it!
"If you can leave two black stripes from the exit of one corner to the braking zone of the next, you have enough horsepower." - Mark Donohue
What a great quote !
Mr. 917-30 would have known, too!
It's because there's not enough weight pushing it down. Those black stripes are unused bhp.
"If you blind people behind you it's time for some better tires" (Hoosier R7's). -My smartass
@@CHOPERUS23 f
This is a particularly good review of a Caterham.
Thanks Anthony. I'm glad you enjoyed it :-)
Loads of car review channels getting the exposure that you should get. Very glad to have found this channel subbed straightaway. Really liked the fact you left in the edit when once or twice you stumbled on your words. Very honest natural feel to it. Fresh after so many are trying to be perfect and over produced. Keep up the good work man!!!
Wow...thanks for the kind words. Glad you enjoyed it 👍
As a highly modified bike rider (350 at wheel supercharged hayabusa) I was all set to criticise the 620 as not as exhilarating as the stuff we ride and race regularly.
You know what , I'm not going to .
The big caterham looks like an absolute riot on the twisty stuff and not too shabby in a straight line either.
Great review Sir , add 1 sub
Thanks for the Sub Peter. This or an Atom or probably as close to a bike as a car can get 👍
One of the things that make this car so awesome, is how well it corners!
With the same cut slicks, in the dry, in a 140 brake Caterham, it corners like it is on rails, as long as you don't smash the loud pedal too suddenly, it will stay stuck to the road like glue, amazing handling!
Great video, that car is a beast! Ha!
They do go round corners VERY well !
Now imagine an 80's turbo F1 car...same weight and pushing 1500hp!!😨
+Mr Bob Wow...not thought of that...terrifying 😳
They did it from a 1.6 turbocharged engine running 8 bar of boost. Wouldn’t last long at that pressure but you’d have all of the fun in the world for a few hours.
Very narrow powerband.
Like to built ultimate caterham with motor mazda rotary turbocharged 13b with street legal soft compound tyres and bigger brakes wee weeeeeeee( lol )
" 500 horsepower"
I had a really bad day today. Watching your face whilst you were driving this thing made everything OK again. Thanks.
That great to hear 👍
Loving ur Reviews. Unfortunate in Europe the 620 isnt available so i decided to buy the 485S and i will get it this summer. Looking forward to it💪
Nice 👌
Excellent. My adrenaline is pumping just watching. 😬🏎💨🌪
Thanks...it certainly keeps you on your game !
Right!
I rarely write reviews , but i had such a blast watching this engaging and thrilling review! I would simply love driving one of these road deamons !! 👊🏼 thanks !!
Thanks for taking the time to comment. Glad you enjoyed it. They are amazing cars to drive !
Brilliant review. I haven't had this much fun watching a car review in ages, and I watch a lot. Keep it up
That is great to hear. I had a lot of fun making it ;-)
Great video as always. When I was watching the video it my heart was pumping never mind driving the thing. What a mental car keep up the good work Pete
This is the only car that is a true "race car for the road". I want one!
Me too !
Brilliant! scary on the road but would love to see you do a vid driving it on track,and see what lap times you get.
I would still go for the 420R, tho, as lack the skills to drive this.More vids please
Cheers Lydia. You might like to check out this video of my driving it at VMax200. No lap times but I do hit 160mph and get shown how to drive by Le Mans driver Oli Webb !!
ruclips.net/video/9WtAFciXxLQ/видео.html
there are so many S7 videos, but your 5 years later is still so organic, so close to what the S7 is. I love it!
I am so thinking of the 360...
Thanks 🙏🏻
I have just discovered your review and all I can say is that IT IS BRILLIANT! Thank you!
Thanks 👍
Refreshingly honest and amusing review - like it alot !!! Loved your face as you 1st pulled away in that lovely drift. Plus your open and very clear language - no-one would doubt what you thought of the car !
Cheers David 👍
A very good reviewer. Many years ago I was taken out for a ride in a Westfield Eight (sEight?) and it was the most terrifying experience of my life. But almost certainly you don't need anything like this power.
Thank you. I remember when those came out...utterly bonkers in a great kind of way !
That’s crazy power for that light a car!!!😮😮looks like you had a lot of fun 😃👌👌
It's huge fun !
One of my favourite motoring channel videos. Loved it. Had me smiling throughout.
Thanks. One of my favourite cars to have appeared on the channel 👍
Great vidéo! The message is passed and do not worry, we not only heard you well but also felt your enthouasism.
Great to hear 👍
Hi Peter, you make a valid point as your pushing 620Hp per ton and with a full tank a juice it’s 550 Kilo’s. I think it’s fair to say you need to have some track experience before even attempting to drive a car like this or you will end up in a field upside down in a world of pain. This car makes me think is it to much the answer is YES you need to be a switched on driver or your dead or in prison this could smash any other car I can think of when it comes to 0-60 I think only a F1 Car would beat this. Great video Peter the sound quality is bad but I could understand no problem. Best wishes, Alan B
Cheers Alan
Or just do like litre bike riders do with a power ratio of around 800bhp per tonne!
That's what I usually do (though my TL1000s doesn't quite match a modern bikes ratio) but if you have luggage to carry, this would do nicely!!
Only 800 bhp per tonne? A modern speedway bike is around 960 bhp per tonne!
Rallycross cars launch so hard they do 0-60 in under 2 seconds
First time I've seen the channel. Excellent review. Just the right blend of chat and car footage. Good job. New sub.
That's awesome. Glad you enjoyed it and welcome to the channel :-)
Brilliant review, I'm going for a 420R which will be way faster than I could ever need. Great insight into the extreme appeal of the iconic Se7en ! Thanks :)
That’s the sweet spot Caterham 👌👏👏👏
@@PetrolPed it arrived in December, definitely the best sports car I've ever driven, loving it and once again thanks for your superb review; the best I've watched
I agree completely that this car has too much power to enjoy driving it on the public roads. I've owned three Caterhams, a 135bhp Supersprint, a 170bhp HPC BRD Cosworth and the bonkers 250bhp JPE.
The JPE was a missile, but I just never really enjoyed driving it for all the reasons you mention in this video. The Cosworth, on the other hand, is still to this day the most fun machine I ever climbed aboard.
I loved the HPC when it came out 😍
"going into a corner pressing multiple peddles at the same time" 😂😂
I don't know who is smiling more, the guy who is driving or me reliving the four years that I raced a Lotus 7, fifty years ago. Believe it or not, this model is a deluxe model.
It sure is, although the cars you raced where the original thing and VERY cool !
They sure do make you smile :-)
Bloody hell Pete,very surprising lil car. Cool as always pal.
You can never have too much power! Awesome!
LOL !
I've really wanted a Caterham for a few years now. I don't think I'd want that thing though. I mean it's clearly an astonishing bit of kit but as a mere mortal I'd settle for a 310S or 360S. I love the video though mate, you've got my subscription.
+Gerard Montgomery Cheers Gerard. I’d have a 420R or if you talk to the guys at Caterham they will tell you the 310 is the sweet spot as it has a lighter engine and just enough power to use everywhere 😜👍
Anyone that reviews this car is brilliant. This car is underrated. To me it's the best car on the planet.
Couldn't agree more !
Fantastic video man! Loved the ride......took me back to when my uncle built a Caterham 7 and that was so quick at 150bhp! This looked insane .....but I so want one!😎🇦🇺👌
Cheers Stephen, glad you enjoyed it :-)
Great video! Pleasure to watch!
What a piece of kit!!! 👍🏿👍🏿👍🏿
Cheers Josh. Great name by the way...my name is Peter Greaves :-)
I think why so many vehicles have much more weight is for driveability/ergonomics/creature comfort. Air bags, comfortable fully adjustable seats, A/C and heating, 4 seats, usable trunk, stereo, a roof/windows, impact panels, sound deadening materials, larger fuel capacity, comfortable suspension, interior room, spare tire, heat shielding, on and on... its not that companies can't do this, it's just a very niche narrow market. Still pretty cool car.
Yep, a Caterham is short of all of those ! Oh, and you forgot traction control and ABS :-)
Cool story Bro, almost fell asleep reading it. No, other companies can’t do this. They are about gross profit before true drivers car.
I really enjoyed watching this just now. I went out as a passenger in my father in laws 270s the other day and that was great. Since then I’ve been looking at Caterham vids. Your one gave me a bit of a rush I’m not gonna lie. You got a like from me!
Awesome thanks 👍
I have a caterham and its taken me a while to really learn the ins and outs of the range and what specs are best. starting low to high...
The 170 is only really for fun little blasts to the pub on little country roads that are relatively flat.
270 is more your traditional caterham power and enough to have fun on the road. The 310 is super revvy and super fun, enough power for the road and for the track, however there will be faster cars on track. The 360 is a cruiser, its fast, but not revvy, just very tourquey, you waft along, great as a tourer. The 420 is probably the best one for people who want a very fast road and track car, good revs and enjoyment, more power than youll ever need, mental on the road and very very fast on the track. Then up to the 620, too much power, dangerous on the road, hilarious on the track.
Its about homologation.The wWestfield has a homologated ( from the german technical inspection - TUV - approved motor,the 620R does not have the homologation tests for noise,and other things.The smaller Caterhams have those EG approvals.As we have ( still) no speed limit on the german autobahn,we also have the hardest laws to pass.For example: if I change the handlebar on my Harley to another one which is not having the right TUV approval,the police can take my bike off the road or the insurance have not to pay if some accident would happen...
Thanks for the response. Really interesting. The 620R just uses a Ford Duratec but I guess it is the fact it has a supercharger strapped to it ?
It will (always) end in tears with one of these
If you aren’t careful 😬😜😂
One of your best reviews. My palms were sweating just watching it. Death Trap. I would love to try it and I totally appreciate taking it to the limit, but no thank you.
Glad you enjoyed it. Bringing cars like this to you guys is all part of the service ;-)
Good to see that you're a far better driver than me and most other people who are shy to admit that and the less powerful ones fast as anything and a great fun facture and it's British brilliant review of for a lotto ticket 😊
Thanks Cecil. A handful but great fun to drive 👍
Bloody brilliant,,I grew up in Bristol UK,,and had my bedroom wall plastered with pics of the Lotus 7,,,moved to California where I spent many weekends thrashing around club race tracks in a stripped out E36 M3,,,this looks even more fun than that,,,GREAT video thank you and I'm jealous...I have a helmet!!........Richard
Cheers Richard. One of the favourite cars I've had on the channel so far. I actually had a bird strike me on the head at high speed but lucky I was wearing a helmet. From then on I only ever drove it with a helmet :-)
I was thinking I wanted one. Glad I watched this, might be impractical. But I really want to try it
Great review. Love the car. You need a windscreen and side screens to make it Road usable. You can never have to much bhp but you can have too much torque. My Westfield is heavier at 650kg and has more than 340bhp and 360lb.ft torque. When the roads are damp I am scared to drive it. Mine is 0 to 60mph in 3.5 secs (ish) with some wheel spin by pulling off in 2nd gear which tops out at nearly 70mph. Doubt I could do less than 3 secs.
You can't drive fast in these types of cars because it will kill you! Your review is spot on and I share your point of view.
Cheers James. I agree about the screen. I actually had a bird strike after I had filmed this review. Luckily I was wearing a helmet as it hit me on the head. Scary to think what would have happened had I not been wearing it !!!
carguy uk what a load of BS, of course you can drive fast in these cars and it WONT kill you. What a stupid comment, people drive slow in slow cars and they kill them selves, it’s all about driver attention and skill.
Fab video mate. What a bonkers car
Cheers Justin. A total hooligan :-)
Instead of shouting your head off why not just add a voice over on the tape
Finally a in-depth view of this MONSTER 👍🏻
Yep...such a fab car 👌
great review; really get a sense of what a pure, raw driving experience this thing is
Thanks Roger. It was an immense car in every way but it’s actual size 😜
Love the Caterham and Sevens in general - I owned a Birkin with about 165hp and that was pretty quick on the track but easy enough to drive on the open road. Have to say Caterham really need to up their game in the accessory department - those rear lights are shite.
Awesome review Peter & one of the best you've done, I want a Caterham even more now!!
Cheers mate :-)
+Petrol Ped really articulate and worthwhile automotive reviewer thank you so much
Cheers, glad you enjoyed it :-)
Wonder how many times the auto car reference of the Volvo 850R has been used😂.can remember reading it as a spotty teenager on the throne and pissing myself laughing.Great content though mate👍🏻
Brilliant drive in the 620r it really brings the devil out in you, I know because I have a MK Indy very similar car
with a 400bhp 5 ltr Rover V8 engine in it, revoltingly quick!
'revoltingly quick'...LOVE IT !
Scariest ride I was ever a passenger in. Absolute beast
LOL...I think I would rather be driving !
Petrol Ped It was one of the designers at the wheel so it was safer that way for sure!
I had the experience of being a passenger in my brother in laws 620r and it was the scariest experience of my life and I have been in some mean cars in the past but this thing nearly brought me to tears! I will never sit myself in one again.
Brilliant review really gets the essence of the missiles that is the 620r.
Cheers Mike...it's still one of my favourite cars !
It's getting close to the power to weight ratio that superbike riders enjoy. 1000 BNP/ ton power to weight ratio opens your eyes and tries to tear your arms off!
LOL...I can only imagine !
Yep often wonder how it's possible to hold on. It really feels like the bike is going to throw you off.
Haha nice 😎
I ride a 2009 blade and own a 240bhp caterham. The bike is not much faster up to 80mph but then it murders the car.
Big difference bhp/tonne, my bike is 210kg or 300kg with rider. My car is 430kg or 520kg with driver. The rider is so much more relevant to the weight on a bike when doing the real bhp/tonne calculations.
Barry you absolutely correct. I think memories of winding it on when opening up Hyabusa for the first time will stay with me forever! The sheer surge of power left me breathless.. I rode it to work every day,rain or shine!
First driving shot in the review: car goes strongly tail out turning onto the road. Brilliant.
Imagine a stone chip at those speeds. Can you get Autoglass to repair your face? No. Helmet man.
+Cycgnr I agree. Very difficult filming a review with a full face helmet on though. When I drove this car when not filming I wore a helmet. I actually had a high speed bird strike on the helmet so totally agree with you 👍
Driving this thing without a crash helmet is reckless. And to think that Juan Fangio used to race these things with just goggles is just plain crazy.
no need for a helmet. i have a similar car and done 40k miles without one. even following close behind a similar car which has sticky tyres you get occasional small stones. large insects are more of a problem
Having had a bird strike on my helmet at 80mph I would now drive with a helmet most of the time. I know the chances are you will be OK but if I had not been wearing a helmet on that occasion I would not be here now 😳
I had a stone hit the windscreen right in front of my face at no more than 60, think it got flung from the tyre of a passing lorry. It was like a cannon going off and glass got flung into my face despite the screen being laminated. Having said that when I was young I used to ride a Lambretta everywhere without a helmet, just some ski goggles and no bother
Dear officer of the law. I got it wrong, it doesn't do 60+ in first, but only does 20. So that will cut the confusion you might have as to the speed I was doing in the video.
Walter Rohrl is supposed to have said the "a car is just fast enough when you stand in front of it in the morning and are afraid to unlock it".
Points to Caterham then, no doors to unlock!
Very true 👍
@petrol: I bought a brand new 620R at Caterham south in GB.They told me the german dealer can licence it for the german street law.This was not true! I had tried everything,even the german dealer of Caterham cars,Mr.Hofmann,was doing his best and other people which I know from my lifetime Harley customizing and licence them for the german technical inspection,it was not possible!Had it licensed the first year in the name of a good english friend ( thanks again Roger!),but got told,that the insurance in GB will not pay any damage if I drive it.In the end I sold it again and lost quite a lot of money,thanks to the politics of Caterham,thank you! Im going to buy me a Westfield now,also with over 300 hp but street legal...from CCK
in Kempten,Germany.They were a Caterham dealer before and know what they are doing...!
I got also told that the other Caterhams are more easy to drive and possible faster on the track as the overpowered 620R, but,if you ever felt this power and you have the balls to press the pedal to the metal,you just want this again,and not less.My R300 runs good,but its just not fast enough no more for me when you have dealt with the beast before! SPEED KILLS - DRIVE A PORSCHE AND LIVE FOREVER!
Wow...can I ask, why is the 620R not street legal in Germany but a Westfield is ?
Awesome! That´s definetely one of the most scaring "cars" you can get. Would love to experience it!
Even worse in the wet ;-)
Absolutely fantastic review. Great job. What an amazing car!
+Paul Intile Cheers Paul. Glad you enjoyed it 👍
The wide-bodied 620s sounds like a far better road vehicle and more fun because of it.
I agree. Especially if you have friends with wide hips that want a go !!!
Jesus that looks really scary I haven't got many more words going to lie down after watching that glad you made it home bod
Good fun though 😜
Awesome! Love that gearbox, and the engine sounds bloody fantastic. I'll have to give you a blast in my motorcycle engined Dax Rush Pete :)
That would be cool !
Excellent review! Thanks! Enjoyed it immensely.
Cheers, that is good to know :-)
This is the kind of car that makes me proud to be British
Oh yes :-)
Hilarious! Absolutely loved the video! Your enjoyment is downright contagious! Smoled and laughed all the way through. Couple of questions though: How much? how soon?
Hi John. Glad you liked the video. The 620R is about £55k :-)
Judging by the look on your face, it looks like at least that much in adrenalin! I don't think you could wipe the smirk off my face with a shovel if I had one!
When does it ever stop? It Does Not!! Great cars had one along time ago teaches you race craft in bundles.. until. I wrapped it at Oulton Park
Brilliant video - great job - one of the best reviews I've seen in a very long time- what an exciting car
+Wolves124 That's very kind of you to say so and I'm glad you enjoyed it. The more you understand the Car the more exciting it becomes 👍
Owing that, must be like owning a pet tiger - you love it, but your life-insurance goes out the window.
LOL 😂
Awesome.
I don't know if anyone else has raised this, but for the same money or thereabouts would you seriously choose this over an Atom?
I'm in a position where I'm possibly looking to swap my MEV for one of the two, but the only thing that's swaying me toward the Caterham is the fact that my garage is small and the Atom is going to struggle to fit in.
That aside, given a straightforward choice of where to splash 40k+, what would you buy?
The Caterham is a bit more practical as you can drive it in the wet 😂
Great video, the 620R looks incredible.
It sure is :-)
I have during the nearly 60 years I have been on the planet, had the chance to drive 2 Genuine Big Valve Lotus 7's, along with quite a few other desirable "Super Cars." I have also owned a number of Japanese Sports bikes, including until quite recently, a series 2 Suzuki Hayabusa. One of the two bikes I currently own is a Honda CBR 1100XX Black Bird, which in in itself is no slug? The performance of the Chateram 620R is something I would love to experience, to see how it compares with the bikes I have owned in the past, and some of the cars I have driven? I however agree with Petrol Ped when he says it's to much for an everyday road car, but oh what a great Track Day Toy.
It's as close to bike performance and sound as you are going to get :-)
Fantastic review and what an awesome car!
Cheers Richard :-)
Great review on a bonkers car. You need this for the next Goodwood Auto-Solo 👍
WOW...that would be cool !
Makes my 1700 crossflow look slow with 135bhp. At the end of the day there are no bad 7's. I even have a heater in mine.
Caterham 620R, the car that melts your face into Johnny Lee Miller
😂😂😂
180-220 6 speed, lsd really is the sweet spot, you can just enjoy more type of roads, still scary, not tuned to tits, you can stretch gears, no need for so much decelarations before corners, etc, you can actually enjoy a technical drive. The 620r/s is just a batty experience, like a tuned 1000hp whatever car.
I think the 320R would be spot on for road driving, and perhaps the 420R if you wanted a bit more poke and the occasional track day. I have a road trip planned in a 420R in the Spring.
I really like all your videos, Pedro!! I really like you on that Wales all electric conversion show on Motor Trend!!
Yes I think I would be pretty okay with 320 bhp/ton as I am not a racing driver nor mentalist. Thanks for the excellent content +Petrol Ped Bro
You definitely need to be a mentalist to drive this car !
Excellent vid - looks like mental fun - well deserved I'm sure !!! Cheers for sharing !!! :)
My pleasure 👍
I own a TL 100S Suzuki and a super 7 , so fun :)
I'm guessing that lots of time on a wide circuit, with lots of space before you drive quickly on the roads is a good idea. It probably takes a lot of time to find out just what throttle it takes to break the grip with different amounts of steering imput, and different surfaces.
Oh yes. Learning this car on a circuit would certainly help road driving. Oh and it would happily spin up the rears in fourth 😳
Caterham 620R has to be "THE Ultimate Driving Machine" everything else is overpriced, over complicated, over weight or over hyped !
You get me.🤷🏾♂️
But the 620R IS overpowered!
@@lordbenny Certainly Andy, but only when the loud pedal is pressed hard.
Superb review buddy. That is a savage beast
It sure is :-)
Not many people know the Caterham on track is a raw beast.... imagine its light as a go kart with 300+bhp.... only thing is stability and brakes, but as its Caterham, many part are available, DIY job as they say... great to learn on a car like this, how things work...
Now if Caterham tried there hand at a proper hyper car... you never know what they will produce, since they did have F1 engines... imagine the possibilities...
I want one! Cheers. Jon Newport.
Me too !
I love the roads around Goodwood and Lavant...
Me too :-)
Sometimes it is more fun driving a slower less powerful car on the road. The reason being you can use all of it's performance more of the time.
I agree 👍
Amazing! Time to break the piggy bank. Had a Dutton kit with a 230ish BHP rover V8 weighing 800kg, was a blast before the proliferation of speed cameras. I think I could re-train my throttle foot to not spin me off the road! Cheap way to explore my limits, gimme one!!!👹
This car would really hurt my face.. got a wide grin just watching and hearing it on here... if I had one I would be like the cat from Alice in wonderland I wouldn't be able to wipe the big smile off my face.. and I used to ride big bikes so know a little about acceleration and speed..
Thanks for a great vid.
ariel atom. 0-100 in 2.3 (2008). They've slowed down since then; 2.6 in 2014, 2.9 after. "The driver of the Atom launched in fourth gear and still had wheelspin until the car reached 110 km/h (68 mph) and started to get traction." 2006 indoor speed record.
Great video! You mentioned mic challenges; did you try a lavalier mic? -owner of a smaller Caterham
That is what I used, but clipped to the dash to keep it out of the wind 👍
I am building a 1964 Triumph Spitfire. The bonnet lifts and exposes the entire engine area.it weighs 1580 lbs stock. I have it down to about 1300 lbs. The plan is to install a 150-180 hp motorcycle engine. 1300cc Ducati? Yamaha?
There is no quess work here, Suzuki GSXR 1300 (Hayabusa). Most widely used Motorcycle Engine in a car.
The spit fire would sound so awesome with a that. If you want, you can turbo charge the Hayabusa for 300+ hp.
Fantastic reviewer, top work!
Thats kind...thanks :-)
In the US they have the stalker: a same kind of chassis with a LS7 V8 or something like that, putting out 530 horsepower.. with 1460 lbs wich is about 660 kgs .. giving roughly 800 hp per tonne...
Wow...that would be a handful !
I decided to fit a road clutch on my 230bhp SV. Even so, as it's an endurance race engine with ultra light flywheel, I need to be hyper careful driving it.
It's easy to 360° the thing on dry tarmac when pulling away.....
Nice 👌
Great video Mr Ped. What a machine but too hardcore for my needs.
IT is about as hardcore as you can get !