hahuang65

Thanks, that's helpful in context. I can see why'd you'd go for a sequential.

I was leaning away from the sequential actually. My first question to Rich Kamp was "Can I get the 620R with the 5-speed?", but everyone seems to really like the sequential, maybe specifically on the 620R. I'm trying to understand why. It now seems to me that the 420 is the way to go, but I'm left wondering, if I did spring for the 620, would it just be a terrible experience compared since I'll be street driving it 90% of the time? Is it going to be a "first gear only" affair, unless I'm on the track/highway? Is it just the nature of the car to be somewhat undrive-able on the street... or would a person driving reservedly be able to have as much fun in a 620 vs a 420 on the street? In short, I'm wondering if the 620 is a "you can't use this much power on the street, but it's still just as fun as a 420 to drive" or "this car is just going to be less fun than a 420 on a street"?

@Vovchandrcan you explain why you'd option the sequential? One of my biggest challenges is deciding between the 5-speed and the sequential. I've never had the opportunity to experience a true sequential, but one of my fears is getting a sequential and missing the 5-speed, even though it sounds like a sequential is just all upside, from a performance standpoint.

This might be possible! When do you need to know?

That sounds awesome, and thanks for the offer. Unfortunately, weekends are a hard no for me. Wife would kill me leaving her with 2 kids just to do car stuff. I was planning to pay Rich Kamp a visit sometime in October on a weekday, will be taking a day off work to do a Napa/Sonoma date trip with the wife and check out some cars while I'm up there! What's uncertain is whether he'll have what I'm looking to compare. Any chance I could pay you a visit in Newark during a workweek?

@JohnCh@Croc you guys bring up good questions I need to ask myself. Most of them I already have comments on, but don't yet know my final decision. For me, this car would be my fun car. Let me explain that a little bit. We have 2 children under 3 right now... my wife has an XC90 that'll be our family car. I have a 2019 STI that I bought new and has served me well as a family/dad car that I daily. I can do most things in it even with 2 kids, and am planning to keep that forever, and have it become a project whenever the engine blows. The Caterham will be my daily with the STI, in the sense that, if I need more capacity, I will take the STI, otherwise, I'll always take the Caterham. I live in San Jose, and so weather isn't much of an issue. Maybe hot days will be unbearable in the Caterham though. I'm not one to shy away from putting miles on a car, and so I'll take the Caterham to do kid pickup (once they're old enough), or groceries, or whatever errands. I live 40 minutes away from Laguna Seca, so I ALSO want it to be my track car. Being a busy father has kept me from taking the STI even once, even though I've been itching to do so since I got the car... so take this statement with a grain of salt. I INTEND to go, might never make it. @JohnChbrings up a good point in asking how visceral I want it. I got the STI over the M3 exactly for this reason. The M3 was too nice. I'm having a hard time deciding between the S vs R MOSTLY for transmission. The sequential sounds like it'll be great, but I do like to row my own gears, so I really don't know where to land on that one. I know that if I get the R, I will most definitely option the windscreen, doors, and roof, vs going that tiny carbon flap thingy (not sure what it's called). But I am also getting up there in age, so I'm not too sure about the light flywheel and the seats in particular. The 420 will undoubtedly be enough car for me and my skills, but given that Caterham likely will be changing their lineup because of the UK ICE sales ban in 2030, and FOMO lol... should I get the 620 for "future-proofing"? It is a dream to get better at driving, and work my way up to a 620... so would I get a 620 now and work my way up, or get a 420 and trade up when I'm ready? Money is always a concern, but it's not a HUGE concern here. I do drive barefoot/slippers a lot, so that statement about the heatsoak burning your feet is a little alarming. I guess the big question is, will the 620 be too boring to drive around town, given how limiting you have to be with it? I'm a pretty reserved driver around town, and usually I don't even really rev out the STI. I get beat by Corollas and minivans ALL the time, so I wouldn't say that I'm afraid of driving more reservedly... but I also don't want a car that'll never leave 1st gear in town.

This is a good point @KnifeySpoony. I've only had "performance" cars with turbos. I Did have a Lexus IS250 that was NA but I hardly did much enthusiastic driving with it. Wife's XC90 is twincharged... So I really have no experience with NA or Supercharged. Now I'm in even more of a dilemma hahaha.

@sltousthat's good to know. I know that the R500 sits somewhere between the 420 and the 620 performance-wise... but I'm unfamiliar with what your car is. Is it aftermarket modded, or did you buy it as a Cosworth Duratec? Did you get it originally thru Rich? I missed Loma Mar Store and I'm not sure what that is, but I would LOVE to talk to you more about your car as well! I'm in the same boat with my current car, I have a 2019 WRX STI, and I really don't even get close to using it at full potential on the street. The 620 and probably even the 420 are going to be much more car than I (or anyone) really needs... but there's just that itch to get the best possible, you know what I mean?

@KnifeySpoonyyeah, I would LOVE to build, and that's a part of my decision, although a smaller part as my time building will be a lot less than my time owning/driving. I suspect the 420 is much more car than I need, but there's that itch to just go for the top tier. I understand the spec differences between the 420 and the 620, but I was wondering if there were any reasons besides building that swayed you to the 420? Also how did you decide between the S and R pack? I'm on the fence about RHD... part of me thinks it would be interesting, part of me things it will be a pain after a while. Any takes on this?

@TheDingo8MyBabythanks for the response. I actually drive thru Willow Glen daily, so I may take you up on your offer if only to just chat and meet a fellow enthusiast. I understand your car won't be representative of what I'm looking for, but I'll bet you still have a lot of useful knowledge that might be helpful to me as I make my decision! Was there any specific reason you recommend Rocky Mountain Caterham over our "local-ish" Kampena Motors?

Hello, I'm Howard. I'm looking to be a Caterham owner sometime in the next year or two. I'm looking for someone who might be generous with their time and would let me just take a look around their Caterham, and talk about their car. I've contacted Rich Kamp from Kampena Motors in Sonoma, and he's been enormously helpful, but it's difficult to chat over email and I feel bad taking up his time especially if I'm not putting a downpayment right away for a reservation slow. Also, Sonoma is quite far for me to get up to with 2 young children in the house. I'm looking to buy a 420/620 and am curious about the differences between the models, as well as the differences between the S and R, and would love to get some real peoples opinions. I understand the differences on paper, but having a conversation with someone can sometimes really yield some insightful details that spec sheets don't really get into. I'm in San Jose, and I've actually seen a Caterham driving around town on Almaden Expressway. Thank you for your time!