The Infuriating Joy of Driving a Bare Bones Caterham 400 Miles in One Day

[Alaskossie]

MichaelD,

 

My friend (and old-time Seven owner) Jeff Ball of Colorado told me about a very hard-core Seven owner in Aspen, Colorado who used his Seven as a daily driver. In the wintertime, he would leave a sleeping bag stuffed down the driver's-side footwell, and drive the Seven in his stocking feet!

[rikker]

Love a man in fishnets.

[xcarguy]

. . . hard-core Seven owner in Aspen, Colorado who used his Seven as a daily driver . . . In the wintertime, he would leave a sleeping bag stuffed down the driver's-side footwell, and drive the Seven in his stocking feet!

 

Did he drive to work uphill both ways in the snow?

[DeanG]

I liked it. Thanks for posting.

[CarMan]

I have to give Travis some kudos for posting here. He came into the lions den and said his piece.

Travis is a product of our society and I give him some credit for going "old school"

In his every day life he has probably not experienced a car without A/C, Power everything, Premium sound system and traction control . And yet

He took on a CAterham. It must have been a shock to his system!

 

NO heat or A/C.... No power windows, locks, mirrors or seat..... No navigation or 15 speaker sound system....... No power steering............ Computerized driving aids? Forget about it!

It must have been a jolt to his senses!

BUT........... He did it! And He expressed his honest opinion of his experience. He gave it a good shot.

It is too bad he wasn't the right person for the experience. Travis has never experienced this kind of vehicle before. It's kind of like a snowboarder that tries a pair of telemark skis..

 

But lets face it....... Driving a Cat is not for the faint of heart. Its loud, windy, rough, and very basic indeed. Totally devoid of creature comforts.

We are unusual indeed. A breed apart! We are a small group of seriously demented people who love the visceral experience of moving down the road at its basic roots.

But in reality.... we usually do it alone! Even our best friend or life partner prefers to take the family car. Driving a Cat is a selfish thing. We enjoy the art of driving this car and if we had to "RIDE" we would probably not be so happy to jump

in and go for a 100 mile drive. And, lets be honest, Driving this car on public roads is really a stressful experience unless the road is smooth and twisty and abandoned.

BUT............. Get this car on a smooth roadcourse and WOW! It cannot be beat. The reason this car exists is for this.

 

Travis, You are to be forgiven for your disconnect with the Cat. It is Not the car for you. it's not the car for the Majority of people out there. And for that we thank you. We don't want to be a part of the herd. Thats why we drive the Caterham and all of its copies. There is no experience like it outside of a true racecar.

I don't think that we really wanted you to like it. Because then the unique nature of this car would be compromised by too much popularity(kind of like Austin TX..... It's not as weird as it used to be)

 

Thanks for giving the Cat a good try. And thanks for the honest opinion of it's lack of amenities. It may not be the car for you....... But it is the car for us. And thank God for that.

 

Let's stay weird out there and revel in our uniqueness.

 

George

[Kitcat]

I will second the point made by CarMan above: the on-track performance of these little giant-killers is a reason many of us learn to live with their shortcomings as normal transport. Certainly it is the primary attraction for me, as mine is not even street legal. So, it doesn't have the rudimentary concessions to daily use that most other se7ens provide (doors, top, turn signals, lights, passenger seat, etc.). But most of us who track our cars have enjoyed the experience of totally embarrassing the "sports sedan" crowd at the track and their 4,000 lb, 400 hp monsters (often driven by owners with 4000 watt egos). Many of us who did an early NJMP se7ens event remember passing a certain loudmouth, big-shot Audi sedan owner who couldn't emotionally accept the reality of being smoked by our dinky little under powered "kit cars." I think he finally ran Croc off the track and then slunk away in shame (but that mite just be my jaded memory-at least the shame part:).

[yellowss7]

I don't recall anyone getting run off the track. Croc just likes to do some gardening from time to time. Reminds him of his days in the Outback. :jester:

 

The smiles that everyone of us have trouble wiping off our faces after a Blat or a trackday session are priceless. Yeah there are better looking cars, Faster Cars, but the enjoyment factor of our cars just can't be beat. It does help if you are a little nuts though. :drool:

[Croc]

I think he finally ran Croc off the track and then slunk away in shame (but that mite just be my jaded memory-at least the shame part:).

 

Yes that red Audi ran out of brakes behind me and I ended up spinning off track trying to avoid being hit as he plowed off track next to me. He said in the pits later that his Audi could out brake anything else and that it was slower traffic that was causing his brake fade - go figure! That was the closest I have come to being hit in a Seven. He was a big reason why Tom and I wanted seven only track days after that.

[MoPho]

I have to give Travis some kudos for posting here. He came into the lions den and said his piece.

Travis is a product of our society and I give him some credit for going "old school"

In his every day life he has probably not experienced a car without A/C, Power everything, Premium sound system and traction control . And yet

He took on a CAterham. It must have been a shock to his system!

 

NO heat or A/C.... No power windows, locks, mirrors or seat..... No navigation or 15 speaker sound system....... No power steering............ Computerized driving aids? Forget about it!

It must have been a jolt to his senses!

BUT........... He did it! And He expressed his honest opinion of his experience. He gave it a good shot.

It is too bad he wasn't the right person for the experience. Travis has never experienced this kind of vehicle before. It's kind of like a snowboarder that tries a pair of telemark skis..

 

But lets face it....... Driving a Cat is not for the faint of heart. Its loud, windy, rough, and very basic indeed. Totally devoid of creature comforts.

We are unusual indeed. A breed apart! We are a small group of seriously demented people who love the visceral experience of moving down the road at its basic roots.

But in reality.... we usually do it alone! Even our best friend or life partner prefers to take the family car. Driving a Cat is a selfish thing. We enjoy the art of driving this car and if we had to "RIDE" we would probably not be so happy to jump

in and go for a 100 mile drive. And, lets be honest, Driving this car on public roads is really a stressful experience unless the road is smooth and twisty and abandoned.

BUT............. Get this car on a smooth roadcourse and WOW! It cannot be beat. The reason this car exists is for this.

 

Travis, You are to be forgiven for your disconnect with the Cat. It is Not the car for you. it's not the car for the Majority of people out there. And for that we thank you. We don't want to be a part of the herd. Thats why we drive the Caterham and all of its copies. There is no experience like it outside of a true racecar.

I don't think that we really wanted you to like it. Because then the unique nature of this car would be compromised by too much popularity(kind of like Austin TX..... It's not as weird as it used to be)

 

Thanks for giving the Cat a good try. And thanks for the honest opinion of it's lack of amenities. It may not be the car for you....... But it is the car for us. And thank God for that.

 

Let's stay weird out there and revel in our uniqueness.

 

George

 

 

That's quite the passive-aggressive post with all the backhanded compliments. I guess you missed the part where he said his dad owned a Caterham and that he loves them. Doesn't sound like he needs a lecture on the virtues of a Seven. And you shouldn't assume you know what his experiences are. As an auto journalist he has likely driven all kinds of crazy things as part of his "every day life", I know I did when I was working with Car and Driver, and I went on some adventures that make a trip in a Caterham seem easy.

 

And lets not forget all the millions of "weirdos" who ride motorcycles and put up with the same kind of discomforts, we are not all that unique except in that we are stupid enough to pay 5+ times more for the experience

 

 

 

 

.

Edited February 3, 2016 by MoPho

[xcarguy]

CarMan...careful, you're gonna take away Croc's title with those kinda words. He's worked long and hard to build his reputation. :jester:

[Nick OTeen]

That's quite the passive-aggressive post with all the backhanded compliments. I guess you missed the part where he said his dad owned a Caterham and that he loves them. Doesn't sound like he needs a lecture on the virtues of a Seven. And you shouldn't assume you know what his experiences are. As an auto journalist he has likely driven all kinds of crazy things as part of his "every day life", I know I did when I was working with Car and Driver, and I went on some adventures that make a trip in a Caterham seem easy.

 

And lets not forget all the millions of "weirdos" who ride motorcycles and put up with the same kind of discomforts, we are not all that unique except in that we are stupid enough to pay 5+ times more for the experience

.

Couldn't agree more. Well said.

[CarMan]

My dad had a Dodge Dart and he loved it!

When I had a Dodge Dart........... I hated it!

So what does that mean?

And passive -Agressive? Yes I am! Out of the car... Mr Nice guy In the racecar.... Pretty damn aggressive!

 

So...... How do you like me now?

 

I am very funny to myself..... probably not so much to anyone else!

[MoPho]

My dad had a Dodge Dart and he loved it!

When I had a Dodge Dart........... I hated it!

So what does that mean?

 

 

 

 

 

 

...I honestly loved the car. It was the most memorable and fun road trip I've done. …. I never said I was expecting a coddled, relaxing experience; I knew what to expect since my dad used to own a Cat and I've always loved them.

 

 

:driving:

 

 

 

.

[toedrag]

Travis's next article will be, "The Infuriating Joy of watching USA7s lose its mind over my article about Driving a Bare Bones Caterham 400 Miles in One Day" :jester:

[Automoda]

The biggest improvement I have ever made to make driving a 7 more pleasant was shaving my head. All that hair flipping around got pretty irritating, and if I wore my leather biplane-pilot hat it itched. Dollar shave club and shazzam! Problem solved.

 

Had the author shaved his head for the cause, it would have been a different article entirely. If he did a little lifting at the gym to go with it, the article would have involved hot chicks and watching ricers slide off the road in his rear view mirror. But alas, we got the article we got. The razors are only a buck!

[xcarguy]

Travis's next article will be, "The Infuriating Joy of watching USA7s lose its mind over my article about Driving a Bare Bones Caterham 400 Miles in One Day" :jester:

 

Brit,

 

That is deserving of applause! . . . And a good laugh! :smilielol5:

[xcarguy]

Skip, if I ever need to stir a hornet nest, I'm calling you. :jester:

[scannon]

Skip, if I ever need to stir a hornet nest, I'm calling you. :jester:

 

Jeeze, all I did was post his article and call him a wuss in :jester:. I certainly didn't expect it to explode like it did.

 

(Though I do like to stir things up now and then. )

[toedrag]

Brit,

 

That is deserving of applause! . . . And a good laugh! :smilielol5:

 

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