FS: 2012 Caterham R400

[invictusmaneo]

Sadly, I have decided to sell my 2012 Caterham R400 duratec. Asking $46,000, currently for sale in the Houston area.

 

I have no other posts on here, and I apologize for the rudeness, but this has been a huge resource since purchasing, and a site I followed closely for a long time leading up to it. You can find me on lotustalk under the same username.

 

Unfortunately, living right next to Downtown Houston is suboptimal for getting it out, and I just have not had the opportunity to get it on track like I had hoped, nor do I have the space to have too many cars, so I am parting ways with it. It was (is!) a bucket list car for me, that I fell in love with after a full day’s drive in the UK in a supersport. This one just so happens to be my favorite color as well. I am the third owner, after the builder who owned it for a short while (Randy Chase), and then the previous owner, who was a Houstonian with multiple Caterhams and cared for the car impeccably. I am going to guess this car is known on here. The car is well documented (comes with a printout of the entire 70-something page build thread on the forums, in addition to other paperwork I have), well maintained, and well loved. Currently on a Texas Custom Vehicle plate (can register as a normal plate as a 1967 Lotus Replica ASVE, but then you have to do emissions. If buying in TX, I can walk you through the process on how to register this as a custom vehicle, as it does not transfer). I am going to hit the highlights but will surely miss something. Needless to say, the car comes with a lot, and R400s don’t come up often in the states.

 

-Just under 12,000 miles. No track days under me (all have been cancelled due to weather!), and only a handful under previous owners (less than 10).

-S3 chassis

-Caterham orange with painted black stripe. Paint has been recently (last week) given a 1 stage polish and ceramic coating with Gyeon One. Standard Caterham road scars, and nose cone is pretty chipped. See photos for details, but car presents amazingly well. Leather on the interior in amazing shape and conditioned well.

-Tillet Buckets. Schroth 6 point harnesses (FIA valid until 2019 on both sides). Brand new Momo wheel with lifeline QD hub. Rubber floor mats. Oxted Trimming transmission tunnel heat insulation for both sides, carbon vinyl (makes a HUGE difference in lower body heat). Soft Bits for Sevens touring tunnel bag in black vinyl. Foam padding in the boot to prevent damage from rolling objects. Carpeted boot floor. Wired up (though I have not used) for heated motorcycle jackets.

-2.0 Duratec, 210 HP motor, “quiet” muffler, no cats, orange powdercoated intake manifold. K&N Filter. Wet baffled sump. Exhaust is black, high-temp ceramic coated completely, but the exposed portions near road debris are blasted clean. See pictures.

-6 speed transmission and LSD. Comes with spare 5 speed trans.

-Caterham shift light

-Race logic data logger (not currently hooked up/running, but wired up)

-Video VBox Lite

-More desirable 13” wheels on Avon ZZRs. Tires have some life left in them, but will need replacing in the next 500-1000 miles depending on how you drive (if autocross, probably one autocross out of them. If a track day, I would replace prior).

-Meteor Motorsports Nitron NTR1 coilovers; these are a dream. It rides so amazingly well, and the damping is classic Lotus. I don’t have the stock suspension.

-LED front turn signal conversion.

-LED Headlight conversion (trust me, it is a critical improvement and looks awesome. Makes all the difference in the world at low light).

-Motamec Carbon Fiber formula car mirror conversion. Prevents 95% of the vibration and coming loose standard cars have with lock screws.

-CSR style carbon fiber front wings

-Carbon fiber rear wings, with clear film protectant on the front (same as used on aircraft). Also includes standard orange painted fiberglass rear wings.

-Inside rear of wings coated with truck bedliner to prevent the all-too-common underside rock impact spiderwebbing.

-Carbon fiber aeroscreen

-Carbon fiber sills

-Carbon fiber dash

-Carbon fiber center mirror

-Soft bits for sevens tonneau cover

-Mohair rear trunk cover

-New (Sep 17) Odyssey AGM lightweight battery

-Oil change less than 500 miles ago

-No heater (add lightness!)

-Battery cutoff

 

Runs nice and cool even in Houston heat, and oil pressure is on the money. Catch can was empty last oil change, so no blowby. We will miss it, and I will definitely come back to one in the future. Feel free to reach out with any questions or if you want me to try to take any additional pictures. I have a long tenure on Lotustalk and several other forums buying/selling (including cars), and am a true enthusiast.

Google Drive photos (none are edited in any way; taken 4/10/18)

https://drive.google.com/open?id=10zf7gqEKXpqDeT6JNAbZo3mGolo4BM2o

[BeagleGuy78]

Beautiful! I wish I could afford it! Im in the market but it's just a bit out of my range ... Good luck with the sale!

[Croc]

Unfortunately, living right next to Downtown Houston is suboptimal for getting it out, and I just have not had the opportunity to get it on track like I had hoped, nor do I have the space to have too many cars, so I am parting ways with it. It was (is!) a bucket list car for me, that I fell in love with after a full day’s drive in the UK in a supersport. This one just so happens to be my favorite color as well.

 

I can relate to this so well, living just half a mile from WTC in NYC. It is far more effort to brave the roads and enjoy a seven. At least feel good that you got to have a bucket list car for some time. Caterhams look sensational in orange with black highlights and stripes. Good luck with your sale.

[invictusmaneo]

Thank you all. Hopefully in a different location and later on in life I can add another one to the (bigger) garage. It has been a very enjoyable experience for sure.

[invictusmaneo]

The car is spoken for, if the situation changes, I will post back in here.