USA Caterham Model Lineup

[lucky dawg]

S1 - Did you go through the Caterham or Superformance process 12 years ago?

[scannon]

Under Colorado law for kit cars, the kit and the drivetrain must be bought from different sources. It can be assembled by anyone including the seller of the kit or drivetrain.

 

At one point Rocky Mountain Sports Cars sold the kits, Caterham USA sold the engines and transmissions and many were assembled to turnkey cars by RMSC.

 

Later on, Caterham USA sold the kits and gave buyers a part number to buy a special crate engine from Ford that had all the unnecessary parts removed that otherwise would have to have been removed and discarded. The necessary replacement parts came as part of the kit.

[Paul Hill]

Anyone recall what the special Ford part number was? Might be nice to know...

 

We ran into a similar situation when my sons were racing shifter karts. The preferred engine was either a CR 80 or

CR 125 Honda, depending on class. Honda would not sell either motocross motor separate from buying the whole bike. Then some wizard at the distribution level came up with a part number that would give you every part, right down to the nuts, bolts, and washers, even the appropriate electronic ignition box, for a complete engine package that could be ordered from almost any Honda dealer. You should have seen the look on our local guy's face when we ordered 3 of each...he could not find any info on the part number other than the price, and we didn't tell him anything other than order them please. Was quite the kerfulful when 6 large boxes came in! 15 years later I still snicker looking back. When the dust settled we became preferred customers, got a healthy discount with the volume of parts we were buying regularly.

 

And now back to our regularly sheduled programming...

[bball7754]

Skip - my understanding was that it was also a federal regulation. Purchasing everything from one source would force the car to comply with current safety regulations, etc.

 

From conversations with Ben, I actually thought that Rocky Mountain was formed specifically for the purpose of complying with the federal regulation. I've been surprised at this new direction. I hope everyone has done their homework.

 

Steve

[Taber10]

Under Colorado law for kit cars, the kit and the drivetrain must be bought from different sources. It can be assembled by anyone including the seller of the kit or drivetrain. At one point Rocky Mountain Sports Cars sold the kits, Caterham USA sold the engines and transmissions and many were assembled to turnkey cars by RMSC.

 

Skip,

 

Of course, I'm sure you are correct about CO, but in my research--I can't confirm for Fla, or one of the many other jurisdictions I lived in for the years I had been wanting and researching Caterhams--it isn't actually that the chassis and drivetrain have to be purchased separately, but you must prove that you didn't buy a complete car--it would have to meet many more regulations. The easiest way to prove that you have a "specially constructed vehicle" as some states call it, is to have at least two bills of sale for serially numbered parts--such as engine and chassis. Actually, you must assemble the car yourself, but and Ben agreed with this, you can hire as much (or as little) help and assistance as needed because there is not a regulation or law specifying the amount you must do personally and still qualify as a "specially constructed vehicle. I had to do--or at least claim I did--some of the "finish work" on my car at RMSC. Otherwise, RMSC would be an auto manufacturer, and their products would have to meet the entire range of regulations, etc. When Zetecs could not be sourced from Ford, then Caterham USA provided the second source, including the "adapter kit." But when Duratecs were sourced from Ford, that became the second provider, and RMSC was no longer actually required.

 

Just my thoughts--even if they are slightly "off topic" here.

[Racing Mind]

Bruce - And just to clarify all the speculation here, the UK assembly will be by Caterham?

 

I can confirm that the assembly is done by Caterham in the UK. Randy and I were just at the factory two weeks ago. Stay tuned for a blog...

 

My opinion on the matter, consistent with what others have voiced, is that this paradigm shift towards rollers is largely a positive. Consistent quality and elimination of shortages is the right direction in terms of experience. For those who would like to build the car themselves, that will remain an option. So in essence, nothing has changed except for the location of the build.