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J400GED

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Posts posted by J400GED

  1. £40k 270bhp Caterham Coupe

    in Lotus / Motoring / Cars Chat

    Posted

    Well good luck to them, but right now the CSR Caterham is 260bhp and starts from £44,995... door handles would be extra, if only the car had doors.  :harhar:

     

    BTW.... how is the SP300.R doing? 

     

    What, that shopping trolley...?!  :hrhr:

     

    Ged, congratulations on fighting your corner!

     

    I've been a Lotus fan since I was a 10-year old, and have owned a Seven and my current Esprit (which I've now owned for 23 years, apart from a 4 year holiday she had). But Lotus as a brand is no longer affordable for me - I love the Exige S and quite like the Evora, but couldn't afford either, and the Bahar collection of new cars was all completely out of my price range.

     

    I think the rendering looks splendid - doubt I could afford £40k for a car again these days (I think I paid £42k for Lottie in 1990 as a dealer demonstrator) but I'd be perfectly happy with this Caterham and wish you all much success with it.

     

    Cheers Stu. We got there in the end....   :rolleyes:

  2. £40k 270bhp Caterham Coupe

    in Lotus / Motoring / Cars Chat

    Posted

    Ok... so we agree that 50 years of bending bits of piping to make a chassis is irrelevant, therefore to all intents this is a new company? My point isn't the fact that Caterham can't come up with the goods, I'm sure given time they'll find their way around the complex issues of present day car design, ( such as door hinges ). I still feel despite my lack of first hand knowledge in the industry that Lotus would've been a better match for the task in hand... 

     

    Hingham eh?  :whistle:

     

    "....... therefore to all intents this is a new company?" - at last, the coin appears to have dropped! :happy dance:

     

    "....I still feel despite my lack of first hand knowledge in the industry that Lotus would've been a better match for the task in hand..."  - or maybe not..       :wallbash:

     

     

    "I suspect Caterham are up to the job of doing the required engineering. They may currently have more experience than Lotus themselves!You need to bear it in mind that key lotus people (inc. Tony Shute program manager for Elise, Evora, etc.) are now working for Caterham. I can’t remember if it was EVO or Autocar, who on a visit to Caterham said they thought they were at Lotus as they kept on seeing ex Lotus employees whilst walking around the building."

     

    :thumbsup:     Listen to this man Stirling.

     

     

    "Hingham eh?" - there goes that coin again..... :happy dance: 

     

     

    Ged  :smoke:

  3. £40k 270bhp Caterham Coupe

    in Lotus / Motoring / Cars Chat

    Posted

    I agree with you Stirling, the name "Caterham" is irrelevant, as is what Caterham have done in the past with their "shopping trolleys" and "50 year old space frame".

    What is totally relevant is what they are going to do from now on. The most relevant part of the equation is - this relates to my initial question (unanswered)  "Is it the Company that has the technical know-how and experience or the people working there?". Hopefully by now you realise the answer to this question, and it isn't "the company". This only leaves the "people working there" part of that question as the answer.

    This leads into my penultimate question from my last post. "Do you know the level of the technical knowledge and experience of the people who are working at Caterham?" (unanswered)  The answer to that one is, you don't.

     

    So how can you possibly question the ability of a company you nothing about, in an industry you know nothing about? 

     

    Ged

    Ged, why is it so vague on this car. Pistonheads had a feature, and disclosed that it would have a renault engine with twin clutch (hardly a revalation) but no detail on chassis and (presumably) composite body 1000 Kg seems a very unambitious target

     

    Simon,

            You will have to ask Pistonheads the answer to that one.

     

    Ged

  4. £40k 270bhp Caterham Coupe

    in Lotus / Motoring / Cars Chat

    Posted

    Hi Ged, 

     

    I've no experience in the motoring industry other than putting the key in the ignition... however Caterham have never even produced a car with doors, ( aside from the '21' which they'd probably sooner forget! ), let alone build an Exige S beater.

     

    I've no doubt given time they'll do a good job, but compared to Lotus who've 'been there, done that' a number of times, this is a steep learning curve. Not to mention the need for new production facilities, production techniques, quality control, software issues, extensive test programs.... it's a whole different ball game from the niche market they've been in since their inception.

     

    I don't disagree that Tony Shute and Richard Rackham both did great jobs for Lotus and they'll be a great asset, but it took many years to get the Elise 1 to the car it is today. The early cars were full of issues, I know... I owned one! Personally regardless of how amazing the car looks, the specs or the the reviews may be, I wouldn't buy one  until I hear from the end users how good the final product really is after a few months of ownership. I admit that would probably be an issue with Lotus at the helm... but Caterham, seriously? 

     

    Think of it like an F1 Team... Caterham could hire Adrian Newey, put Hamilton in the car and attract sponsorship from Vodafone, but it would be years before they built a car that could challenge the likes of McLaren. 

    "I've no experience in the motoring industry other than putting the key in the ignition... however Caterham have never even produced a car with doors, ( aside from the '21' which they'd probably sooner forget! ), let alone build an Exige S beater."

     

    Stirling, I had guessed your experience in the industry is "limited", but I am amazed at the depth of your knowledge of the industry. 

     

    "I've no doubt given time they'll do a good job, but compared to Lotus who've 'been there, done that' a number of times, this is a steep learning curve. Not to mention the need for new production facilities, production techniques, quality control, software issues, extensive test programs.... it's a whole different ball game from the niche market they've been in since their inception."

     

    I will repeat my initial question on this point, "Is it the Company that has the technical know-how and experience or the people working there?".

    Why would they need their own Production facility immediately?

     

    Do you know the level of the technical knowledge and experience of the people who are working at Caterham?  I know the answer to that already......

     

    Think of it like an F1 team, if Red Bull was to change the name to Lotus would that stop them winning straight away?

     

    Ged

  5. £40k 270bhp Caterham Coupe

    in Lotus / Motoring / Cars Chat

    Posted

    Lets not forget that Tony Shute and Richard Rackham, the guys that led the Elise development programme as well as several other ex-Lotus employees are now at Caterham. Its not as if Caterham are starting from scratch.

     

    Hedgerley,

                  One out of two isn't bad. 50% correct is about right on here...

     

    Ged

  6. £40k 270bhp Caterham Coupe

    in Lotus / Motoring / Cars Chat

    Posted

    Well.... I'm sure they're head hunting and hiring a lot of people but it's all new territory, it'll take time to gel and it's steep learning curve. Aside from TF's chequebook I don't get why Renault would take such a risk with Caterham when it's precisely the sort of job Lotus have been getting right for endless manufacturers for years.... 

     

    I see what you are saying, but consider this:

    1. If Lotus were doing the job, they would have to get a team together internally and gel that team as well.

    2. What is the experience of the team that Caterham have working on this job, and therefore how much of it is " all new territory"? With any new client there is some "different territory" because people work in different ways, not necessarily "new territory" though.

    3. How long have Caterham been involved with this project to allow the team to gel?

     

    As an aside to this, just out of interest, what is your experience in the Automotive Engineering industry?

     

     

    Ged

  7. £40k 270bhp Caterham Coupe

    in Lotus / Motoring / Cars Chat

    Posted

    The more I read about this partnership, the more I'm convince Lotus would've been the perfect fit at least technically. i just don't see what Caterham can bring to the table here, at the very least it's going to be a steep learning curve for them in a market which Lotus have been excelled in with the Elise.... a car which absolutely slaughtered the Caterham 21. 

     

    Stirling_Villeneuve,

                          Is it the Company that has the technical know-how and experience or the people working there?

     

    Ged

  23. £40k 270bhp Caterham Coupe

    in Lotus / Motoring / Cars Chat

    Posted

    Looks nice are they still being developed at Hethel?

     

    I bet if they get to the point of selling they will be at least an extra 10k though

     

    Buddsy

    Ok I read the link and yes I see 70 engineers at Hethel.  :thumbsup:

     

    Buddsy

    The car is not being developed at Hethel, Caterham have no links with Hethel or the Engineering Centre. We are based in Hingham.

     

    Ged

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