2021 Caterham CSR "CatKong"
2021 Caterham CSR - "CatKong"
My 2010 Caterham CSR has been an outstanding car – I love it to bits.
http://www.usa7s.net/vb/showthread.p...CSR-Superlight
But over time, many cars it runs with on HPDE events have been getting more powerful. Think about it, at the beginning of the decade Corvettes were 400-500hp, Mustangs were about 350 and Porker 911s were 350-450hp depending on model choice. In these big heavy cars, this hp level equalized out to the 270-odd hp my 2010 CSR had. I was able to keep up in lap time terms despite these cars boogieing off down the straight I could catch them in the braking zone and subsequent corners.
10 years on the equation has changed. Hp in those cars is 700-800 or higher hp. My Caterham CSR can no longer keep up despite having a highly talented driver.
In 2017 knowing the UK had tanked their currency for years, reducing Caterham prices substantially, I went to Bruce Beachman of Beachman Racing fame and asked, what would it take to build the most awesome Caterham? After being somewhat taken aback by my unusual request, he got into the spirit of things once he realized my expectations on timing and needing patience were realistic and flexible. This was not going to be your usual quick build.
We debated – 620R? CSR with 620R drivetrain? Regular deDion with a Godzilla engine? CSR with Godzilla? There were compromises but we both agreed from our past experiences that the CSR was unbeatable on a track against any other Caterham with the same drivetrain. To paraphrase Bruce, the other chassis’ could potentially match the CSR time but it would be a more fraught task for a very good driver. Eventually, we landed on placing an order for a Caterham CSR with the intent of coming up with a special drivetrain later.
The Caterham CSR fell off the product list at Caterham for a bunch of reasons – Arch-made chassis are not cheap plus it is complex which costs more to put together. Probably some other reasons but let’s not go there. However, Caterham never stopped making the CSR – it was still being sold in Switzerland and Australia for local market homologation reasons. So a CSR order could be placed for a roller chassis – waiting time 2 years – longer than the (at the time) 1 year wait list for the deDion chassis Caterham. Deposit down.
Fast forward in time. I had been noodling and proceeded to surprise Bruce with some upgraded thinking about ‘shooting for the moon.’ All credit due, he has been quite patient with my surprises. I think he was vaguely ok with being adventurous but was somewhat concerned about my ambition to visit the moon in a Caterham. It required both us to align expectations and recognize that miracles may take a week extra and the impossible just needs that additional month. Unexpected delays were always going to be a feature of this project.
Bruce did name the car “CatKong.” However, at his 2019 workshop Christmas party, where I attended, one of his wisecracking customers suggested that “Big Pussy” would be a more appropriate name given that’s what it would turn the driver into. Vinyl lettering in Caterham Firecracker Yellow has been produced with the “CatKong” name.
The specs. The order from Caterham was:
- CSR chassis
- Color: Body is in Aston Martin Almond Green (2014-17) (Code: AST1140/Ditzler PPG 400525). Nose band is in Caterham Firecracker Yellow.
- Standard wheels: Caterham 15 inch CSR wheels mounted with Avon ZZS tires.
- Standard dash (not the curvy one – I had plans here)
- Carbon fiber front and rear wings
- Carbon fiber aeroscreen
- Plumbed in fire suppression system
- Track day roll bar
- Painted 7 grille
- Carbon fiber indicator pods
- Lowered floors
- Standard S-type leather seats
- Uprated brake master cylinder
- Aero filler fuel cap – black
- Battery disconnect switch
- High intensity LED lights with daylight running lights integrated
- No driveline – comes as a roller from the Caterham Dartford factory.
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