Dubbed the Caterham-Lola SP/300.R, the vehicle came to the world today at the Autosport International Show, which is being held in Birmingham, UK. Yes, the name reveals the fact that Caterham has joined forces with Lola Cars for this project.
At the heart of the new racer, we find a Caterham-tweaked, supercharged incarnation of the Ford 2.0l Duratec powerplant that delivers 300 hp, with the company promising that the engine will offer a linear power delivery.
Caterham will offer the vehicle with advanced data logging and features like an overboost function and an integrated semi-automatic gearshift control.
The chassis and body of the car have been developed together with Lola Cars, one of the world’s top manufacturers of race cars. We are talking about an aluminum tub with a longitudinally mid-mounted engine, working with a stress-bearing rear transaxle.
The list of aerodynamic goodies includes, a front splitter, fine0tuned ducts and dive-planes, an F1-inspired raised nose and sectioned panels (reduce repair costs and allow single-handed removal of body panels at the pits). Yes, the car also uses the Seven’s grille shape, which is featured beneath the raised nose.
Naturally, the vehicle is packed with racing tech goodies, such as a full motorsport suspension, with front and rear dual wishbones with pushrod dampers, adjustable ride height (rear suspension based on Lola Formula 3 and World Junior setup), 13-inch rims with bespoke Cooper tires, a roll cage, AP Racing brakes and others.
The Caterham SP/300.R is currently in the final stages of powertrain and handling development, with the vehicle set to enter a one-make championship in 2012. Caterham is also considering releasing a street-legal version of the car. The company will only build 25 units of the vehicle each year.
Google News