09/08/15
In stark contrast to my first impression I was pampered by reception and given an informative briefing on the dos and don'ts of driving a Roadsport by the very knowledgeable and lovely Emma.
My first mission for the day was to drive up to visit TEAM LOTUS at their headquarters in Hingham,Norfolk. Tony Fernandes owns the Formula 1 team as well as Air Asia, Caterham Cars, the Tune Group and has recently acquired a major shareholding in QPR.
The weather was blustery but in the hope that it wouldn't rain I opted for a top down run, though quite frankly you shouldn't use the hood for anything other than as an overnight cover. I couldn't wait to get off the M25 and the M11 and head onto the A and B roads that would let this car's brilliance shine through.
The broader SV chassis, which is still a snug fit, has the wider front suspension of the Superlight. With CAD facilities Caterham has been able to increase chassis stiffness by 12% to cope with the new more powerful engine options. The 2 litre Duratec in both the Roadsport 175 and the R300 is exactly the same. The main difference is that the Roadsport has a five speed box compared to the six speed of the track day car. There's fist fulls of torque and with a feather light 550 kg to push along, the extra gear is not worth having as an option.
By the time I turned off the A11 onto the B roads leading to TEAM LOTUS I was part of the car's DNA. I was straight lining fast series of S bends, overtaking two county ladies with head scarves in a drophead Z3 with the staccato blast from the exhaust ricocheting off the high banks. I could still hear them braying in fright as I turned off for the final run into Hingham.
Sunday was a mixture of bright sunshine and thundery showers here in Twickenham. In the wet, treat with caution and unleash the power only when you are facing in a straight line unless of course you like scaring the pants of your passenger. Just allow a little extra space each side for the tail to wag. There's no need to put the roof on as the rain will curve over the top of the screen and with a heater capable of melting your socks you'll feel a warm glow as you blip the throttle to make that dash down the touchline.