2003 James Whiting Caterham 7 Fireblade

[dand]

2003 James Whiting Caterham 7 Fireblade

A very rare, one of only 24, 'James Whiting' Caterham 7 Fireblades

Back in the early 2000’s Caterham commissioned James Whiting to build a series of motorbike engine cars using the Honda Fireblade engine. The goal was to follow Colin Chapman’s ethos and make a car as light as possible. This was achieved with a weight under 400kg. With over 130bhp these cars have a power to weight ratio in excess of 325bhp per ton giving them acceleration somewhere between an R300 and an R400. But of course, with the lighter weight, braking and cornering are exceptional.

There’s a lot more information here: http://www.jameswhiting.com/page10.html

The Caterham Fireblade became very popular with Evo magazine making it their Track Day car of the Year in 2001. In fact Richard Meaden bought one himself and managed to get the weight down to just 369kg, including fluids. Then it became something of a hit on the Grand Turismo 4 game.

Of the 24 made about ½ have been exported so there are very few left in the UK.

The signature colour of these cars is “Persian Rose”. These were built to a very high specification with:

• Honda Fireblade 919cc engine which revs to 11,000rpm
• Pace/Nova dry sump system
• Six speed sequential gearbox
• Nova mechanical reverse box which, with the main gearbox, gives 6 reverse gears. In 2002 a Caterham Fireblade set the record for driving backwards at 102.52mph!
• FIA roll bar
• Carbon fibre wheel arches

This particular car also has:

• Interior

1. Tillet seats
2. Titan 6-point harnesses fitted last year
3. Westerman Motorsport (Mog) Carbon fibre dashboard
4. Carbon fibre interior panels
5. 2x removable steering wheels. Round, leather Momo wheel and “D” shaped alcantara Sparco
6. Digital display (Digidash 2)

 

• Exterior

1. Carbon fibre aero screen
2. Spa mirrors
3. Black pack
4. Lowered headlights
5. Tonneau and boot covers
6. Both large (MOT friendly) and small (for shows) front number plates

• Mechanics

1. Hi-Spec uprated front brake calipers
2. Adjustable rear shock absorbers
3. New clutch (~200 miles old). Uprated PDQ plates with Barnett springs.
4. New Toyo R888R tyres
5. New battery
6. New handbrake cable
7. 2x exhausts – small, loud, chrome one for road use and one a quiet, 7” repackable Simpson Race Exhaust for track days. Easy to swap over.

The personalised registration number H15 SVN is included with the car.

There is a 3” thick file of service records and receipts and the MOT runs until May 2020. The mileage is a little over 15,000 miles and it’s in excellent condition.

I’m located in Wokingham, Berkshire, near Reading just off the M4.

Price - £19,900