Anything like a caterham seven available in the states?

[BlueSubaruSTi]

Going to build a car with one of two people. Either my grandpa (wants a fast car) or my dad (wants a fun to drive car). I have a feeling all of us will be working on it and will come to some compromise. Really something like the lotus seven, made street legal would be perfect. I would love to build something from scratch... but the lotus just isn't available in the states, and really i could see dying in that car if i got rearended by a toddler on a tricycle. We looked into a cobra replica, (factory five) but to be honest i cant see getting that done for under $25,000 and thats really too much. Was looking at buying a 93-96 impreza and getting a jdm front clip, but would probably end up spending $20k on that to make it safe and all the supporting mods (wheels, brakes, suspension) for the power.

Now I'm pretty much stuck, i would love to build a car from scratch... but dont have a huge budget. This would really only need to be a 2 seater... no a/c or anything... nothing fancy... non-winter (obviously) car. And to be honest if its fast (read lightweight) thats great, if its fun to drive (read lightweight) thats great, and if i would survive a wreck (read 15,000lbs) thats a major plus.

Really im not sure if i can float more than 10k for this, maybe a 10k initial investment and work from there to make the car better? I dont know. Really I don't have much mechanical knowledge (just the basic knowing how everything works... what and where everything belongs... changing oil kind of knowledge) but im really willing to learn. We dont have a lift but will go out and buy a jack and jackstands if we can come on a descision. Plus some other stuff... torque wrench.. My grandpa was an electrion for a while and then became a contractor. My dad's a lawyer. So as you can see we probably cant tackle anything really complex or advanced.

Once again i live in the midwest (south dakota) and its really kind of hard to find cars here. We have a few ferraris... lambos.. am's and the like in town, and supposedly have the largest corvette per capita in the entire country (i hate corvettes now)... so its not like i live on a farm or something. Anyways, would really appreciate your advice and judging by the kind of members i see here im sure ill get some help.

[sunk]

Yes, the Caterham Super Seven is indeed available here. It is available as a kit-car(you can also get it assembled).
It is a fast and also a fun car.
Have a look at their webnsite for a ordering form.
I also live in south dakota(Pierre).

[lightweight]

there's a company in the US that sells kit cars with the S2000 engine. I forget what its called though

[BlueSubaruSTi]

Oh hey, im in Sioux Falls. I'll have to take a closer look at that then.. not sure what my problem was with not seeing that before.


edit: it helped if i looked at the us instead of the uk site

[BlueSubaruSTi]

ok i really didn't know they were that expensive... would be $30k all said and done. with the base model... not good. Any other suggestions?

[Spastik_Roach]

You can get lots of Lotus 7 style kit cars in the U.S.

Look into the Lo-Cost 7 replicas, they're very cheap, popular, look good and go hard (Like a good prostitute )

[Mustang]

do a search on here for "luego" and youll find a whole thread about it and how someone is building one, im also thinking of getting one if i can raise the cash

[Matra et Alpine]

and if you dont want the raw 7 looks then check out the Fisher Fury.

The same chassis, suspension, engine, performance and handling as their 7-copy but in a VERY nice sportscar body.

http://www.furyusa.com/

THe bike engined ones with sequential box are lovely nimble cars to chuck around ( NOT for 100 miles of freeway at 55mph tho )

[Vindesh17]

that fisher fury looks great

[Matra et Alpine]

that fisher fury looks great

They do really well on track too

Not sure if all the options/variants will be available in the US.
See what they offer at http://www.fishersportscars.co.uk

The new Menace is mid-engined and a REAL screamer
Was tempted at the Kit show ....

[Widsinator]

I own a Lotus 7 repilica, with a little twist, it has a Supercharged 3800 V6 (L67). It seems to meet you needs, check out www.stalkerv6.com for the manufactuer website, or stalker.whittlegroup.com for our finished car.

[taz_rocks_miami]

This is an official Caterham dealer in the USA: http://www.uscaterham.com/. Superperformance sells an excelent Super 7 replica: http://dynamicmotorsports.net/

[my porsche]

I own a Lotus 7 repilica, with a little twist, it has a Supercharged 3800 V6 (L67). It seems to meet you needs, check out www.stalkerv6.com for the manufactuer website, or stalker.whittlegroup.com for our finished car.

how much was yours?

[Matra et Alpine]

If going 7-esque remember and decide whether you want live-axle or IRS rear.

You'll find it better able to handle mid-corner pitch changes with IRS, BUT the live-axle with multi-link anti-tramp will be better if you're dragging it.

[PininfarinaPIMP]

Yeah a Caterham 7...