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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 archesThis particular car also has: Interior Tillet seats Titan 6-point harnesses fitted last year Westerman Motorsport (Mog) Carbon fibre dashboard Carbon fibre interior panels 2x removable steering wheels. Round, leather Momo wheel and “D” shaped alcantara Sparco Digital display (Digidash 2)Exterior Carbon fibre aero screen Spa mirrors Black pack Lowered headlights Tonneau and boot covers Both large (MOT friendly) and small (for shows) front number platesMechanics Hi-Spec uprated front brake calipers Adjustable rear shock absorbers New clutch (~300 miles old). Uprated PDQ plates with Barnett springs. New Toyo R888R tyres New battery New handbrake cable 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. 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 - £18,900

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 archesThis particular car also has: Interior Tillet seats Titan 6-point harnesses fitted last year Westerman Motorsport (Mog) Carbon fibre dashboard Carbon fibre interior panels 2x removable steering wheels. Round, leather Momo wheel and “D” shaped alcantara Sparco Digital display (Digidash 2) Exterior Carbon fibre aero screen Spa mirrors Black pack Lowered headlights Tonneau and boot covers Both large (MOT friendly) and small (for shows) front number plates Mechanics Hi-Spec uprated front brake calipers Adjustable rear shock absorbers New clutch (~200 miles old). Uprated PDQ plates with Barnett springs. New Toyo R888R tyres New battery New handbrake cable 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

Is there such a thing? Or is the only option the aluminium version?

Just a quick note that it passed it's MOT yesterday so now has MOT until May 7th 2020.

2003 James Whiting Caterham 7 Fireblade A very rare chance to acquire one of only 24, original, '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 and 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 awarding it their Track Day car of the Year award 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”. The story behind this is that James Whiting and Paul Harvey wanted an eye catching colour but didn’t want the usual Kawasaki Green or Lamborghini Orange. They couldn’t think of what to go for so Paul asked his daughter to bring them her favourite toy car and they’d use that … These were built to a very high specification with: Honda Fireblade 919cc engine which revs to 10,500rpm 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 Tillet seats Titan 6-point harnesses fitted last year Westerman Motorsport (Mog) Carbon fibre dashboard Carbon fibre interior panels 2x removable steering wheels. Round, leather Momo wheel and “D” shaped alcantara Sparco Digital display (Digidash 2) Exterior Carbon fibre aero screen Spa mirrors Black pack Lowered headlights Tonneau and boot covers Both large (MOT friendly) and small (for shows) front number plates Mechanics Hi-Spec uprated front brake calipers Adjustable rear shock absorbers New clutch (~300 miles old). Uprated PDQ plates with Barnett springs. New Toyo R888R tyres New battery New handbrake cable 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. The current MOT runs until 7th May but a new one will be put on in the next couple of weeks or at the point of sale. The mileage is a little over 15,000 miles and it is in excellent condition. I’m located in Wokingham, Berkshire, near Reading just off the M4. Price - £23,900

Agreed, it's a hell of a lot of fun. But new toy car now acquired so price dropped a little.

Paul, can't message you as your inbox is full.

Hi Surfbadger, was it you that drove it to Le Mans? If so that's pretty committed!

2003 James Whiting Caterham 7 Fireblade A very rare chance to acquire one of only 24, original, '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 archesThis particular car also has: Interior Tillet seats Titan 6-point harnesses fitted last year Westerman Motorsport (Mog) Carbon fibre dashboard Carbon fibre interior panels 2x removable steering wheels. Round, leather Momo wheel and “D” shaped alcantara Sparco Digital display (Digidash 2)Exterior Carbon fibre aero screen Spa mirrors Black pack Lowered headlights Tonneau and boot covers Both large (MOT friendly) and small (for shows) front number platesMechanics Hi-Spec uprated front brake calipers Adjustable rear suspension New clutch (~200 miles old). Uprated PDQ plates with Barnett springs. New Toyo R888R tyres New battery New handbrake cable 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 7th May 2019. 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 - £21,900

That'd be me taking it to Simpsons Race Exhausts. Did the reverse trip this morning with a nice new shiny track day friendly silencer. And it was the M4 - sorry but the mrs won that one!

Thanks guys - that's very helpful. It just seems you need a PhD in MoTs to figure out the rules!

Friendly local MOT guy says these days he can't tell what's required until he's testing it and the computer tells him what to do next. Reading the MOT manual it seems that for Caterhams if the 6th digit of the VIN is a C or a K and the 10th a W or earlier it's OK. On mine the 6th is a K but the 10th is a 1. So I've no idea. And, yep, it's on carbs.

Yes, it's a 2003 car. For the change in MOT rules, I don't think they could've caused more confusion if they'd tried. I think the changes at the end of May are to with classic cars (rolling 40 year exemption) and the proposals/discussion/consideration of the kit car rules won't come in until September. I plan to have it MOT'd in the next couple of weeks.

As per title - does a James Whiting Fireblade require a cat for the MOT or does it get through on visual test only?

Honestly, it's got an aeroscreen so if it's raining I'm indoors ....

What is the current feeling on the best road legal track day tyre? I've always had R888 in the past but ZZRs seem to getting a lot of good reports.