The Opportunity to Get Behind the Wheel of a Caterham 620 S

Hello and welcome to my channel. I'm excited to share with you an incredible experience I've had with the Caterham 620 S, a car that's been making waves in the automotive world for over 60 years. As a long-time subscriber to my channel, you know that I don't often turn down opportunities to get behind the wheel of new and exciting cars. And when Caterham reached out to me with an offer to borrow their 620 S for a week, I couldn't resist.

The Caterham 620 S is the most powerful road-going car from Caterham, featuring a 2-liter supercharged Ford Duratec engine that produces 310 horsepower. This might not sound like a lot of power on paper, but when you consider that this car weighs only 600 kilograms, its power-to-weight ratio is an impressive 580 horsepower per ton - rivaling the Bugatti Veyron in some respects. The Caterham 620 S is undoubtedly a formidable machine.

However, as exciting as this car sounds, it's also clear that there are some quirks to be aware of. Unlike many other cars on the market, the Caterham 620 S features a unique dashboard design with toggles instead of buttons. This means that everything from indicators to heater switches is accessed through these small toggle switches, which can take some getting used to. The steering wheel is also notably small and compact, giving it a rather innocent feel - almost like that of a pedal car.

One of the most distinctive features of the Caterham 620 S is its lack of traditional controls. There are no stalks for the indicators, nor any buttons on the steering wheel. Instead, you have to use these toggles to perform various functions. This can be a bit confusing at first, but once you get the hang of it, it's actually quite intuitive.

The dials in the cabin are also notable for their simplicity. You'll find three dials - fuel, engine temperature, and oil pressure - which are meant to provide an indication of your car's vital signs rather than precise readings. This is all part of the Caterham 620 S's raw, unbridled nature.

When it comes to handling and precision, the Caterham 620 S truly shines. As a cat-and-mouse game with its rivals on the track, this car is built for speed and agility. With no ABS, stability control, or traction control to speak of, you're left relying solely on your skills and reflexes to navigate the twists and turns.

I must admit that I was initially hesitant to drive the Caterham 620 S on public roads, given its raw nature and limited features. But as I settled into the car and began driving, I realized that this is precisely what makes it so exciting. With an endless stretch of empty roads at your disposal, you're free to unleash this beast and see just how fast and agile it can be.

In my experience, the Caterham 620 S is a car that's all about raw power and unbridled speed. It's not designed for everyday driving on congested city streets - in fact, with its price tag of £45,000, it's best suited to those who have an endless stretch of empty roads at their disposal.

Despite the Caterham 620 S being a car that's fundamentally very basic, I found myself drawn to its lack of pretension and raw, unbridled nature. It's a true driver's car - one that demands your full attention and participation in order to truly appreciate its capabilities.

As I concluded my time with the Caterham 620 S, I couldn't help but feel a sense of excitement and anticipation for what the future holds. With plenty more videos planned featuring this incredible machine, I'm sure you'll be eager to join me on this journey into the world of high-performance driving.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enwhat am i signed up for hello a Manoa bug in the seen through glass and welcome to the Caterham 6 20s now long-term subscribers will know that I very rarely turn down the opportunity to get behind the wheel of any car why would I it's just way too much fun trying out lots of different things so when Caterham go in touch and said did I want to borrow their six 20s for the week despite the fact that right now it's an average temperature of minus four degrees Celsius here in the UK I said hells yeah now for those that don't really know Caterham they've been making cars for over 60 years now and they specialize in these lightweight trap demolishing sports cars this the 620 s is the most powerful Road buyers Caterham that they make it has a 2 litre supercharged ford duratec engine in it that does nought to 60 in 3.4 seconds that puts out 310 horsepower now you everything in 310 horsepower that sound very much but this car weighs six hundred and ten kilos that means the power to weight ratio is 580 horsepower per ton the closest thing to that a Bugatti Veyron that does 520 horsepower per ton this thing is nuts now to coin the face from the iconic internet car reviewer Doug de Muro this car does have quite a few quirks not all Caterham dashboards are the same however the one the 620 s is different to any other car I've ever been in no buttons not one button in this entire car instead we get toggles for everything this steering wheel is tiny it feels like I'm almost innocent of one of those little kids cars you get you know which is it like a pedal car that's what the steering wheel feels like nice Momo badge on it though however that means that it doesn't have any space for buttons on it or around it it's so small and so the dials that everything has to be kept separate including the indicators so no traditional stalk for the indicators no buttons on the steering wheel like some modern supercars instead we get this toggle here just to the left of the steering wheel so you have to literally that's left that's right again if you want to flash the headlights this is it that's just the flash on the right there if you want to put lights on full you got another toggle here we've got heater switches windscreen wipers even the horn the horn is a toggle takes a lot to get used to all of this now the dials we've got three dials here fuel engine temps and oil pressure now I've been told that these are all indicative shouldn't be taken as precise readings of anything basically as soon as you get close to a quarter of a tank fill up because you could be about to run out of fuel at any moment I think about 150 miles per tank depending on how hard you drive immobilizer got a flashing immobilizer light but there's very little else in this cabin a very short stubby gear leaver for the 5-speed manual option handbrake quite a fire up sort of armrest so you drive a lot of time with your arms rested up high you don't have a lot of space to sort of drive like this it's a very unique driving position and experience lots of exposed carbon fiber in this car which I love the view is fantastic these doors don't have to have them they're literally like the winter door options you can take them off entirely and then you get this kind of like open access tub which again I really like so yes takes a while to get used to but once you do get used to and get in the mood it's quite fun the crazy thing is this isn't even the most hardcore 620 there's a 620r track focus version that doesn't nor to 60 in under three seconds it's got a sequential box in it can't understand what that must be alive because this takes my breath away obviously it doesn't feel like a car I don't feel like I'm in a car I feel like I'm on a bit of metal with a jet engine and I've been propelled along the road quite out of control I'm hoping that over the week I start to understand this carbon better and learn how to handle a bit better because right now it's the most terrifying roller coaster I've ever been on the very first time noise is it toxic ating thank you because there's no roof and if you notice that there's there's no roof as I mentioned its average of -4 this week so I am technically dying from pneumonia but I think it's kind of worth it because you are just you're shook it all over the place you're vibrating through sounds a bit dirty I'm trying to think of superlatives but I can't quite work it out he's just such a visceral experience everything is shaking the noise the bumps the suspension is quite hard but you expect that and you've got a one map given the type of car that it is I love that you can see the wheels moving out in front of you in fact I love the entire view that I have front of me the frogeye headlights the rivets in the bonnet I just feel so in tune with this thing not in control with in tune you could argue that this thing has too much power but you'd be wrong you'd be absolutely wrong because my limited experience like this today has always been there they're good fun but they're predominately just you know to be used on dragon it's all about the handling and the precision this is of course about the handling and precision it's a Caterham that's what they're all about but it's also about absolutely ballistic speed I can't quite work it out but I feel like this could be the car that finally kills me nothing in my mead it's the lack of any driver aids I have no ABS no stability control no traction control all in my right foot and these two hands that shift up oh let go the steering wheel and probably try and avoid some bumps it's it's just so raw it's so bored it doesn't there are very few cars like this these days don't get me wrong it is flawed in a million different ways fundamentally very basic in here forty-five thousand pounds you're only I'm gonna buy it for silly days like this and to take on track there is no point in pretending that this is a daily a bull car I am gonna try and daily over the next week because why not but you have to have this as your toy it's only time there for forty five thousand pounds for a toy seems a little expensive and I'm sure there are plenty of you out there the cater of day-in day-out and congratulations you're clinically insane me I just I just want to enjoy it for what it is it's just all over just ruining everybody get out of my way traffic why is there traffic everywhere bloody you care I want an endless stretch of empty roads and just crash this thing on oh good this guy's turning off down again let's kill myself again so yes this is day one day one with the six 20s I've got a home we've got some really fun things planned with it but I do want to try and use it as much as possible if there's anything you specifically you want to know about it please let me know big thanks to the guys the Caterham for letting me have this opportunity I hope you've enjoyed this video give it a thumbs up if you have then make sure to subscribe for plenty more videos to come\n"