Westfield vs Caterham (!)

 

Caterham Superlight R500                 Westfield Megabusa           

Caterham R500Westfield Megabusa

 

Introduction

 

This is an attempt by me to rationalise the difference between the two manufacturers products in an unbiased way. I do this because this is the most likely alternative choice you will have in your mind and I certainly had to deal with the question before I ordered my 7.

 

My qualifications for writing such a piece are :

 

 

I do not confess, then, to be the absolute last word in expertise in this field but certainly my opinion can be factored into your decision to go along with your own, and perhaps even more experienced views. I have tended to find that the views expressed by more experienced owners, who are perhaps a few years into one brand, are not very objective because they become understandably biased one way or another. I pride myself on not falling into this trap.

 

I won’t go into a big “history” thing here because it is not the point. The important things are the two cars, sat in front of us now (metaphorically speaking, of course!)

 

Looks and Bodywork

 

The look of the cars is different. No question about that. The Caterham is physically smaller than the Westfield, being slightly shorter overall and in wheelbase.

 

The 7 is aluminium skinned, which gives the car a very “square” look which cues visually the older and original Lotus 7. The Westfield, being fibreglass in body is more curvaceous and the edges are that bit less squared off. The Weatfield looks more modern. Since the Westfield is wider it affords more cockpit space than the 7 but you do seem to sit that bit higher up and so feel a touch more vunerable. The Westfield is more similar in size to the new widebody Caterham SV than the original car.

 

The Caterham’s dissimilar metal construction of alloy skin over steel framework can give corrosion problems later and early powdercoat finishes were apparently not very durable. Caterham seem to have the powdercoating quality under control now but certainly you need a weather eye on the car more carefully than with the Westfield, whose fibreglass skin won’t cause the same problems, obviously. A loved car will not have a corrosion problem. Most Lotus 7 Club GB members advocate the use of Waxoyl or a similar corrosion preventative, preferably applied from new. I did this myself just after final completion. The downside of the fibreglass is that it is not very easy to replace a damaged panel if something bad happens to it. Also remember that the Westfield too has a steel spaceframe which is just as vunerable to chips as the Caterham’s. My old Westfield had the integral rear wings (they are now available detachable) and one of them had a stone knock a huge chunk out of it. Imagine that happening on a side panel. You will not find it a lot of fun to match the gel coat with paint if you have to fill in a hole. With the Caterham any damaged panels can have the rivets drilled out and be replaced.

 

Caterham chassis (1990 Supersprint)

Caterham rolling chassis

 

The Westfield runs smaller headlamps than the Caterham for a less “bug eyed” look. The small lamps are available to purchase either from Westfield or www.jameswhiting.co.uk who specialises in trick 7 bits. The lights do offer lower frontal drag obviously and apparently not much worse performance. I Can’t comment on the performance of the original Caterham lights because I got rid of them before I went out at night!

 

Westfield 1800 Sport

(Note integral moulded nose and small headlamps)

Westfield 1800 Sport in red

 

Clearly looks are totally subjective so other than these issues of practicality it will be your personal opinion that dictates preference.

 

Claimed weights

 

The weight of cars like these has a huge impact on performance so it comes as no surprise that the two companies fight it out on who has the lower weight and therefore the higher power to weight ratio.

 

Aside from the issues of the ordinary cars, Westfield built the awesome FW400 (400bhp/tonne) using the VHPD 190bhp engine and a totally unique carbon fibre chassis tub and composite bodywork. This was truly a special car and is very rare. You can’t buy a new one now unfortunately but here is a photo of the car doing a serious burnout!

 

Westfield FW400

Westfield FW400 burnout!

 

Caterham responded by building the R500 using essentially a standard car but with some race bits on it and a few trick magnesium castings to drop the weight. Obviously power was hiked to 230bhp and the result is a claimed 500bhp/tonne. The R500 is, however, not as different from its lesser siblings as the FW400.

 

Caterham Superlight R500

7 DUO R500 Caterham Superlight

 

The manufacturers quote totally dry weights in the brochures and always use a very spartan spec; it really is tough to put your finger on the true weights. Suffice to say that in my opinion, the two designs are very similar and this means that it is more down to the spec the customer chooses than whether it is a Caterham or a Westfield that will determine which turns out heavier.

 

For example, this Caterham below, which is totally stripped for track use, will weigh probably about 400 kilo’s:

 

Caterham Superlight at Bedford Autodrome

 

Whereas this VVC road car isn’t exactly going to be a lightweight at probably about 570kg’s with its screen, heater, spare wheel and leather interior! Even the 16” alloys add about 15kg’s extra over the top of the little 13” ones!

 

Caterham Roadsport VVC at speed!

 

The bottom line is that you should spec whichever you choose with great care and then whether you go Westfield or Caterham the weight will be under control.

 

Caterham quote the following weights:

 

 

Westfield are less forthcoming with weights, presumably because it is so spec dependant but they do say that their MegaBusa and Fireblade cars have a weight of 440kgs. This will probably be quoted as a standard kit so if you spec carbon bits then you could probably save maybe 10kgs?

 

Suspension

 

This is where the biggest difference occurs. Westfield have developed their own rather excellent independent rear suspension (referred to in 7 circles as the rather cryptic “IRS”!) Caterham, on the other hand, have refused to do this saying that their De-Dion semi independent system is perfectly adequate for such a lightweight design.

 

Technically, of course, it is impossible to criticise the logic behind going IRS. Each roadwheel is allowed unencumbered freedom to respond to the road surface and the unsprung weight of the car is lower. Drivers of older, live axle cars (literally a solid rear axle sort of “floating” on springs and arms) have to suffer a high unsprung weight also and it has been commented that although differences are less apparent on the circuit, once you get onto a bumpy road the more advanced systems allow smoother and faster progress to be made.

 

I love the idea of IRS and think that it gives Westfield the technical edge on the chassis. Certainly it means that anyone trying to call the Westfield a cheap copy is woefully incorrect and it proves the firm’s engineering ability.

 

Driving

 

My personal experience of driving the cars, however, reveals an interesting thing. My old live axle Westfield was indeed awesome on dry, smooth roads. It was horribly skittish on bumpy ones and no match for the De-Dion 7 in terms of feel and feedback.

 

Experience on the track in lower powered de dion 7’s reveals a very forgiving chassis. The MegaBusa on the track was far less forgiving and although awesome in terms of outright performance, was nowhere near as friendly as the little 7.

 

The comparison between my own SLR and Pat’s Megabird is an interesting one. The SLR feels faster but not by much. On CR500 tyres the SLR understeers when pushed and the Megabird grips like a limpet in a glue factory on its 032R’s. The steering is superior on the 7, however, with better and sharper turn in and feedback.

 

The sequential box is fabulous when you’re gunning it – the Caterham 6 speeder is hardly ponderous, however, and rewards with a much smoother drive off the boil and in town.

 

Both cars suffer from LSD noise in the 7’s case only very slightly. The ‘Bird sounds like a bag of bolts in a food mixer, with myriad of clunks, clonks and other assorted zizzez zizzing their way through the car at every opportunity. The driveline shunt on light throttle in the ‘Bird drives me mad… Best solution is to floor it and then the whole car comes absolutely alive. This is a car that responds well to a hard drive – I’ll bet it’s almost unbeatable on the track.

 

Engine Choice

 

As a road car the 7 is awesome and a great compromise, especially in K series form and with such a huge choice of power outputs it means it is easy to buy a 7 that suits your needs and budget and then upgrade over time. This is now true more than ever with the advent of the new “Classic” that has De-Dion suspension.

 

It is no secret that Westfield are placing great emphasis on their motorcycle powered cars and now that Caterham don’t officially make a bike engined car (or BEC as it is known!) I suspect that track oriented customers wanting a lot of power and revs for a very reasonable outlay will need to give the superb Westfield BEC’s serious consideration.

 

In terms of Westfield’s other cars, I am going to stick my neck out and say that the Zetec powered 1800’s and the like are not as good as the Caterham K series car when compared like for like. My reasons for saying this are that the Zetec IS slightly heavier, and the car doesn’t have the amazing 6 speed gearbox of the 7. This takes the edge off the “racecar” feel and I find the standard Westfield a little less “lean” than the standard Caterham. Added to the fact that a Roadsport 7 will not cost very much more and yet will generally retain more value, I would suggest that the 7 makes a compelling argument for itself in the company of the Ford powered opposition !

 

My old Westfield was powered by the big 2 litre Vauxhall motor, and due to the extra weight of the engine it had a “heavy” feel to the front end. The VX engine is awesome, though, and some people love it engine so much that they get used to the handling and are prepared to spend a great deal of time and money working on solutions to manage the weight. My car actually had its chassis heavily modified and the motor was moved back in the frame by a ridiculous amount. This improved turn in greatly and was a worthwhile exercise but the VX powered cars are still never as nimble feeling as their lighter brethren. There is a large VX following, however, and don’t lose sight of the fact that a VX powered 7 or Westfield will still only weigh between about 500 and 600 kilo’s, depending on spec!

 

It was rumoured that the new all alloy lightweight (but still a few kgs more than the K) Ford Duratec engine would replace the K series at some point in the Caterham and some people have built them now. These offer a lot of tuning potential at low cost and www.raceline.co.uk can help you to do this too! The exhaust will be on the right hand side if you go down this route which some people have taken issue with but I can’t see what difference this makes?

Caterham vociferously denied that this was going to happen, and it looks as though they were being totally honest about it! The new range of K series (badged X Power) have now been announced and Caterham and Rover as a relationship look closer than ever.

 

The Rover V8 powered Westfield has something of a cult following but personally I don’t see the attraction. The V8, being all alloy, is not anywhere near as heavy as you’d think it would be but it still weighs a lot more than a K series!!! This car, I think, is aimed at pure fuel guzzling fun and sideways, tire shredding action with less regard to lap times and handling balance than the “purer” interpretations of the marque. I suspect that these cars are bought by the people that would perhaps choose, say, a Cobra, but would not feel so keen on taking it on a trackday for fear of clattering the bodyshell! The SEIGHT, as it is known, is a unique car that I don’t think you’d have to ask anyone’s opinion about. You either love it and must own one or you are cold about it, simple as that!

 

A word about used value’s: I do evidence to support my opinion that, say, a used 1800cc Westifield will be worth a substantially smaller proportion of its purchase price than an “equivalent” Caterham. This means that if you spec the Westfield with the wrong extra’s you’ll lose more when you sell. I think that some of this comes from the fact that the Westfield is more accessible new to the enthusiast than the 7, so used ones are not considered as often. The thing to remember, though, is that this is a very specialist market, and so the spec, condition and exact “provenance” of the car will determine the marketability and value of any example you look to sell. You must understand that it is impossible to say that one car will “always” be worth more than another just because of its name! A very highly specified, nicely built and powerful VX powered Westfield with all the carbon bits and some spangly magnesium rims will still command a very hefty price. A tatty Caterham 7 with a smoky crossflow and worn out bench seats will not, regardless of the owner jumping up and down at the nosecone pointing at the “Super Seven” badge!

 

The values of purely track based cars, both from Caterham and Westfield DO seem quite a lot less than their road going counterparts. Do take care when assessing track cars even more so than normal, because the value is in the details: Can you get an age related plate or will you be “Q”’d? Is the car straight? Gearbox ratio’s suitable for road use? Etc….

 

Construction

 

Westfield normally insist you collect your car from the factory and “bring plenty of foam.” Caterham deliver your car packaged in crates with “7” on them from the back of a liveried “Caterham” HGV. A culture difference, then. This extends to the fact that Caterham’s 7 is delivered with all the wiring in, the fuel plumbed in, the instruments in and a lot of other tricky things done for you. Westfield leave you to do everything. This explains, I’m sure, why I’ve seen so many absolutely horrific Westfields. I’m sure, this is why some people have the (generally incorrect) assumption that the Westfield is inferior to the 7. In the end, this is one of the reasons the 7 is more expensive. At the end of the day it IS your car and your choice, but my advice is simple;

 

If you have little or no mechanical ability and are doing this for an introduction and a bit of fun then buy a 7 because you’ve got a lot less to cock up. If you know what you are doing (and you will know if you do, believe me) then this is a non-issue and you’ll choose on the other factors and build whatever.

 

My Seven took about 3 weeks to build, working sensible evenings and Sundays. Pat’s Westfield took much longer, probably twice as much work, all in all.

 

Outsiders comment that the 7 does look more “factory” as a car, but these are personal opinions and why should this detract from the Westfield?

 

Pricing Policy and service

 

Westfield charge less for their cars. Simple fact. They were very helpful to me as a prospective customer. Caterham were not as obliging and I NEVER once was offered a drive in a 7 by anyone at either the Midlands branch or the London one! I was taken out for a 10 minute blast by an employee of Caterham but he drove. (What is the point of this? A Caterham is about a sensory experience which cannot be gleaned from the passenger side.) Westfield invited me to test the MegaBusa on a circuit at no cost. They laid on coffee, sandwiches, chips and bacon butties and we had a fantastic day. I was shown round the factory and made to feel very special indeed. Total full marks to them.

 

The actual service at Caterham has, however, been very, very good, so I assume that they understand the fact that it won’t make any difference to your final choice – that once you want a 7 you’ll buy it from them rather than them selling it to you! Some of the people at Caterham are great, though, and it is really nice to be able to order a car and then ring the actual men responsible for building it rather than some be-suited salesman!

 

It is interesting to note that a new Westfield MegaBird kit is just £13500 for EVERYTHING needed to build the car, new. This represents amazing value for the performance, although I suppose that www.caterhamfireblade.com could sell you a new Blade powered 7 for very similar money – perhaps £15000. Bear in mind that Pat did manage to get one of 6 kits “left over” (?) , and that the normal price would be £16000.

 

The SLR I bought was much more expensive but nobody doubts the reason why when you inspect the car. The bespoke race car parts manufactured from carbon, Kevlar and beautiful castings eat up money but leave you with a really nice machine. The paint finish is incredible. Good value, then.


A word about service after you’ve bought your kit: I was missing a fair few parts, which is very frustrating. Pat was missing a fair few parts (more than me, actually). What sets the two apart is that Caterham absolutely went out of their way to send me the bits I needed on the nail. James Gibson, their “shortages” man, was utterly fantastic and always did his level best to rectify the disappointments as and when they occurred. Sadly, the Westfield bunch were not as obliging. Things took several days, sometimes even weeks, to turn up and nobody really seemed very interested to put themselves out to help Pat. By contrast, one of the Caterham guys sent me his Rivnut gun in a 24h jiffy bag so I could fit my ECU. That is real service.

 

 

 

Conclusion

 

Both Westfield and Caterham stand way out from mere “kit cars” as far as I am concerned and both have established quality benchmarks that the others are aiming for. At this stage, to aim is all that the “clones” can dream about because in my opinion, these two are absolutely WAY out on their own.

 

Westfield is building its business on innovation and working hard for each sale, and along with outstanding value for money, this is a combination that proves difficult to resist. I would certainly buy a new one.

 

Caterham’s product trades on its heritage and historic importance. It is the original 7 and brings a certain character and air of importance that the Westfield can’t match. The quality, too, is absolutely excellent and the cars beautifully individual. They handle sublimely and have, in the K series, a great engine which suits the car perfectly.

 

Residual values on the Caterham are generally superior to the Westfield in my opinion and of course, Caterham will always buy back quality cars at a fair(ish) price, especially if you want to upgrade (!)

 

I always wanted a Caterham, really, and despite being tempted by the Westfield on the grounds of its engineering ingenuity I couldn’t see myself having the same pride of ownership, for some reason.

 

Your choice will reflect your agenda and I’m sure you’ll have great fun making it!

 

 

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