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V8 CATERHAM: RST-V8 IN A SEVEN!
Ben Corley | May 24, 2007
The Seven concept is basically to have a high power-to-weight ratio. If you’re thinking a V8 would be absurd, you may be right, and we have seen bike engines fitted to Caterhams. The idea of joining two banks of 4-cylinder motorcycle engines together, however, is VERY interesting …
The RST-V8 equipped Caterham seen here belongs to Russell Savory, proprietor of, and the ‘R’ in RST. Savory first experimented with a pair of spliced-together Yamaha EXUP 1000cc engines, with lots of specifically made castings and other parts were made in the 90s. The engine was tested and found to produce 304bhp, and was fitted in a Chris Craft car called ‘The Lightning‘.
Motopower then concentrated on its British Superbike interests, and the RST-V8 project was put on hold. In 2003 the engine became a hot topic and a prototype was exhibited at the Autosport International Show.
For the past two years Russell Savory has been busy completely redesigning the engine. For now the only original parts are the cylinder head castings, while everything else is custom-made.
The finished RST-V8 was mated to a Type 9 Quaife sequential gearbox and installed in a Caterham Seven SV, loaned to RST by Caterham Cars.
The 2.0-litre RST-V8 engine is a lightweight, high-revving, 4 cam, 5 valve per cylinder all alloy V8, featuring bespoke components, with the exception of the cylinder head castings, which are basically modified production parts. The road version revs to 10,500rpm and the race version revs in excess of 12,500rpm, producing upwards of 380bhp. Maximum torque is around 190lbs/ft at 7,800rpm. Mountune is selling it for UKP21,400.
ENGINE DETAILS
Capacity - 2.0-Litre
Cylinders - 8
Number of Valves per cylinder - 5 (Total of 40)
Bore - 75mm
Stroke - 56mm
4 x 40mm twin injector throttle bodies
Wide open throttle torque - 104lbs/ft at 1500 rpm
Max torque - 190lbs/ft at 7800 rpm
Max rpm (road setup) - 10,200 rpm
Max rpm (race setup) - 12,500 rpm
RST stands for the initials of the project team members - Russell Savory, Tony Hart and Simon Shaw. Orders are being taken for the RST-V8 and installations are carried out by The 7 Workshop.
MORE RST-V8 PHOTOS, COURTESY OF GARY MURRELL (CATERHAM MALAYSIA)
ロータス / ケイターハム スーパーセブン ビルダー
SOURCES: MOTOPOWER RST-V8, EVO REVIEW, MOUNTUNE RACING
Topics: Powertrain |
June 18th, 2007 at 7:23 am
[…] May Seven Builder reported on the RST V8, a Yamaha EXUP based V8 used in Caterhams, but here’s a look at the Suzuki Hayabusa based […]