Need advice for first single seater

[Blackbird7]

Dear Gentleman,

thats my first post, my name is Christoph i am from germany and plan buying my first single seater, because i want one for a long time

I do racing with a Caterham Blackbird (CBR1100 bike engine) since a couple of years and would like as a second car a single seater just for having one and the other driving expierience.
I have never driven a singel seater before so i have a lack of knowledge here.

I do not plan to race it at the moment but maybe in the future, only the occational trackday. I guess it will be no more than arround two trackdays per year not more, because i still want to use the caterham for some other trackdays.

Thats why i am looking for a car that will hold its value for many years or maybe even increase value. If i ever will sell it.

As a budget i could spend arround 20.000$, if its less thats fine.
I am a good mechanic and do all the work myself inluding engine building.....but i do not like to complex electrics. But k think those cars are out of my budget anyway.

I was looking for the following cars, if someone got other cars to consinder i am happy for your recommondations.

Formula Renault from the 1990s 1.7/1.8 arround 8-12.000$ here in Germany.
I mean the cheap ones with the car gearboxes. I like the look, but do not like the cheap components. I might be dissappointed because my caterham got a great spec and might be even better. What do you think about them?

Formula BMW FB02 around 20.000$: Those i preffer at the moment, 1200cc bike engine, 6 speed sequential hewland gearbox, carbon chassis. Very nice spec cars and i am sure its a blast to drive. Those are not so common and i am not sure if they will hold their value because there is no real racing series for them at the moment. What do you think?

Formula Ford FF1600/1800/2000.
I really like the vintage cars, but would preffer a car with more downforce. I think they will hold their value well because there is still many people that use them. How do they drive compared to a more modern one?

Any other type of cars to consider? Formula König, Lotus, Renault 2.0.

Thank you very much.

Best regards.

Christoph

[TimH]

I would estimate that with a budget of $20k you should spend no more than $13k on the car, allowing for all the stuff it will promptly need to get on track.

FF1600, as you noted, is purely mechanical grip. That takes aero downforce out of your learning curve, which I consider a very good thing. Depending on tires, you may run higher slip angles than in modern cars, which I also consider a major plus for fun factor and learning forgiveness. They'll still be a hoot, even compared to the Caterham.

That said, you should buy whatever has the best fields in your area.

[Bardahl77]

Niki Lauda and a lot of great drivers started in Formula Vee. Simple to work on, teaches momentum.

[Blackbird7]

Thanks a lot.

I drive my caterham with 20/54 and 24/57 michelins slicks and it also has no aero, so i know this forgiving easy driving with lots of sliding and drifting arround. But i do not want a second car that drives the same. For learning this is great and if you are in a racing series, where everybody uses the same cars this is also great. But i am not sure if i will be happy with it.

What do you think about this BMW?

https://www.motorsportmarkt.de/inserat/37162/formel-bmw

Would be best to test a Formula car with and without aero first, but this might get difficult.

[GAC]

F500 would be in your price range and have a little bit of aero. An older Formula Continental has wings and would fit your budget. I know of a good Reynard in Wisconsin.


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[Bardahl77]

Thanks a lot.

I drive my caterham with 20/54 and 24/57 michelins slicks and it also has no aero, so i know this forgiving easy driving with lots of sliding and drifting arround. But i do not want a second car that drives the same. For learning this is great and if you are in a racing series, where everybody uses the same cars this is also great. But i am not sure if i will be happy with it.

What do you think about this BMW?

https://www.motorsportmarkt.de/inserat/37162/formel-bmw

Would be best to test a Formula car with and without aero first, but this might get difficult.

Nice price for a nice car. I assume there are club racing classes for that, something to check out. All I'm aware of are the big series like the ADAC F4 with the Abarth engines. Probably a lot more expensive. I would look and see what clubs have good sized groups for an entry-level car. FC over here is like a FF with wings and more power, a lot of countries have FF2000 as a class, very similar. Try on some cars for fit at a club race, talk to the drivers. Probably work better than us Yanks telling you what's what!

Auf Wiedersehn!