Hayabusa Powered: 2011 Lotus Caterham Replica MK Indy

I recently had the opportunity to ride in and drive a late model Caterham kit version of the Lotus 7 that was built by an insane friend and equipped with a 350 horsepower turbocharged GM Ecotech 4-cylinder and 6-speed.  Getting into the coffin-shaped passenger compartment was tricky, but acceleration was nothing short of psychotic. At the end of a 45 minute ride through curving coastal California blacktop I felt equal parts impressed, sun-burned, nauseated, and euphoric. I’ve driven some fast cars in my time (SLR McLaren, Z06 C7.R) but this was in its own league in orders of the level of excitement (and NVH) you experience on WOT in 2nd or 3rd gear…so I can only imagine that a Hayabusa 11,000 rpm powered version of the same car should similarly deliver a visceral gut punch of fun.  Find this 2011 Lotus Caterham Replica MK Indy here on eBay offered for $22,800 buy-it-now located in Waxhaw, NC.

From the seller:

PLEASE NOTE: This is a Track day Only car, not titled so if you wanted to drive it on the street you would have to apply for a title within your state. 

Scroll all the way down to see more Photos…

Original Kit

The original kit was purchased in 2011 from MK Motorsports based in the UK. A spin off that has been building Caterham style Lotus 7 replicas for a couple decades. This is their premium MK Indy R kit. Primarily designed for track use, but has all the components to make it road legal.

The car was completed in 2014 and I have added 412 miles since. All track miles. It has never been titled or licensed for the street (which was my original intention). Partially because after my first trackday it was so quick it scared me half to death thinking of it being on the street.

It’s a blast to drive, screaming to 11,000 RPM and yank on the sequential shifter is an awesome feeling. I love the ability to catch and pass Vettes, GT-R’s and many exotics. Handling, stopping and acceleration are it’s key strengths. Not so much top speed. You can brake literally 2-3 seconds after everyone else and be accelerating out of the corner much earlier. It’s hard to put into words so you should look at the YouTube links provided below.

One the best features of the car is the flatShifter electronics. Once you release the clutch and are moving, you do not have to touch the clutch pedal again for either up shifts or downshifts. On up-shifts the system cuts the ignition for a millisecond (actually sub Millisecond) to relax the transmission and allow the gear to slip to the next one. On downshifts the system will blip the throttle to the correct RPM for Rev Matching (again watch one of the videos listed below). ALL of this is done by just pulling or pushing on the gear leave. It absolutely rocks…

So why am I selling it?

Unfortunate it has been parked for the last two years due to a personal injury which prohibited me from using it. Now I’ve moved on to a new project and the wife has demanded one project at a time. I will be sad to see this one go, but its a waste to see it sitting under the cover.

Everything on this car was premium parts. Very little expense was spared. Never added it up, pretty sure it would give me a heart attack. If you have any questions please feel free to ask. The price listed is pretty firm. I know what this car can do and if it doesn’t sell at or very close to the listed price, I’ll simply change the tires and continue to have fun. Realistically its so reliable that usage cost is really just an oil change and maybe a set of plugs.

Specs:

Length: 125

Length Wheelbase: 93

Width: 65

Height: 3.75 (lowest point) 47 (highest)

Weight (full wet): 1224

Horsepower (at wheel, mustang Dyno): 167 @ 10,000 rpm – See Dyno Sheet photo

949 Racing Wheels 15×7.5 6UL

Tires 205/50/15

Chassis & body:

1 x 1 square 4130 Chromoly Steel, extremely rigid

Integrated 6 point roll cage

Flat bottom floor nose to tail

Aluminum floors are powder coated, epoxied to the frame and Riveted (Which contribute to the rigid chassis feel)

Fiberglass body panels, all are removable – The most frequent ones are held on by Zuus and easy off Low Profile button style retainers

Wind deflector Shield (you don’t look through it, but over, it pushes wind over your head) – But I strongly suggest glasses or a full shielded helmet

Suspension:

Independent Front and rear A arm

Spherical bearing joints

Mazda Miata hubs all 4 corners

Front inboard cantilever coilovers

Custom Upper and Lower adjustable A arms

Adjustable Camber

Adjustable Caster

Adjustable bumpsteer (MazdaTRix)

Dual adjustable Pro-Tech shocks

Modified Quick Ratio Ford Sierra Racing Steering Rack and Pinion

Most of the bolts, Unions, Rod Ends are Metric and Stainless Steel – Prepreg Oiled – Non Maintenance

Brakes:

Independent front and rear system

Stainless steel hard lines throughout chassis

Pressure sensor for Data logger (Front brakes only)

All braided stainless lines at flex points

Front: 

Wilwood UltraLight 4 Piston 

11 inch Cross drilled and Vented

Aluminum hat

Rear:

Wilwood UltraLight 2. Piston

11 Inch Solid

Tilton 3 pedal floor mounted assembly –  https://tiltonracing.com/product/600-series-3-pedal-floor-mount-assembly/

Tilton 3 Chamber Reservoir –  https://tiltonracing.com/product/3-chamber-plastic-reservoir/

Tilton Bias adjustment (allows driver to shift brake bias front to rear – installed but never really used it, this thing stops extremely well as is)  https://tiltonracing.com/product/standard-remote-brake-bias-adjuster/

Engine:

2008 Hayabusa with 3412 total Miles (a little under 3000 before it was removed from a fallen bike and placed in the car)

11,000 rpm redline

6 speed sequencial

Coil on plug upgraded – https://energycoil.com/products/hayabusa-1999-2018

Custom wiring harness –  https://www.sbdev.co.uk/Hayabusa/hayabusa_wiring_management_systems.htm

SBD Motorsports EFI Throttle Bodies – https://www.sbdmotorsport.co.uk/index.php/products/index/4460

SBD complete dry sump –  https://www.sbdmotorsport.co.uk/index.php/products/index/2915

AllStar Dry sump tank with aerator – https://www.summitracing.com/parts/aaf-all36096

APE Trac King Super Pro complete upgraded clutch –  https://www.hayabusazone.com/clutch.html

APE Upgrade Clutch Heavy Duty Springs

Custom handbuilt stainless headers

Brock Racing muffler

All fluids via AN fittings and braided lines

Shift fork enforcement

Spherical bearing shifter linkage (Not Cable – Direct Spherical bearing links)

Fueling:

SBD Motorsports complete EFI independent throttle Bodies, harness and MBE ecu.

2 quart swirl pot

Magna High Pressure Fuel Regulator

Russell High Pressure Filter

Magna High Pressure Pump

Cooling:

Triple pass Custom Fluidyne radiator

Single pass dual core oil cooler

Custom electronic water pump controlled by Davis Craig digital controller and MBE ECU. 

Electronics:

All wiring Connectors are Water Proof 

Professionally created wiring Harnesses and Panels – See photos

Race Technology Dash Pro  – Displays

Sensor info (Water, Oil, Speed, etc)

Shift lights

Warning Lights

Flatshifter Expert – See here for details – https://www.flatshifter.com/flatshifter-expert-quickshifter/

Integrated GoPro wiring and mounts – Think its a total of 3 Go-Pro mounts – Note Does not include Go-Pro’s

MBE ecu from SBD Motorsports –  https://www.sbdev.co.uk/Hayabusa/hayabusa_wiring_management_systems.htm

Davis Craig Digital controller for water pump –  https://www.sbdmotorsport.co.uk/index.php/products/index/4294

LED Tail lights

Braille Light lithium weight battery

Energycoil Coil on Plug – Super powerful –  https://energycoil.com/products/hayabusa-1999-2018

Gear number Display

Innovate MTX-L Wide Band O2 sensor and display

Power Distribution Modules by Rowe Electronics – No fuses in this car – Completely managed by PDM

This thing is awesome – The car has two – One which is always on and a second which is ignition triggered

Allows you to program the amperage per circuit and what it should do when it experiences a short. 

Simple to trouble shoot and to reset a short, simply turn power off and on

There is a microphone wired into the car that can be used with a go pro. Its low enough to avoid wind noise.

Drivetrain:

6 speed sequential: Suzuki with Modifications

Ford Cosworth 7″ differential 

Quaife Ford Sierra 7″ ATB Helical LSD Differential – https://shop.quaife.co.uk/ford-sierra-7-inch-quaife-atb-helical-lsd-differential

No clutches to replace – Really good traction off the corner

Custom lightweight driveshaft by Driveshaft Shop  https://www.driveshaftshop.com

Custom lightweight halfshafts-  https://www.driveshaftshop.com

Jaxsport Reverse box – (if you look at the photos you will see a small knob right behind the shifter stick)

Spare Ring and Pinion – ratio is better for higher speed (see Spares list below)

SBD Billet Clutch Center –  https://www.sbdmotorsport.co.uk/index.php/products/index/962

Heavy Duty Shift Shafts –  https://www.sbdmotorsport.co.uk/index.php/products/index/1882

Aero:

Flat bottom nose to tail

Aluminum removable Floor panel for Engine Bay

Aluminum Diffuser on the rear can be removed (but it actually works)

Interior:

Tillett B6-F Carbon Fiber driver seat

Fiberglass passenger seat

Both seats are on slides

2017 OMP 6 point harnesses – Not installed but not included in spares

Sparco Steering wheel, with Quick Release

Heel mounts – Allows you to brace yourself when you hit the brakes (This car stops really hard)

Inside Panels are lightweight plastic

Spares included:

A complete Differential Ring, Pinion and bearings set – Will increase the top speed – 

Custom tools

Clutch Alignment tool

Clutch Basket holder (Used to tighten main nut while holding basket steady)

2017 OMP 6 point Harness – The car is fitted with a 5 point Simpson, but it has expired cannot be used on the track

Car Cover – It doesn’t fit anything else I own so I have no use for it

What Missing, Need Replaced, Repaired or suggested Change?

The car pulls strong, but I think more can be gained from tuning, frankly after installing the new ECU and Throttle bodies the car was never tuned. I only ran it on the dyno to make sure it was not running lean and everything worked.

The tires are aged out and should be replaced, they look good but they are over 5 years old

Swapped the differential gear set for a higher top speed, all the parts are there (bearings, Ring and Pinion – see Spares list), just needs to be done.

The Braille Battery is getting old. Still holds a charge, but would be something I would change

The car has always been garaged kept under a cover (Which is included in the spares). It has a few dings from track days, a few rubber marks from rubber on the track, but that’s about. The rear fenders have some small spider cracks from the tires kicking up stones. That wont happen again since I applied an undercoating to protect it.

Frequently Ask Questions:

Maintenance wise, where do I get parts – 

I tried to make sure this would be easy for myself

Suspension Hubs – Bearings etc – All Mazda

Brakes – Wilwood (Summit etc)

Engine – Really only spark-plugs and Oil Filters – Both are Suzuki Factory

How do you drain the oil if the engine bay is sealed by the Flat Floor – 

The floor under the engine bay has two Removable access panels for oil Changes

Whats the top speed

According to my GPS data-logger 110

Couple YouTube Videos

Compilation of passes (sorry for the mismatch between sound and video, GoPro went wonky that day)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbsQZ-a_0BA

Dyno Day – I had to step back due to stones coming off the rear tires but you will hear how clean the pull sounds.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDxOeCOm8sI

First Start on new Fuel Injection (before tuning – You gotta see how the engine responds)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DG2v4kxHU5A

Shipping or Delivery: 

See a better way to go fast? tips@dailyturismo.com