Brooke Double R

Nicholas Rufford

Remember the golden days of motoring when Jason King cruised around in a Jensen Interceptor and income tax was 96p in the pound? Back then, driving a sports car was like motorcycling: cold and unforgiving. There were no airbags or crumple zones so if you came off the road it was curtains. But at least you arrived feeling alive.

That’s what driving a Brooke Double R is like. It’s about as comfortable as an old metal bathtub but boy, racing round Brands Hatch on a winter’s day doesn’t half get your pulse racing. The Double R (for road racer) is a projectile-shaped open-wheeled racer; it’s got no hood or windscreen, so you’re completely exposed. The retro design belongs to a different era — when Bernie Ecclestone was still a hard-up Connaught racer.

But in terms of technology it’s bang up to date. It’s powered by the latest 2.3 litre Ford Duratec engine, tuned by Cosworth to 200bhp, 260bhp (the same used by Caterham in the CSR 260) or 275bhp. There are plans for a 300bhp version with a supercharger. But the best thing about it is that it weighs only a shade over half a ton so its power to weight ratio is better even than that of a £192,000 Lamborghini Murciélago or a £79,540 Porsche GT3.

It is these pocket rockets that Britain seems to excel at. There are currently around 20 niche sports car makers that can take advantage of the “low-volume type approval” rules exempting them from putting their cars through the same legislative rigours as a family hatchback. Ariel, Caterham, Marcos, Noble, Radical, Ultima and Westfield all compete to make the world’s best thrill-a-minute car. Of these, Caterham is the best known; Brooke is the latest on the scene.

I’ve never been fired off the deck of an aircraft carrier by a steam catapault but I reckon the Brooke must be the next best thing. Jason Dawe (who funnily enough was named after Jason King) was revving his Caterham on the starting grid at Brands; seconds later he was still sitting there looking to see which way I’d gone. After four laps he was nowhere to be seen. Admittedly he had eaten a hearty breakfast or two, but the power advantage of the Brooke was overwhelming.

As you might expect, Dawe still claimed victory after I responded to a marshal’s flag calling us into the pits while he carried on, but there’s no doubt who was quicker (video evidence is on the Timesonline website).

The Brooke is as stripped down as it’s possible for a car to be. The twin seats with four-point safety harnesses come in optional carbon fibre. There are no windows, heater or airbag and no power steering. Renault supplied the transmission and the car comes in a choice of seven colours including Ferrari red and, best of all, British racing green.

From every angle it’s a throwback to the days when sports cars were built by enthusiasts for enthusiasts. Originally the Double R was the brainchild of Toby Sutton, who quit the family antique restoration business to start Brooke Cars in a converted pigsty in Loddon, Norfolk. The idea was taken over and developed by James Rose and James Booker, a couple of engineering graduates who, working out of a barn in Devon, are building a limited number of cars to order.

In layout, the car is a direct descendant of John Cooper’s 1958 Climax. Cooper adapted an idea tried by Mercedes and Auto Union before the second world war of putting the engine behind the driver. It is widespread now but the mid-engined layout was revolutionary at the time and hugely improved roadholding.

Thus you can throw the Brooke into Druids Hairpin as fast as you dare and blast down Cooper Straight with your head pinned back against the roll hoop, touching 120mph. In soundproofed modern cars the landscape moves past like a television picture. In a Brooke Double R you are part of the landscape. The asphalt skims by inches away. You don’t need the rev counter to tell you how hard the engine’s working because you’re sitting on it. When you shift up or down you can feel the gear linkage stirring the cogs. Was this how Stirling Moss felt as he vroomed round Goodwood shortly before his near-fatal accident, I wondered in a worried moment? Probably, though Moss didn’t have a seamless tubular steel chassis or Brembo vented disc brakes.

After thrashing it on the track for a couple of hours I dearly wanted to take the Brooke home and keep it in the garage for those days when conditions are just right for a blast. But at £32,000 the Brooke is an expensive thrill. You could almost buy two of the Caterhams for the money.

There’s another threat to these cars: a new generation of powerful hatches and coupés. A £50,930 Audi RS4 can make your hair stand on end one minute while happily carrying passengers and shopping the next. It’s going to be tough for the Brooke but it deserves to succeed; driving it was more seat of pants than anything I’ve experienced for a long time and it belongs in every collector’s garage. I haven’t seen the company’s order book but I wouldn’t be surprised if a B Ecclestone wasn’t already there.

Vital statistics

Model Brooke 260 Double R
Engine type 2296cc, 4 cylinders
Power/Torque 260hp / 200 lb ft
Fuel/CO2 35mp / n/a
Acceleration 0-60mph:3.5sec
Top speed 150mph
Price £31,995
Verdict A knockout!
Rating 4/5



Caterham Seven

Jason Dawe

On the basis that Nick had arrived at the track 10 minutes before me it seemed only fair that he took first choice of cars. Unsurprisingly, he tossed me the keys to the cheaper, slower machine.

But in this company the word “slow” is relative, because despite boasting only 125bhp my Caterham Seven could leave a Nissan 350Z and BMW 335i for dead on the 0-60mph sprint, and give a £60,000 Porsche 911 Carrera a run for its money around Brands Hatch.

The Caterham’s energetic pace is all down to its kerb weight; at a mere 550kg it is nearly 1,000kg lighter than a Volkswagen Golf R32. And 1,000kg is a lot of extra weight — the entire England football team weighs in at less. So the Caterham is quick, but it’s also pretty basic. No power steering, no antilock braking, no elaborate stereo. In theory there is a roof, but in reality nobody was suggesting that both it and I could make it around the track together. With the roof in place cabin access requires a mixture of flexibility and good humour, the former of which I sadly lacked.

Even with the roof removed, access to the cabin requires a bit of thought — a hand here, a foot there, don’t touch that bit. It seemed to work, although the handbrake did almost provide a moment of Carry on Doctor as I sat down too far to the left. Once inside, it felt as if a large anaconda had swallowed me. Of course I am a tad larger than most and the racing harness and I both took a deep breath as we clamped what is effectively a 56in chest into place.

Starting the Caterham’s 1.6 litre engine produced a reassuring burble from the side-mounted exhaust pipe running just a few inches to my right. It’s this engine that is the big news for Caterham: after years of loyal service the Rover K-series engine is being phased out and Caterham believes the torquier, more powerful range of units is just what the Seven needs to safeguard its future.

Compared with Nick’s rear-mounted 260bhp monster my Sigma engine sounded a little subdued, but it was when we got on the track that these cars came into their own. Nick made a pretty big deal of moving off. In an effort to avoid contact I give him a 50-yard head start and then — hold on to your hats. The Caterham is more like a go-kart than a car: think about changing direction or accelerating and suddenly you are doing it. A blip of the throttle and I’m reaching for second gear, then third. I’ve no idea how fast I’m going, all I know is that I’m 2ft from the nearside of Nick’s car and about 6ft from the rear bumper of the photographer’s 4x4. Now I understand what it must be like to be a Red Arrows pilot: complete trust in your colleagues, mongoose quick reactions, man and machine in perfect harmony.

After three laps of filming it’s time to take the cars for a proper blat. I peel left down the start/finish line and, keeping the throttle wide open, enter Paddock Hill Bend a tad quicker than anticipated. I prod the brakes amateurishly and shed some speed before realising that the Caterham Seven would have made the corner easily had my nerve held.

Then it’s flat out up Hailwood Hill before the tricky Druids apex, confidence building as I use some power to get the Caterham drifting around the hairpin — great fun. Back down the hill and through the left-hander — lovely — before another flat-out run up Cooper Straight and a flick left through Surtees.

True to form I mess up my turn into McLaren and come through Clark Curve more slowly and off line than you could possibly believe. Finally it’s back on the power for a gallop down the Brabham Straight and across the line to begin a fresh attempt at making a cleaner run of it.

I have no idea how many laps I did, or what speed I achieved, but I became aware that I hadn’t seen Nick for a while. Whether he was in front or behind I couldn’t tell. With no radio link to the pits I slowed to a crawl, put on my hazards and waited for him to catch up. It transpired a marshal’s flag was out, he had returned to the pits, and it was time for me to do the same.

Back in the pit lane we compared notes. Both cars felt properly quick and both were huge fun to drive. Despite a price difference of more than £10,000 and power gap of more than 100bhp the Caterham Seven and Brooke Double R manage to achieve a similar trick, making driving an organic rather than mechanical experience (if you have ever ridden a horse you will know what I mean).

But don’t be fooled by those road testers who say that cars like the Caterham Seven and Brooke Double R have the feel of machines from yesteryear. Because cars from the past were never as quick, never handled as well or stopped so promptly. In every respect these little road racers are thoroughly modern machines.

So if you want to remember what motoring was originally intended to be about, I suggest you strap yourself into the seats of either of these cars. It will put a grin on your face and a spring in your step.

Vital statistics

Model Caterham Seven Roadsport 125
Engine type 1,600cc, 4-cylinders
Power/Torque 125bhp / 120lb ft
Fuel/CO2 38mpg / 173g/km
Acceleration 0-60mph:5.9sec
Top speed 112mph
Price (built) £18,495
Verdict Cheap thrills!
Rating 4/5

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