Talking cars: Christo chats about his unique ride
Christo van der Merwe, Manager of Caltex BF Distributors in Ladanna and proud owner of a 2014 model home-built Lotus 7.
POLOKWANE – He chats to BONUS about his unique ride.
Q. Growing up, what was your dream car?
A. The McLaren F1. In the 90’s it was the fastest production car in the world.
Q. Did you have many toy cars when you were a child?
A. Yes, I did but I was more of a Lego guy. I liked building things.
Q. What was the first car you drove?
A. My mom’s Fiat Uno 1400 Pacer.
Q. Did you buy your car and remodel it or build it from scratch?
A. I bought the parts and put it together myself.
Q. What features makes your car stand out from others like it?
A. The fact that it outperforms just about any production car on the market and it was built in a garage by a couple of mates.
Q. Have you modified the vehicle’s engine, and if yes, what did you do to it?
A. No, it has a standard Mazda RX 7 turbo engine in it.
Q. What’s the highest speed you’ve achieved with this car?
A. The car is not really built for speed but more for handling. However, it can accelerate from 0-100 km/h in less than 4 seconds.
Q. Do you have a nickname for your car?
A. No, I’m not really into nicknames.
Q. How much does it cost to fill up the tank?
A. It has a 33 litre tank, so not much.
Q. How much does it cost for a major service?
A. I can’t really say. It’s custom-made so if anything needs changing or fixing, I do it myself.
Q. What type of car do you hope to buy next?
A. Something even faster than the Lotus 7, maybe a Nissan Skyline GTR.
Q. How long have you had this car?
A. Me and a couple of friends started building this car early in 2014. We finished building it and did the finishing touches in January last year. So I have been driving it for about a year and a half.
Q. Why did you decide to build a car instead of buying one?
A. I always wanted a Caterham 7 but they are made in England and because of the high exchange rate, it would have been too expensive to buy one so I built a Lotus 7 instead.
Q. With regard to the amount you spent on your car, do you think it was worth it?
A. Without a doubt.
Q. What advice do you have for motorists who also want to pimp their cars?
A. Don’t be a cheapskate, spend the money and do it right or not at all.
Q. How often do you drive your car?
A. Once or twice a month.
Q. Do you have any other cars that you plan on pimping?
A. At this stage, no.
