Caterham Super Seven, caterham 7, R500, SuperSport

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< What the press say about the Caterham Super Seven

< A short history of the Caterham Super Seven - 1957/2000

< In car video of a Seven VVC on track

< Year 2000 Caterham Super Seven models and statistics

< Costs of the Caterham Super Seven models

< Caterham dealer directory

< Links to other Caterham Super Seven websites

< Some full reviews of the Caterham Super Seven

 

~ What the press say about the Caterham Super Seven ~

"Regularly imitated, never triumphed, the 7 just goes on getting better. If you want a minimalist, no nonsense sports car, this is the one. Impeccable pedigree, mad pace, uncompromised styling. Great." 'Car'

"One of the most outrageous, stimulating and addictive cars there has ever been." 'Auto Express'

"The best drivers car ever built. A higher power-to -weight ratio than anything bar a McLaren F1 " 'Evo'

"Quick on the road, even quicker on the track, Caterhams are now known as some of the most spectacular cars in racing today" 'Autosport'

"Simply.... brilliant fun" 'Top Gear magazine'

"If you enjoy testing your driving on a clear day, on a B road in the country; if the journey is as important as the destination; if you're tired of the sanitised plastic cocoons that modern automobiles have become; then there is no better car - Ferraris and Porsches included" 'Daily Express'

"Original and best - accept no substitute" 'Car Magazine'

"..One of the purest sports cars on the planet" 'Redline Magazine'

"There’s nothing to touch a Caterham Seven for handling, speed or excitement" 'Top Gear online'

"The most fun on four wheels" 'What Car'

Click on either of the images above to see a much larger photo

 

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~ A short history of the Super Seven ~

The first Seven was built in 1957 by Lotus, the brainchild of Colin Chapman, who was convinced of the advantages of small lightweight racing cars, giving huge power to weight benefits. He actually referred to the Seven as something he had dreamed of designing since he was a schoolboy - a 'four wheeled motorbike'.

The first sevens were priced at £587 and were powered by a 40bhp Ford engine coupled to a single dry plate clutch and a three speed Ford gearbox. The design proved to be an instant success, Graham Hill being the first driver to race the seven in 1958. Over the next decade there were three more series of the Seven developed, improving transmission, suspension and increasing power to 84bhp.

In 1967 Caterham Cars became the sole distributor, and have continually developed and improved the car since. Major developments over the years have included the introduction of double wishbone front and de Dion rear suspension, four wheel disc brakes, a six speed close ration gear box, a torsionally stiffer spaceframe chassis with honeycomb panels for side impact protection and lead free engines with catalytic converters. The cars can be bought in kit form, or can be factory built to SVA approved standard (£2,250).

In 1976 the R.A.C. banned the seven from racing, as they said it was "too fast" - so the Caterham Seven developed its own racing championships (of which there are now four).

The quickest Caterham - the R500, introduced in 1999, has a 0-60 time of 3.4 seconds (autocar) and a top speed of 146 mph, and in a recent comparative track test (Oct 2000) posted the following time round the Croft racing circuit along with the following: (the R1 is a 1000 cc racing bike with a 0-60 of 2.8 and a top speed of 170mph ridden by Ronnie Smith - tester for 'Performance Bikes' magazine).

Caterham R500 - 1.31.53

Yamaha R1 - 1.32.96

Stealth B6 - 1.35.37

Lotus 340R - 1.35.78

Caterham Blackbird - 1.35.98 *

Nissan Skyline 600 bhp - 1.36.55

Mitsubishi Evo VI RS Sprint - 1.40.55

Porsche 911 Turbo - 1.40.95

TVR Cerbera 4.5 - 1.41.22

Ariel Atom - 1.44.80

* The Blackbird is a Seven with an ultra high powered, light weight motorcycle engine. In choosing the powerplant, the development engineers vetted all viable options, but settled with the unique Blackbird engine, built and designed but the worlds leading engine manufacturer, Honda. The car, weighing in at a miserly 430kg boasts 165bhp, which in conjunction with the sequential close ratio 6 speed gear-box propels the car from 0-60 mph in under 4 seconds with a top speed in excess of 140 mph. Aimed mainly at the track day enthusiast, this car is most at home lapping the circuits of Europe, well away from the prying eyes of the speed cameras. But this by no means makes the car exclusive for the circuit: this fully road legal car is as happy pottering around in city’s traffic and the countries B roads as it is breaking lap records.(from Caterham News)

Caterham R500 on track

“The figure that guarantees the R500 a place in the all-time-fastest line-up is the staggering 2.3 seconds it takes to scoot from 70-90mph in fourth gear Which is exactly the same time as the Mclaren.” 'AutoCar'

 

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Click below to view a short (40 sec) in car 'Real Video' of V777 CAT (1.8 VVC) on track. It should be pointed out that the video was taken on an 'Easytrack' no racing day, (both the Lotus and TVR driver gave way as 'usually' happens on these days). The video is a good indication of how much 'QUICKER' rather than 'FASTER' the Seven is when underbraking and accelerating, compared with other respected marques.

Unfortunately, video reproduction will prevent you from feeling the forces of the Seven (especially 115 to 55 in less than 2 secs as seen on the video) - but perhaps it may give you the incentive to try one out

The 220kb video is a tiny thumbnail size box to save your download times (210k), The 960kb is twice the dimensions and has been 'squashed' less.

No software? www.real.com

220kb file (about 60 sec download)

960kb file (about 4 mins download)

 

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~ Statistics for the year 2000 Super Seven range ~

(as quoted by Caterham)

For ROAD and track use

Classic

1.6

1.8

1.8 V.V.C

1.6 Superlight

1.8 Superlight

 

R500

 

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~ Costs of the 2000 Super Seven range ~

Prices (excluding options) range from £10,995 (U.K.)

...to £32,200 (UK) according to model

New fully built cars usually take 3-6 months for delivery

 

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~ Dealer directory ~

Caterham Cars Limited Station Avenue, Caterham, Surrey Tel: +44 (0)1883 333700 Fax: +44 (0)1883 333707 Email: sales@caterham.co.uk

Ryders of Liverpool, Knowsley Road, Bootle, Liverpool L20 4WW Contact: Mike Dixon Tel: 0151 922 7585 Fax: 0151 944 1424

Classic Carriage Company Coach House Workshop, Mallory Park, Kirby Mallory, Leics LE9 7QE Contact: Derek Moore Tel: 01455 841616

Arrowstar Racing 7 Wedgewood Road Bicester Oxfordshire OX6 7RU pippa@arrowstar.co.uk Tel 01869 250270 Fax 01869 250210

Millwood Motor Company Ltd, Mill Garage, Dursley, Glos GL11 5DH Contact: Sales Jon Vicker Srvice Rhys Woods Tel: 01453 544321 info@millwood-mc.co.uk

Fairways Kilbowie Road, Hardgate, Clydebank, Glasgow G81 6QU Contact: Ronald Steel Tel: 01389 878666 Fax: 01389 879710

 

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~ Links to Super Seven sites ~

< the Caterham Cars' Official site

< the Seven Club of Great Britain

< Caterham Seven www links site

< search for books about the Caterham

< Caterham Racing.com

< The Academy 2000

< BARC Caterham Graduate Championship 2000

< BRSCC - British Racing & Sports Car Club

If you have a Caterham (or any car in fact) and would like to drive as quick as you like (whilst keeping your license) visit:

view the latest Easytrack photos by clicking on the photo below

 

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~ Super Seven - some full reviews ~

Auto Express - Caterham Super Seven

There is little else on four wheels that is as small, light and nimble as the Caterham Super Seven. And, unlike its few rivals, the Caterham has a heritage to boast about, being derived from the classic Lotus Seven. A bare-bones two-seater, there is just enough space to cram in a couple of squashy bags behind the seats, plus pairs of skinny legs into the narrow footwells. With 1.6-litre Vauxhall or 1.6/1.8-litre Rover K-series engines in various tune, the Seven's minimal weight ensures even with the lower-powered engines performance is hugely entertaining. Suspension is set up to the buyer's requirements, pliant for lots of road use, firmer for road and track. Whatever the decision, the Seven feels as if it was bred for racing. The tiny steering wheel responds immediately to the touch, the short-throw gearshift is positive, throttle response lightning fast. A quick drive along twisty lanes highlights the Seven's immensely likeable character.

Tiff Needell - Top Gear - R500

The war between Caterham and Westfield has been long and bloody. Surrey-based Caterham is the official guardian of the original Lotus Seven shape and model number, but their Midland rivals, Westfield, have been stepping on their toes – even to the point of a court case – ever since the launch of their lookalike Seven in ’83. When Caterham produced their screenless, 250bhp, Vauxhall two-litre-powered JPE model in ’92, it seemed they had created the ultimate Seven.

Record books were broken and its light weight was the main key to its success. Weighing in at just 515 kilos, it had a power-to-weight ratio of 485bhp per tonne and rocketed to 60 in a mere 3.7 seconds, but the arrival of the Single Vehicle Type Approval in July ’98 stopped it dead in its tracks as it failed on both noise and emissions. So Caterham’s honour was left in the hands of the 190bhp, Rover K-series-engined, 485-kilo Superlight R – but that took an astonishingly long four seconds to do the sprint to 60. Westfield seized their chance to steal the limelight and produced their featherweight FW400 that blew our Road Test Editor’s mind on the track, and his eardrums on the road, in issue 73.

Using the same 190bhp, K-series VHPD Rover engine, but in a car with a kerb weight of just 435 kilos thanks to its carbon-fibre construction, the FW400 got to 60mph in 3.6 seconds and became the new leader of the pack. Naturally, the onus was now on the southerners to fight back. They didn’t want to go to the vast expense and complication of trying to manufacture a carbon-fibre car for the road, so there was only one route to follow – lose more weight and find more power. With the VHPD engine in plentiful supply and already snugly fitted into the front of the Seven, they didn’t want to start looking for an alternative power source. The answer had to be to squeeze more power out of the existing engine, and race engine specialists,

Minister Race Engines, were brought in to help take up the challenge. Minister worked on the mechanics of the engine itself, adding Cosworth lightweight pistons, forged-steel, cross-drilled crank and forged-steel con-rods with finely tuned high-lift camshafts. Caterham did their bit too, by developing an inlet manifold that features a roller-barrel throttle – this gives an uninterrupted airflow on full opening.

There wasn’t a lot of room for weight-saving left in the chassis, but the more powerful engine also became lighter as the new innards together with the inlet manifold and a specially developed exhaust system – complete with carbon silencer – all saved weight. New wheels and seats saved a little more weight, as did the new magnesium alloy bell-housing and dry sump system. The resulting 230bhp and 460 kilos, when you get the calculator out, comes up with the magical power-to-weight ratio of 500bhp per tonne and, Caterham claims, a 0-60 time of just 3.4 seconds – not quite but very nearly, McLaren F1 figures (550bhp per tonne and 3.2secs) for a fraction of the cost.

You can buy the kit and build it yourself - or do the sensible thing and pay Caterham to do it for you. You should also add a windscreen complete with wipers, side-screens and a hood so you don’t have to drive around, possibly illegally, with full-face helmet on, or with so much wind in your face that a baby sparrow will seem like an elephant with wings if it hits you.

But the Caterham Superlight R500 isn’t supposed to be about comfort, it’s supposed to be the ultimate track day car. It will burble along with quite comfortable noise levels on the open roads, making it more user friendly than the Westfield, but start winding on those revs and it’ll tear your head off. The six speeds of the Caterham ‘box pass so fast you’re never sure which one your in. The stubby lever has so little movement that it’s position doesn’t give you much of a clue either, and initially there’s a constant terror of dropping from fifth to second instead of fourth, or, even worse, changing ‘up’ from fourth to third instead of fifth as the hypnotic gearchange lights tempt you all the way to the 9,200rpm limit. Little has changed in the way the Seven handles, it all just happens that bit faster. It’s rather like an exaggerated nervous tic. Slides have to be killed very early with a deft flick of opposite lock. Sensations, both through the steering and great-fitting new lightweight seats, scream so loud you can feel everything that is going on beneath you, but try to hold the Seven in a long graceful powerslide and you’ll end up facing the wrong way down the track. It’s all mind boggling stuff, intended more for track use than on the road.

Thirty two grand would buy you something flash and comfy like a 328I convertible or SLK, or perhaps something raunchier like a four-litre Chimaera, but on a circuit they’d be completely devoured by this Seven, as would just about any other road car, at any price.

The Telegraph - Caterham Seven

THE Caterham Seven sports car has a distinguished history: Graham Hill raced one in 1958, and a Seven (registration number kar 120c) starred in the cult Sixties television series The Prisoner. But the car has a distinguished present, too. Still in production after more than 40 years, the Seven is that rare contradiction in terms: a classic British sports model, available brand new.

It was known as a Lotus Seven until Caterham Cars, which had always been involved in the building of Sevens, bought out the production rights in 1973. Since then, a million cosmetic design innovations have come and gone elsewhere, and the Seven has soulfully ignored pretty much every one of them. It still has cheese grater-style air vents slashed into the bonnet; a pair of unfashionably spherical, chrome-cased headlamps which perk up proudly above wheel-arches (which themselves resemble Second World War-period motorcycle mudguards); and a racing car's radiator grille with the figure seven wired into it. And it is still very small.

One cannot overstress just how small. The car is barely wider than two adults, shoulder-to-shoulder, and barely longer than one adult lying down. It rises to slightly under waist height from the ground. I drove up behind a Mini at one point and felt dwarfed. At large on today's roads, the Seven looks as if it might have broken loose from an extremely up-market merry-go-round. If you happen to believe that car factories are a corporate conspiracy aimed at depriving ordinary people of fun, you can buy this car in bits and assemble it yourself. 'Building time is typically around 70 hours,' according to the company's literature. I wouldn't know. I tend to feel more at ease driving cars which have been bolted together by someone - anyone - other than me, so I tested one which Caterham had made earlier.

The experience was, in many respects, rigorously spartan, properly puritan. Unlike almost every other vehicle on the market, the Seven has no interest in you and your absurd desire to be cosseted. Accordingly, you don't really climb into it; you pull it on, like a sleeping-bag, with all the attendant indignities involved. Once inside, you are wedged so tight that forcing the seat belt into the clip by your thigh involves an act of contortion worthy of Houdini. Once the car is running, the jokes about Dinky toys and Airfix kits dry up. The engine pulls and roars wildly through the six close ratio gears. The clip-on roof is best rolled up and stowed in the boot. Only with your hair in the air can you properly attend to the engine's tremendous noise and catch the waft of your own exhaust.

Rocketing around corners and thumping loudly over bumps, the car offers driving as a contact sport. You point the nose at the distance and hare off after it, and the sense you have of control over your own destiny is rawer and more addictive than any experience available in better-mannered sports cars, such as a Mazda MX5 or an MGF (with which the K-series Seven shares a Rover engine).

Driving a Seven requires confidence. The steering-wheel, pedals and gear-shift need commanding hands and feet. You also need to be able to cope mentally with the reactions of your fellow road-users, many of whom are unusually animated upon finding themselves braking to avoid Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. And it must not disturb you that, in multi-lane traffic, the bumpers of other cars going 70mph are at cheek height.

I'm going to stick my neck out here (a manoeuvre I would not recommend while driving the Seven) and suggest that it will never become the single-car-family's vehicle of choice. It could be your second or third car, though. You would take it to club days and race tracks where you would talk to other people who owned Caterhams and who understood the gleam in your eye. You would keep it in a garage until the sun shone. And you would never bother with the snap-on roof. If the weather turned, you would simply spin home and worry later about sluicing out the cockpit.

This was not an option open to me on the day I returned the car to Caterham and got caught beneath a vigorous cloud-burst just outside Purley. As I wrestled in the rain with plastic and poppers, this car from another time began to look like a car for another place. If only Britain did weather as well as Caterham does sports cars.

What Car - Caterham Seven

Anyone looking for an anti-establishment symbol of the new millennium should look no further than the Caterham Seven Superlight R500. It does without doors, windscreen, hood or any other creature comfort, but serves up an intoxicating cocktail of sheer delight. Its 1.8-litre Rover K-series engine produces 230bhp at 8600rpm, while the Caterham tips the scales at just 460kg, giving the car designers' magic figure of 500bhp per tonne. Performance is suitably striking with 0-60mph taking just 3.4sec. The hyper-sharp steering, powerful brakes, and short-throw, six-speed gearbox are such tactile delights that it's great at low speed, too. At £29,950 for a kit, or £32,000 fully built, the R500 isn't cheap, but four-wheeled fun comes no better.

 

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The most famous Seven - from the cult TV series "The Prisoner"

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