Caterham
The Caterham Seven (Caterham 7) is the successor to the Lotus Seven . After Lotus ended production of the Seven in 1972, Caterham bought the rights to it, and today make both kits and fully assembled cars.
It is a very small exotic sports car, based on the Lotus Seven . The modern Seven is actually based on the S3 type Lotus Seven, though Caterham have developed it to the point that not one single part is the same as on the Lotus.
Caterham more recently developed a larger variant to conform with certain EU requirements on interior dimensions, the SV model, thought to mean Series V. This is 11cm wider inside, having noticeably more interior space and more footwell space so that normal shoes can at last be worn!
The car is actually bigger in all dimensions, though weighing only 25kg more....the CSR variant is based on this larger chassis.
Widely regarded as a British motoring icon, the Seven was designed as a cheap, minimalist but high performance two seater by Colin Chapman in 1957, the year it was launched.
Caterham
| These cars are regarded by their owners as the 'ultimate stress buster' and there is a great deal of camaradie in force amongst owners, many of whom are part of The Lotus Seven Club, with its hyperactive forum, Blatchat. Seven drivers are generally recogniseable by their red faces (from driving with no windscreen) and their pixie boots (as on the original cars with standard sized chassis, the driver has very little footroom and so needs to wear special narrow soled race 'Pixie boots'.Not all Sevenists are 'hard' enough to drive without the windscreen however, so this is inaccurate as a rule of thumb..... Some claim the Vauxhall engined models are superior, but this is a source of unending dispute amongst users.
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A Brief History Of This Classic British Sportscar
In 1973 Graham Nearn acquired the design and assembly rights of the Lotus Seven, renaming the cars Caterhams for no better reason than that was the place where they were originally made. They are now assembled at a new factory in Dartford, Kent.
Originally Caterham opted for the space-framed Mk.IV, which used Europa front suspension and a more positively located rear axle. But after just 38 had been delivered, Caterham bowed to customer demand and went back to the more basic Series III.
Up to 1990, the usual power units were Ford or Lotus Twin-Cam. In 1991 the HPC version, using Vauxhall's 2.-litre, 16-valve engine, running on twin Webers and giving 175bhp resulted in a top speed of 126mph and a 0-60mph time of 5.2sec. De Dion rear suspension was standard on the HPC, but had been an option on all models since 1987. Rover's 1.4 16V K-series engine was added later.
A new model, the 21, appeared at the 1995 London Show, retaining the same seat-of-the-pants driving sensation, but with rather more weather protection and comfort.
The cars have continued to sell well to unpretentious sports enthusiasts and by 2000, the Seven was available in two versions: Roadsport with 1.6 or 1.8 Rover K-series power, Classic with the Vauxhall engine, or Superlight, a lightened version for racing duties. The more refined 21, with the 1.8 K-series is available with a 6-speed gearbox.