THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN (some text hidden) --NONE--

BY ANDY ENRIGHT

Introductionword count: 68

Few cars divide opinion quite like a Caterham. Most people can't see the point of all that inconvenience and discomfort. For committed fans however, that's just an inevitable byproduct of the light weight, snake-hipped take-no-prisoners attitude of the Seven. These owners tend to look after their cars very well, so tracking down a decent used Seven isn't particularly difficult, although you may have to travel to do so.

Modelsword count: 18

Models Covered: 2dtr Roadster (1.4, 1.6, 1.8-litre petrol, [Classic, Roadsport, SV, Superlight, Superlight R, R300, R400, R500, CSR])

Historyword count: 228

We could delve right back to 1973 in talking about the history of the Caterham Seven, the moment the company acquired the rights to the Seven name from Lotus. Over forty years of development don't look to have changed the cars significantly, but virtually everything has changed. For the purposes of brevity, we'll limit our trawl back through history to 1997 and take a look at the cars that have been built since then. 1997 has been chosen because that was the year the wonderful Superlight-R was introduced, fitted with a 190bhp 1.8-litre K-Series HPD engine. A slightly less manic Superlight followed in 1999, fitted with a 138bhp 1.6-litre K-series powerplant to supplement the rest of the Caterham range. At the time, this consisted of 1.4 and 1.6-litre Classic models, equipped with live rear axles and the more sophisticated de Dion-equipped Roadsport models in which 1.6 and 1.8-litre 160bhp VVC engined engines were offered. 2001 saw the introduction of the wider SV cars, which allowed those of slightly more generous proportions to enjoy Seven motoring and shortly thereafter came the roll out of the R500, R400 and R300 rocketships. A special R500 Evo model was shown in 2003, chiefly to win Autocar's 0-100-0 crown, but the big news in Seven circles was the October 2004 announcement of the more modern CSR series of cars with 2.3-litre Cosworth engines.

What You Getword count: 159

At first glance, not a lot. There doesn't appear to be much more to a Caterham than four wheels, an engine, some suspension and a rudimentary interior but that's exactly the point. Anything more just dilutes the experience. The downside of Caterham ownership is undoubtedly the impracticality. Loiter around the showroom in Caterham (strangely enough) and you'll encounter numerous hardy types who run one as their only car, dismissing as fey any complaints that it's a bit uncompromising. If you're a genuine trooper, you can track down a car without a windscreen, hood or doors and drive around in a Biggles helmet and goggles. Most will prefer something a little less heroic. The doors fitted to the Caterhams only barely justify the description, being vinyl flaps that affix with a popper and to which the door mirrors are attached. The rear view can therefore be a little fuzzy, the best tactic being to travel faster than any posterior hazard.

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