Development announced for Caterham sports car not based on Lotus 7
A totally new Caterham sports car is on the way, which, surprisingly, won't be based on the Lotus Seven like the rest of the Caterham range. Image from Wikimedia Commons.
Some people might have heard of Caterham, a curious little company in England that makes modern copies of the iconic Lotus Seven. The company has announced a new Caterham sports car is in the works and it’s going to be totally bespoke, as the learner is fast becoming the master.
Mostly unique Caterham sports car announced
A few people probably have heard of Caterham by now. For those that haven’t, Caterham is an English car company that for the most part only makes reproductions of the Lotus Seven. The Seven, for those that don’t know, was about as basic, and as good, a sports car as it gets. Two seats, four wheels, no roof, rear-wheel drive and, since it was by Lotus, razor-sharp handling and light as a feather.
Initially a dealership that sold Lotus cars, according to AutoWeek, Caterham bought the rights to the Seven from Lotus in the 1970s. Since then, they’ve made the Seven using increasingly modern components. They’re mostly track toys, but are available in the United States mostly as kit cars, but scattered dealers sell turn-key models. In Britain, they have dealerships.
However, the brand is taking the next leap forward, a totally unique Caterham sports car.
Has the pedigree
Caterhams don’t sell in huge numbers. According to Jalopnik, the company sells no more than a few dozen per year in the U.S. At face value, a Caterham is little more than a road-going go-kart.
They are also mind-bogglingly quick. A Caterham R500 Superlight is as quick to 60 as a Bugatti Veyron for the price of a mid-range Corvette. The basic model will thrash most Mustangs under the sun, for about the same money as a Nissan 350Z with some decent kit, like the kind you might find at Magic Nissan of Everette, Washington.
The preferred engine is a Ford 2.0-liter four-cylinder, just like the one in a Focus.
The company has also been helping French maker Renault with its forthcoming Alpine sports car, according to MotorAuthority. However, the new Caterham sports car won’t be a rebadged version, though it will share parts. Power will come from a Renault four-cylinder, projected to produce about 270 horsepower and hit 60 in under 5 seconds.
Out to take Porsche down a peg
The upcoming Caterham sports car will be, assuredly, very light, rather small, mid-engined and quick as all get out. The company projects that it will price about the same as a Porsche Cayman which starts at about $53,000. That’s an increasingly crowded segment. Not only will it also have the Audi TT, BMW Z4 and Mercedes SLK to compete with, but Alfa Romeo is slated to put out the 4C in the next year or two.
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It’s slated to get the choice of either a six-speed manual or a paddle-shifted automatic. The company has an eight-year run in mind and is targeting 25,000 annual sales. Whether or not it will come to the United States is up in the air, but with the increasing amount of required equipment, it might not. Then again, Lotus, the Obi-Wan to Caterham’s Darth Vader, doesn’t look long for the world at present. The learner may well end up becoming the master.