Six decades of the legendary Seven
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When Colin Chapman designed the Lotus Seven in the 1950s he could hardly have guessed that it would outlive him by several decades, and indeed still be in production (though now badged as a Caterham) sixty years later.
The Seven was intended to be a dual-purpose car suitable both for road use, if the driver and passenger were hardy enough, and for competition. On more than one occasion it was excluded from motorsport championships because nothing else could keep up. This usually led to marketing campaigns based on the slogan Too Fast To Race.
There is now no mechanical connection between the Series I Lotus and a modern Caterham, but it’s obvious from the briefest glance that they are at either end of the same history. Here we take a look at one of the most successful and iconic cars the British motor industry has ever produced.
Lotus Seven Series I
It’s often assumed that the Seven got its name because it was the seventh Lotus, but it actually went into production well out of sequence, after the Eleven.
The original Lotus Mk7 was a single-seat racer commissioned by a customer who eventually became tired of waiting for it to be finished and took it away to do the job himself. That car is now known as the Clairmonte Special.
The production Seven was a two-seat sports car looking not unlike the earlier Lotus Mk6. Series I examples generally used an 1172cc Ford engine which made them eligible for amateur racing in the UK, though you could also have the BMC A-Series found under the bonnet of several British saloon cars including the first-generation Mini.
The Series I was officially launched at the Earls Court Motor Show in October 1957, alongside the much prettier and more modern Elite, though Lotus didn’t actually have a Seven on its stand. It was sold as a kitcar, which brought the price down for two reasons.
First, Lotus didn’t have to charge for assembling it, and second, kits were not subject to the Purchase Tax which then applied to fully-built cars.
Lotus Seven Series II
The Series I was replaced in 1960 by, reasonably enough, the Series II, which was available with larger Ford engines starting at 1340cc. In most markets it was sold only as a fully-assembled car, though in the UK it was still offered in kit form as an option.
A Series II, registered KAR 120C and supplied by Lotus dealer Caterham Cars, featured in the opening credits of the 1960s ITV drama series The Prisoner. Caterham subsequently built a modern interpretation (pictured above) with the same registration number and green and yellow colour scheme.
Lotus Seven Series III
To modern eyes the Series III is the most recognisable Lotus Seven, since as we’ll see it’s the one on which most Caterhams have been based.
It didn’t last long, though. Introduced in 1968, it was replaced by the Series IV just two years later.
Lotus Seven Series IV
In 1970, Lotus revised the Seven’s bodywork and in doing so created the Series IV. The body no longer had any metal panels and was instead made entirely of fibreglass.
The Series IV has its fans, but it lacks both the classic appearance of the Series III and the old-world charm of the earlier models.
Goodbye Lotus, hello Caterham
Named after the Surrey town where it was originally based, Caterham Cars was founded in 1959 by Graham Nearn and sold many Sevens throughout the following decade.
When Lotus decided to stop producing the car in 1973, Nearn bought the manufacturing rights. Caterham briefly built Series IVs but soon reverted to the more attractive design of the Series III.
Production moved to Dartford in 1987, and the company is now based in Crawley, but the original name has always been retained. This is perhaps just as well, since Crawley Seven somehow doesn’t sound quite right.
Engines
Early Caterhams used the Ford Kent engine, but as this became out of date the company opted for units supplied by Rover and Vauxhall.
This process later went into reverse. With one exception which we’ll come to later, all Caterhams are now fitted with Ford’s more modern 1.6-litre Sigma or larger Duratec engines.
Caterhams in motorsport
For many years the Seven was very competitive against other cars in circuit racing as long as the organisers didn’t ban it. Races open only to Caterhams started in the UK in 1986 and soon became common around the world.
In 1995, Caterham formed its Academy race series for novice drivers. It was announced in April 2017 that the one thousandth had signed up.
Sevens have been enormously successful in against-the-clock sprint and hillclimb events. Their astonishing manoeuvrability at low speeds has also made them a popular choice for autotesting.
A brief diversion: the Caterham 21
In 1994 Caterham introduced the 21, so named partly to celebrate that many years of the company building cars.
Under the skin, the 21 was almost exactly the same as the Seven, but it had a much larger and more flowing body, and was slightly more practical.
Although it was a good car which received a lot of praise, it was also a commercial failure. Caterham abandoned production after fewer than 50 had been built.
Caterham CSR
When it was launched, the CSR was the most radical Caterham yet, with a Cosworth-tuned Ford engine producing up to 260bhp, a wider and strengthened chassis and substantially revised suspension.
In its most powerful form, the CSR could accelerate from 0-60mph in a claimed 3.1 seconds and, despite the Seven’s famously awful aerodynamics, reach a top speed of 155mph.
Caterham R500
The 263bhp Caterham Superlight R500 gained an enormous amount of publicity in 2008 when the Stig drove it round the Top Gear test track. In unhelpfully cold conditions, it recorded a time of 1 minute 17.9 seconds.
This was only a tenth of a second slower than the more powerful (but much heavier) Noble M600 and 2012 Nissan GT-R later achieved, and four tenths quicker than a Bugatti Veyron.
The Suzuki Seven
In 2014, Caterham introduced a retro Seven called the 160. Its tiny 660cc turbo engine was supplied by Suzuki, which had developed it for city cars in the Japanese kei class. As a result, the 160 is sometimes referred to as the kei-terham.
The engine normally produces 63bhp, but Caterham modified it to raise the output to 80bhp, which is still lower than that of some Series IIs. Due to its minimal weight, however, the 160 can accelerate to 60mph in under seven seconds.
Unlike any other modern Caterham, the 160 has drum brakes at the back, 14-inch steel wheels and a live rear axle without independent suspension. Some people can’t see the point of the car, but others love it.
620R: the ultimate Caterham
The fastest ever production Seven is the 620R, which has a supercharged two-litre Ford engine producing 310bhp, a sequential gearbox, race-tuned suspension and carbon body panels. Caterham claims a 0-60mph time of 2.8 seconds and a 155mph top speed.
The related 620S has the same engine but more creature comforts, making it slightly heavier and slower. It’s still supercar-quick before the aerodynamics take over, though, being capable of accelerating to 60mph in well under four seconds.
The story continues
At the time of writing, the newest Caterham is, paradoxically, a retro model.
The SuperSprint is available with a choice of six 1960s-inspired colour schemes, a wood-rimmed steering wheel and an aero screen. The engine is the 660cc Suzuki unit used in the 160, now tuned to produce a maximum of 95bhp.
Caterham launched the car at the Goodwood Revival meeting in September 2017, and announced that it would build 60 examples. All of them were sold out within seven hours.