Caterham Seven Supersport

Caterham, famous for their version of the iconic Lotus Seven, have come up with a new base model called the Supersport. This new version, like any other previous Caterham Seven is as light as ever and extremely small compared to most modern cars (this is mainly due to the fact that it's based on something designed in the 1960s) and a marvel to drive on the road. If you're into handling and a totally raw driving experience, this is it.

This new version sports a 1.6liter 4 cylinder Ford Sigma engine pushing 140bhp via a 5 speed sprint gearbox. It also features a lightweight flywheel to keep rotating mass down, a limited slip differential to enable the power to be transmitted cleanly and a revised suspension setup that it derived from Caterham's one-make race series featuring the Seven. That said, the suspension details consist of Avon CR500 tires on 13inch alloy wheels, uprated spring and shock absorbers as well as stiffer anti-roll bars. All of which help the Supersport in the handling department. The Caterham Supersport also features a shift-light, lightweight composite seats and four point harnesses for both passenger and driver.

However, one must note that the best feature in the Caterham Supersport is that it only weighs 520kg. This is why with only a paltry 140bhp the Supersport can hit 60mph in under 5 seconds (4.9seconds to be exact). If you tried to do the same in a 1.8liter petrol powered Honda, you'd need 11 seconds. Such is the importance of being featherweight . It also means that if you're chubby and if you went on a diet, your car could go slightly faster too!

One must also note that whilst it is fast when sprinting, it tops out at 120mph. This is mainly due to it having aerodynamics of a barn. You can't expect a car without a roof, a windscreen and extra cladding over the wheels to be bullet-train streamlined do you?

It has all that you need for a good drive in the countryside and B-roads. I repeat, countryside, and not in the middle of London during rush hour. Notice that it basically has no proper doors, wind-screen, roof or even air-conditioning. It is purity of design and meant for that simple purpose of a fantastic weekend drive at the track or as stated earlier, the countryside.

Anyway, you can build your own Caterham Supersport for £19,995, or if you're lazy you can get Caterham to sell you one for £22,995. Which is what I would do. Because you guessed it, I am lazy.