Special Edition Caterham Seven Signs Off On The Sigma Engine With Stripes

Over the years, the Caterham Seven has been available with everything from a tiny 660cc Suzuki kei car engine to a terrifying 550bhp supercharged V8 made of two superbike engines smooshed together.

One thing that’s been a near-constant in the range, since the company bought the rights to the Lotus Seven and started building cars in 1973, though, has been a 1.6-litre naturally aspirated Ford engine, latterly the Sigma unit once found in stuff like the Focus.

Now, though, those days are coming to an end, and Caterham has seen fit to sign off on this lineage of throaty four-pots with a special edition, the Seven 310 Encore.

Based on the existing mid-range Seven 310, it comes with the faithful Sigma engine in 152bhp form, sent through a five-speed manual. This is good for 0-62mph in 4.9 seconds and a 127mph top speed, while the all-important power-to-weight ratio is a healthy 281bhp/tonne.

It gets a couple of hardware upgrades too, inspired by the racing version used in the 310R Championship. These include a lighter flywheel, beefed-up 254mm vented front brake discs, and a sports suspension package that includes a widened front track and adjustable springs and rear anti-roll bar.

The Encore comes in six colour schemes which, taking a leaf out of the Vauxhall Adam’s book, come with some music-based names like Blue Monday and Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. Each is paired with some excellent retro stripes – and is it just us, or does the yellow one have more than a hint of the Dakar and Pikes Peak versions of the Peugeot 205? This is not a complaint.

Other visual tweaks include the aero nosecone from the hardcore 620R, a racing-style Cup grille, a standard-fit black pack for the exterior trim and carbon fibre front arches. The 13-inch wheels get a bespoke gunmetal finish, and come wrapped in track-friendly Toyo R888R rubber. On the inside, meanwhile, you get black leather seats and a carbon dash surrounding special Encore edition dials.

Just 25 of these end-of-the-line specials will be made, at £39,995 each. Which just begs the question – what will replace the Sigma? Caterham’s Academy racers are moving over to a new turbocharged powertrain from Renault-Geely joint venture Horse – we wouldn’t be too surprised to see some of the road cars follow suit.