I always thought the whole idea of the Caterham Seven was to give owners a lightweight trackday car which you could also drive home, and fix its problems because you had most likely built some part of it (or all of it) in the garage and the knowledge was already there.
Another part of the Seven’s appeal was the simplicity of its chosen engines, especially in the more basic models, without forced induction. The ‘classic’ Ford DuraTec two-liter unit is still going strong, and in fact, a reworked version of it, fitted with a supercharger makes 311hp and has now been used under the bonnet of the latest and most powerful variant of the car, dubbed the R620.
Caterham Cars CEO, Graham Macdonald, said: “The 620R is the most hardcore production Seven ever built for the road. The R500 claimed its place in motoring history as a benchmark for lightweight sportscar performance but this new vehicle pushes the boundaries even further. While I wouldn’t necessarily recommend this car for those inexperienced in driving Caterhams, we always ensure that even our fastest cars retain the manageable delivery of power that makes them accessible, despite the daunting statistics.”
The new model, set to debut at the Goodwood Festival ofSpeed this week replaces the equally-crazy Superlight R500, yet features almost 50 more horsepower, as well as a more aerodynamic nose cone, race-spec cooling for the motor, and sticky tires coating the small 13-inch rims.
Weight reduction measures are also in place, and the 500-ish kg (1,100-ish lbs) car can hit 60mph (96km/h) in 2.8 seconds and reach a top speed of 250 km/h (155 mph), though, unlike so many German cars which are electronically-limited at this speed, the R620 could probably go faster with some crazy-long gearing setup.
Still, you expect it to be fast, especially considering the fact that it’s priced at £49,995 (€57,900 / $74,500). A safer and much cheaper option would be to get the Seven SV model, which comes with another Ford-sourced engine, the one-liter EcoBoost, with 118 hp and the ability to complete the benchmark sprint in under six seconds, while still retaining the looks and most of the handling of the more expensive models.
By Andrei Nedelea
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