Caterham Seven

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Empty Star - Denotes No PointEmpty Star - Denotes No PointEmpty Star - Denotes No PointEmpty Star - Denotes No PointEmpty Star - Denotes No Point by numpty on 23 Jun 2007

Not green, no claims to correctness maybe can be rationalised as lower carbon footprint than some ... but .... quintessentially British, rich in heritage, and most of all, a blast!

Anyone with a love of motoring and looking for an anti-establishment should look at building a Caterham Seven.

It does without creature comforts, but serves up a stomach-clenching excitement and sheer delight. You do not see a Seven driver without a smile plastered across his face (together with the crop of insects du jour picked up on the way :)

The Seven was introduced in the second half of the 1950s , designed by Colin Chapman. In 1966 Lotus moved to a new factory and decided that it was time to retire the Seven. A Lotus distributor at the time, Graham Nearn of Caterham Cars effectively saved the Lotus 7 from oblivion by ordering a substantial quantity of cars, just when new factory car orders had dwindled. In 1967 Caterham Cars became the exclusive distributors for the Seven. Nearn proposed to update the 7 and received the personal approval of Colin Chapman to do so, buying out the production rights in 1973.

One cannot exaggerate just how small a Seven is – it has been compared to putting on a golf-bag! The car is barely wider than two adults, shoulder-to-shoulder, and barely longer than one adult lying down. It rises to slightly under waist height from the ground.

For the full experience of knowing you had a hand in the construction of your own car, you can still a Seven in kit form and assemble it yourself. 'Building time is typically around 70 hours,' according to the company's literature – it took me a month working in the evenings.

What is driving a Seven like? For today’s cosseted world - Spartan, pretty much puritan. You don't really climb into it; you pull it on, like a sleeping-bag. Once inside, you are wedged

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