. And its design, which was essentially the third iteration of a 1957 original, penned by Lotus Cars' founder Colin Chapman, still embodies his core tenet: 'Simplify, then add lightness.' In fact, it was only after the UK's introduction of VAT in 1973, which meant that buyers could no longer avoid paying purchase tax when they built the Seven from a kit, that Chapman sold the Lotus Seven's manufacturing rights and tooling to Caterham Cars. Caterham's boss, Graham Nearn, then replaced the Series 4 design with the earlier Series 3's, which is still used today. And it's a derivative of that very car – a generously-optioned, £46,250 Caterham Super Seven 2000 – that we're about to collect from Caterham's Gatwick showroom. Simon Lambert, Caterham's chief motorsport and technical officer, explains why factory-built models like this are becoming the norm. 'When I joined Caterham in 2000, only 20 per cent of Seven buyers bought their cars fully-built, but now it's the other way around, with a gradual decline in people building the car up from kit form. Part of this is down to tightened controls over kit-built cars since 1998, but also people don't tinker with cars anymore; buyers used to build the car from a kit to save money (there's a £2,595 premium to have your Seven factory-built), but now kit-builders only do it because they want to.' I'm glad that the Seven I'm driving is not one of my own making, though, especially as we're embarking on a 400-mile road trip, traversing the country to meet some of th){kind=link}
We drive the legend itself, and meet some of the people who race and live with the famous Seven
Fast, fun, light and simple, the Caterham Seven, doyen of the kit-car market and grass-roots motorsport, has reached its half-century. Few new cars today are able to provide the Seven’s purity of purpose, no matter which engine, chassis or level of trim an owner opts for.
The Seven’s pared-down weight has always been key to that appeal; in its most basic form, today’s model is arguably the world’s lightest production car, tipping the scales at a sylph-like 440kg (970lb). And its design, which was essentially the third iteration of a 1957 original, penned by Lotus Cars’ founder Colin Chapman, still embodies his core tenet: “Simplify, then add lightness.”
In fact, it was only after the UK’s introduction of VAT in 1973, which meant that buyers could no longer avoid paying purchase tax when they built the Seven from a kit, that Chapman sold the Lotus Seven’s manufacturing rights and tooling to Caterham Cars. Caterham’s boss, Graham Nearn, then replaced the Series 4 design with the earlier Series 3’s, which is still used today.
And it’s a derivative of that very car – a generously-optioned, £46,250 Caterham Super Seven 2000 – that we’re about to collect from Caterham’s Gatwick showroom.