CarBrandLogos archive · Caterham · 1973

CaterhamCaterham 7

A 1957 Lotus design, still in production, still sold as a box of parts.

Photo: Vauxford · CC BY-SA 4.0

The story

A defining chapter in Caterham history.

Explore the ideas, engineering and context that shaped the Caterham 7, then continue into its specifications and place in the marque's lineage.

Origins

When Lotus decided to abandon the Seven in 1972 to concentrate on more profitable cars, its last remaining dealer, Graham Nearn of Caterham Car Sales in Surrey, bought the rights and the tooling and simply kept building it. Caterham briefly continued the Series 4, a squarer glassfibre-bodied version, then reverted to the older Series 3 shape, which customers preferred. That decision is why a car designed by Colin Chapman in 1957 is still being made today.

1991Caterham Prisoner · Brian Snelson · CC BY 2.0

Design and engineering

The formula has never changed: a tubular spaceframe with riveted aluminium panels, a live rear axle or de Dion tube, a front-mounted engine driving the rear wheels, no doors worth the name and a kerb weight that has never needed a heavy engine to produce startling performance. Most cars have been sold in kit form, partly for the tax treatment in Britain, largely because assembling one has become part of the appeal.

1997 Caterham Seven · GIRAUD Patrick · CC BY-SA 2.5

1982 Caterham 7 Silver Jubilee edition - Flickr - exfordy

In production

Caterham has kept the car alive by changing what is under the bonnet rather than around it. Ford crossflow and Cosworth BDR engines gave way to the Rover K-series, then Ford's Duratec, and later to small Suzuki three-cylinder units for the entry-level 160 and 170 — cars slow enough by modern standards to be enjoyable at legal speeds. At the other end, the widened SV chassis and the CSR brought fully independent suspension and much greater power.

1982 Caterham 7 Silver Jubilee edition - Flickr - exfordy · Brian Snelson from Hockley, Essex, England · CC BY 2.0

Legacy

It has also sustained one of the most active one-make racing scenes in Britain, where the Seven's low cost and unforgiving handling make it a genuine teaching tool. More than fifty years after Caterham took it over, and nearly seventy after Chapman drew it, the car remains in production at Dartford — a rare case of a company recognising that its product was already finished.

At a glance

The facts that define it.

Produced

1973–present

Engine

0.7&nbsp

Body

Open two seat

Technical specification

The Caterham 7, in detail.

Production: 1973–present
Class: Sports car
Body style: Open two seat
Layout: Longitudinal front-engine, rear-wheel drive
Engine: 0.7 L Suzuki K engine#K6A; Suzuki K6A Straight-three engine; I3 (Seven 160/165) ; 0.7 L Suzuki R engine#R06A; Suzuki R06A Turbocharger; turbo I3 (Seven 170) ; 1.4–1.8 L Rover K-series engine; Rover K-Serie
Transmission: 5-speed manual; 6-speed manual; 6-speed sequential manual
Assembly: United Kingdom: Dartford
Manufacturer: Caterham Cars