Caterham SEVEN SPRINT
There are certain consistent themes when it comes to motoring. Whenever an icon of handling excellence is required, the Caterham Seven is usually propounded as the benchmark against which all others routinely fail to measure up. The problem is that few drivers who wax lyrical about the Seven have ever actually driven one and younger drivers usually have to fight crippling insurance premiums if they want to get behind the wheel. Caterhams Seven Sprint offers an affordable first step into Seven ownership but still serves up a decent quota of thrills.
On paper, 105bhp doesnt sound like much of a recipe for excitement, but given the fact that theres only 540kg to move about, its more than enough to paint a monster grin across your face. With a power to weight ratio that betters a Porsche Boxster or a Subaru Impreza WRX, the Seven Sprint will accelerate to 60mph in 6.5 seconds. Despite the devastating performance of cars like the Superlight R500, Caterhams are more to do with the purity and feel of the handling than the straight line wallop.
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The Seven Sprint features a five-speed manual gearbox mated to a 1.4-litre K-Series engine. The package includes leather seats, a carbon fibre dashboard and front wings, metallic paint, 15-inch alloy wheels with bespoke Avon CR500 rubberwear and de Dion rear suspension and retails at just under £20,000, the finance, insurance and driver training package totalling a tad under £300 per month. Alternatively you can opt for a more basic specification car without the goodies for a very manageable £15,450.
All Sevens depreciate very slowly and if you were thinking of buying a car as an introduction to track day driving and then trading up in a year or so, theres really no better option than the Caterham Sprint. It offers tactility and finesse without huge bills. A lightweight car is that much kinder to its brakes and tyres and doesnt quaff vast quantities of fuel during a session of spirited lapping. In the right hands, a Seven Sprint will be able to embarrass some seriously expensive machinery around most British circuits.
Only the really quick tracks like Silverstone and Thruxton will betray its slight lack of lung capacity.
"Above all, the handling astonishes. Everything youve heard is true"
The driving experience, while not as full-on as the more powerful variants, is still something to behold. The exhaust assaults you with a sonic barrage quite at odds with the engines modest capacity. Despite years of experience in all manner of exotic cars, my mouth has suddenly gone a little dry. My size twelves feel like clown shoes in the diminutive pedal box and my thighs rub against the bottom of the steering wheel.
It genuinely feels as if youve strapped the car on rather than vice versa. On the move, youre astonished by the directness of the steering. Think of a line and the Seven is on it, the dinner plate sized steering wheel sending the most delicious feedback to the driver. Everything seems alien.
You can watch the front suspension doing its stuff and feel the car delicately shifting balance, your body mass perched almost on top of the rear axle. At first, each tentative thrust of the accelerator merely results in gales of disbelieving laughter but confidence quickly builds followed by a feeling of invincibility. Narrow country lanes disappear in a blur, the insistent bark of the exhaust rebounding off verges..
The downside of Caterham ownership is the impracticality. Loiter around the showroom in Caterham (strangely enough) and youll encounter numerous hardy types who run one as their only car, dismissing as fey any complaints that its a bit uncompromising. The doors only barely justify the description, being vinyl flaps that affix with a popper and to which the door mirrors are attached. The rear view can therefore be a little fuzzy, the best tactic being to travel faster than any posterior hazard.
Driving a Caterham solely on the road is a little like buying a top line set of thirteen Ping golf clubs and using them exclusively at your local pitch and putt. Youre barely scraping the surface of the potential available. On a track, the car suddenly makes all kinds of sense. The tiny pedal box makes dancing between the pedals a delight and the stubby gear lever can be palmed around the six gears just for the sheer tactility involved.
Above all, the handling astonishes. Everything youve heard is true. Tail slides that would usually generate entreaties to your maker in certain other cars become sought at every opportunity in the Seven. If you buy into Caterham less is more philosophy, then the Seven Sprint seems a logical extension.
The more you pay the less car you get and the more marginal the value proposition. The Seven Sprint offers drivers in their early twenties an unprecedented amount of capability for a surprisingly reasonable price. Get one of these and next time some self-professed expert starts talking about car handling, youll be able to come from a rather informed position.
FACTS AT A GLANCE
CAR: Caterham Seven Sprint
PRICES: from £15,450 (basic)
INSURANCE GROUP: tba
PERFORMANCE: Max Speed 106mph / 0-60mph 6.5s
FUEL CONSUMPTION: (combined) 36.5mpg [est]
WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE?: Length/Width/Height mm 3100/1575/800mm
