Car: Caterham Seven 150 Sigma
Prices: £17,495-£20,495 – on the road INSURANCE GROUPS: tba
Emissions: tba
Performance: (Superlight) 0-60 4.7s Top Speed 130mph
Fuel Consumption: 40mpg [est]
Safety: (Superlight) 4-point lap & strap belts, quick release steering wheel
Dimensions: Length/Width/Height mm 3100/1575/800mm
MAKING LIGHT WORK
Our Rating: 5.1 / 10
Although 150bhp doesn’t sound that exciting in a world where that’s barely enough to power a warm hatch, the Caterham Seven 150 shows that working smarter rather than harder is the way forward. Andy Enright reports
The Caterham Seven is an anachronism right? Wrong. With ‘just’ 150bhp to play with, this Ford Sigma-engined Seven produces performance figures that would scare a Porsche 911, yet is affordable, economical and environmentally sound. So much for the view that it’s behind the curve. Some day all sports cars could be built this way.
Think of a resolutely modern sports car and you’ll probably think of something like the latest Porsche 911. Break it down to its component parts and you begin to wonder at what price this modernity has come. For £66,000, a Carrera S gets to 60mph in 4.8 seconds while emitting 285g of carbon dioxide per kilometre and will swill fuel at a rate of 24mpg. Your investment in the ‘definitive sports car’ is buying you 246bhp per tonne. You can do better than that. No, really.
Caterham has long believed in the credo of efficiency and effectiveness through light weight and simplicity and their latest Seven models, powered by Ford Sigma powerplants, show that this philosophy never really gets old. Although you’ve got just 150bhp to play with, these cars are quicker than the 911, way more economical and greener, plus they offer a superior power to weight ratio. Which car seems more relevant now?
If you’ve never driven a Caterham before, it can initially feel a little overwhelming. Compared to the rather synthetic feel of many sports cars, the Seven experience is rather more organic. Turn the saucer-sized steering wheel and you can see the front wheels respond behind their cycle mudguards. Hit a bump and you’ll see the suspension at work. Drive down a country lane at 40mph and it’ll seem as if you’re about to make the jump to light speed. You’ll emerge, juiced and with slightly shaky hands wondering how such a full-strength adrenaline hit can still be legal.
The 150bhp engine fitted to this Sigma Seven might come from relatively humble Ford origins but it certainly gets the job done, power output being only 10bhp down on the aggressive Superlight 300 model. This translates into a sprint to 60mph of just 4.7 seconds and an exhaust note to die for. The improved chassis is stiffer than before which, as counterintuitive as it may seem, actually improves ride quality due to the suspension being isolated and working more efficiently. Everything else is pure Seven. The steering is weighty but communicative and the brakes have the ability to hang you off your belt. Traction control? That’s down to your right foot.
While the Seven might have the ability to embarrass a Porsche 911 on a twisty road or racetrack, it can’t hope to compete with a lardy sports coupe when it comes to practicality. This is not the sort of car to pick up the weekly shop in. Although ergonomics have been improved quite significantly in recent years, the cabin still resembles a throwback to the 1970s with a fiddly popper fit roof, some rather endearingly idiosyncratic minor controls and space for two rather slim-hipped occupants. If you’re on first name terms with the employees in your local KFC, you might well need to specify the slightly wider SV variants.
Despite its rather basic look and feel, the Seven has been developed over many years and Caterham have ironed out niggling faults due t