Caterham Owners Group

Caterham Cars is a manufacturer of specialist lightweight sports cars based in Caterham, Surrey, England and part of the British motor industry. Their only current model, the Caterham 7 (or Seven), is a direct evolution of the Series 3 Lotus Seven designed by Colin Chapman and originally launched in 1968.

History

1957-2007 Seven 50th Anniversary logo
Lotus Origins
Colin Chapman's Lotus Cars launched the Series 1 Lotus Seven in 1957. The car was immediately embraced by enthusiasts as a low-cost, lightweight sports car and successful race car. Revised Series 2, Series 3 and Series 4 versions were subsequently launched in 1960, 1968 and 1970 respectively.

Caterham Cars had been a major Lotus 7 dealer during the 1960s, and its founder, Graham Nearn, purchased the rights to continue manufacture of the Seven design from Chapman in 1973, after Lotus announced their intention to discontinue the model. Caterham initially restarted manufacture of the Lotus Seven Series 4; however, when this proved unpopular, production switched to a Series 3 model in 1974.

The Lotus/Caterham 7 is widely regarded by car enthusiasts and the media as one of the iconic sports cars of the 20th century. With 2007 marking the 50th year of continuous production, the Seven miraculously still leads the market in track performance and driving enjoyment.

Construction
As with their Lotus Seven precursors, Caterhams are constructed of aluminium sheet attached to a tubular steel chassis. Nosecone and wings are either GRP or carbon fibre depending on specification. All Sevens are front engined with rear wheel drive and two seats. Their extremely high performance is achieved through light weight (less than 500 kg (1,102 lb) on some versions) rather than particularly powerful engines. As well as a lightweight chassis and bodywork, Caterham Sevens achieve their very low mass through their lack of comfort and safety oriented features such as a fixed roof, doors, radio, air-conditioning, airbags, traction/stability control, ABS, sat nav or cruise control. As a result, the Seven is somewhat limited in its practicality for everyday usage and is instead recognised by driving enthuisasts for its extreme focus on driving enjoyment, making it an ideal track/race car or 'Sunday' car.

Kit format
Chapman and Lotus helped to pioneer the British kit car industry. The Lotus Seven was offered in kit form to allow buyers to avoid new car tax in the UK. Subsequently Caterham continued offering cars in 'complete knock down' (CKD) kit form as the tradition of hand building your own Seven was well established amongst enthusiasts. Today, all Caterham Sevens are still offered in kit form in the UK except the CSR (Series 6) model. Modern Caterham kits differ from the majority of kit car as all parts are supplied ready to assemble, not requiring a donor car, fabrication or any special skills.

International
Although the Seven has always been popular with enthusiasts outside of the UK marketplace, export of the Seven to other markets has increasingly been limited by homologation, safety and emissions regulations in the modern era. As a result, the chassis/engine combinations, specifications, pricing and kit-form availability vary widely between countries.

In the United States Caterhams are currently sold as kits only, lacking some modern safety features required of manufacturers, but which are not required for individually-assembled vehicles. Buyers can either choose to construct the cars themselves or pay their regional dealers or local builders to assemble them. Typically the engine and transmission are sourced separately as a unit- often from Caterham- but all other components (including frame, suspension, differential, driveshaft, interior, wiring and instruments) are provided in kit form. In the UK, the vehicles can be obtained as kits or entirely assembled by Caterham and registered for the road under SVA (Single Vehicle Approval) regulations. In the '60s, the original Lotus Seven was sold only in kit form in both the UK and the US, in order to evade the very high taxes on complete new cars that were not assessed on automobile parts.

Location
Until 1987 the offices, factory and showroom of Caterham Cars were located in the town of Caterham, Surrey, UK. In 1987, the production and administration of the company moved to a new factory in Dartford, Kent, UK. Caterham Cars still retains a showroom and servicing facility in the town of Caterham adjacent to the train station. Additionally 'Caterham Midlands' showroom operates outside of Leicester.

Caterham 21
In the 1994 Caterham also produced a model called the '21'. Mechanically the 21 was very similar to the 7, using a modified 7 spaceframe chassis with a new GRP roadster-style body, including a wrap-around windscreen and fold-away fabric hood (convertible top). Whilst given excellent reviews by the UK automotive press, the 21 never sold particularly well due to competition from the more sophisticated Lotus Elise, with which it shared the same K-Series engine line-up and similar pricing. The 21 was discontinued in 1999.

2008 Model Line-up

Classic CaterhamChassis Variants

In 2008 Caterham offers three different chassis variants in the UK.

Series 3 (S3)
The most popular variant retains the same dimensions and layout of the Lotus 7 Series 3.

Series 5 (SV)
Caterham introduced this variant in 2000 to accommodate larger drivers (space is restricted in the S3 for drivers over 6 ft (1.8 m) tall.) Although visually very similar to the S3, the SV is longer taller and wider and has significantly more space for taller and broader drivers with the added benefits of more luggage space, a larger fuel tank and more stability. The SV chassis is 25 kg (55 lb) heavier than the S3.

CSR (Series 6)
The CSR was launched in 2005 following extensive research and development by Caterham with the objective of creating an improved Seven. The CSR is based on the larger dimensions of the SV but with a substantially revised and stiffer chassis, inboard 'pushrod' front suspensions, fully independent rear suspension, improved aerodynamics, potent Cosworth engines and a new 'integrated' dashboard layout.

Model/trim variants

- Classic - The most basic version of the 7 was traditionally offered with a 'live' rear axle but now comes with De Dion rear suspension as per the other models in the range. This trim level strips away all non-essential equipment and comforts.

Classic trim is available on S3/SV chassis
Engines: 1.4-litre K-Series (105 bhp).

Roadsport is the trim level intended for general usage, different weather conditions and touring. The spec includes a full windscreen and weather equipment to increase practicality. A large range of performance options are available.

Classic trim is available on S3/SV chassis
Engines: 1.6-litre Ford Sigma (125 or 150 bhp).

Caterham R300 Superlight - The Superlight is intended for track and fast road usage. Superlight spec includes performance options such as carbon bodywork and a close ratio 6-speed gearbox. A wind deflector in place of the windscreen makes a helmet more or less mandatory. The Superlight R400 uses a 2.0 litre Ford Duratec engine tuned to 210 bhp (157 kW/213 PS). The R400 name indicates the car's 400 bhp-per-tonne power-to-weight ratio. R300 and R500 models are scheduled for launch in 2008.

Superlight trim is available on S3/SV chassis
Engines: 1.6-litre Ford Sigma (150 bhp) or 2.0-litre Ford Duratec (210 bhp)
- CSR -

Caterham CSR
The CSR chassis comes in two basic trims which mirror those of the S3/SV cars. The 'basic' CSR has a road and touring oriented spec with full windscreen and weather equipment. This is available as the CSR200 (200 bhp) or CSR260 (260 bhp). The CSR Superlight (also 260 bhp) is the current Caterham performance flagship strips away the windscreen, integrated dash and other comfort-oriented components for maximum performance, with specialist 'Dynamic dampers' added to improve its already phenomenal grip. The 'basic' CSR set an unofficial time of 1.17.4 on the BBC Top Gear test track at Dunsfold, placing it ahead of most of the world's most expensive performance cars.

Engines: 2.3-litre Ford Duratec tuned by Cosworth (200 bhp or 260bhp) - Future models - Caterham will introduce Superlight R300 and R500 models in 2008-2009 to compliment the existing R400. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Seven 2007 Caterham showed a concept car known as the X330 which utilised the CSR chassis but with a supercharged 330 bhp (246 kW/335 PS) duratec engine. Production is unconfirmed. The 'Caterham Levante', announced in associate with RS Performance, is a mostly-carbon-fibre bodied Caterham, with Kevlar seats, which when combined with a 550bhp 2.4litre supercharged V8 and a reduced body weight of just 530kg boasts more than 1,000bhp per tonne. The car should cost around £115,000, and only eight will be produced to celebrate more than 50 years in production.

Kit build All of the 2008 model line-up is available as a 'CKD' complete kit for build by the owner, with the exception of CSR models.

Engines
Historically, engines have been supplied by Ford, specifically Ford Kent engines or Cosworth-derived race-prepared BDA/R units, enlarged to 1.7 litres and generating 150–170 bhp. In the early '90s, Caterham started using powerplants from other sources, with the least expensive models using 1.4-litre K series engines from MG Rover for the base model, and Vauxhall engines including full race versions of the 16 valve 2.0XE "red top" as fitted to 1990 Vauxhall Works Touring Cars. Rover engines span a power outout of 110–250 bhp in the R500 Evolution, Vauxhall engines 165 bhp (123 kW/167 PS) to 320 bhp (239 kW/324 PS) in some factory built versions of the car. A 250 bhp (186 kW/253 PS) Caterham JPE (Jonathan Palmer Evolution) briefly held the world record for production car 0–60 mph times (at 3.4 seconds) until it was bettered by the $1M McLaren F1.

The many aftermarket tuning companies for these cars have also offered the Ford Zetec, Honda Fireblade, Suzuki Hayabusa and even the Mazda Rotary engine. It is rumoured one owner even fitted a rotary diesel engine from a military drone.

In 2001, Caterham designated MG Rover the sole engine supplier for factory-built Sevens, with Ford Zetec, Honda Fireblade, Yamaha Firebird and Suzuki Hayabusa engines still available for kit assembly. The Rover engines were based on the K series and carried the 'Xpower' branding. However, the partnership evidently came to an end with the introduction of the 2005 model, powered by a Ford Duratec engine.

Typical powerplant output ranges from 140 to over 300 bhp (224 kW/304 PS), depending on specs and modifications.

The gearbox is either the classic Ford T9 five-speed or Caterham's own six-speed box. The T9 is cheap and durable, but has gear ratios meant for a much heavier car. The six-speed gearbox is expensive and had early 'toothing' problems, but its ratios are considered the perfect match for the Seven. Independent companies such as Quaife do offer replacement gearkits for the T9 as well as sequential boxes for those with a racing fever and the need for a more robust transmission.

The most extreme engine/chassis combination available from the factory as of 2004 was the R500 with the 230 bhp (169 kW) MG Rover engine, bringing the car's 430 kg (948 lb) from zero to 60 mph (97 km/h) in 3.4 seconds. This model also held a production car world record for 0-100-0 mph at 10.73 seconds set in 27 April 2004.

Motor racing
Because of its relatively high power-to-weight ratio and its exceptional, Lotus-heritage handling, the Caterham has been a favourite among club racers since the beginning of its career. In the United Kingdom and elsewhere, the Caterham is used in a variety of one-make series and sports car championships, both regional and national.

However, the Caterham has proven so successful against bigger and more powerful sports cars that it has been banned from FIA competitions and most international races, coining the phrase "too fast to race".[2] This was further extended to the Caterham Seven's (as Caterham Fireblade) appearance in Gran Turismo 4 that the Fireblade was banned from almost any race in the game (though it was really due to rendering issues).

References
^ Revealed: 550bhp V8 Caterham February 26 2008
^ Too Fast To Race, Again! - April 21, 2003

External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
Caterham vehiclesCaterham official website (UK)
Caterham USA
Caterham Racing
Seven Builder
Caterham Graduates Racing Club (UK)
Lotus Seven Club (UK)
California Caterham Club (USA)
Lotus Seven Club Sweden
Hyperion Motorsport - Caterham race team (UK)
(French) French website & forum dedicated to the 7
(German) Caterham and Lotus 7 Club Germany website