What can you say about the Caterham 7 that hasn’t already been said in its 50 year history?

The Seven is the original British lightweight sportscar. Originally created by Colin Chapman and launched as the Lotus 7 in 1957, the car embodies the Chapman design ethos of ‘adding lightness’. The low mass of the car makes it inherently agile, gives startling performance and, most of all, imbues the driving experience with its unparalleled sense of purity, control and reward. It is, quite simply, a motoring icon.

Caterham Cars has been selling the Seven since the late 1950’s. In 1973 Caterham purchased the rights to manufacture the car from Lotus, and has been building and selling it ever since. Over the decades Caterham have continued to refine and enhance the design, whilst always respecting the brilliance of the original formula.

Motorsport is at the heart of the Seven and it is the original 'race car for the road'. The car was designated 'too fast to race' by the authorities in the 1970’s due to its overwhelming superiority over its rivals, and was banned from competition. This inspired Caterham to pioneer one make racing with strict regulations to minimise cost and produce close, exciting racing. Meanwhile, overall victory in the 1992 Nelson Ledges 24-Hours race and class victory at the 2002 Nurburgring 24-Hours underlined the car’s abilities even against modern rivals.

Today there are more Sevens racing around the world than almost any other single marque, with over 700 competitors in 11 countries during the 2006 season.

Caterham also reinvented motorsport for the novice with the groundbreaking Caterham Academy, which enters its 12th year in 2007. Quite simply, a novice with no race experience can buy a road-legal Caterham, receive race tuition and compete in a special beginner’s championship over the course of the year. The Academy concept has created over 600 people new racing drivers and demand continues to outstrip supply year after year.

Throughout its 50 year history, global demand for the Caterham Seven has remained strong, despite an onslaught of copycat designs and cheap replicas, and is a testament to both the excellence of Chapman’s design and years of development and dedication by all our staff. Today more than half of the cars produced at the Dartford factory are exported around the world, with Japan, France and Germany, amongst others, all showing a strong appetite for the Seven.

2005 was possibly the most significant year in the history of Caterham Cars, with both the launch of the revolutionary new CSR model and the sale of the company by the Nearn family after 40 years.

The CSR uses a substantially revised chassis for increased torsional stiffness and offers new integrated dashboard, revised aerodynamics, F1-style pushrod front suspension and fully independent rear suspension. Combined with a potent 260bhp Cosworth engine, the CSR260 is a devastatingly quick, yet highly controllable, road and track weapon.

For 2007, Caterham is proud to offer an all-new range of Ford Sigma engines to replace the much loved K-Series. Additionally, investment in research and production techniques has resulted in improvements to the traditional chassis, which now offers 12% greater torsional stiffness.

The sale by the Nearn family of the company early in 2005 has brought about a new management team who both respect the history of the marque and want to continue to evolve it for the 21st century. Caterham Cars is proud to be one of the few remaining British-owned and British-based car manufacturers, with the majority of parts sourced from within the UK where possible.

With new investment in research and development and a focus on providing improved customer service and unmatched driving experiences, Caterham and the Seven will continue to lead the market for many more decades to come.