The oldest person alive is sharing her secret to longevity: no stress She was born in 1909 and is therefore the last surviving person born in that decade The Surrey resident's new title comes after the death of 116-year-old Sister Inah Canabarro Lucas In a 2020 BBC interview Caterham said the secret to her longevity was "never arguing with anyone." During her 115th birthday in August, Caterham got a letter from King Charles III congratulating her on a "truly remarkable milestone" and sending her "warmest good wishes," BBC reported How old is the oldest person alive?As of May 2, 2025, Ethel Caterham of Surrey, England is the oldest person alive at 115 years and 252 days old, according to LongeviQuest She was born in 1909 and is set to turn 116 on Aug Ethel Caterham is an English woman who currently holds the record as the oldest person alive at 115 She was born in Shipton Bellinger in Hampshire and raised in Tidworth, Wiltshire as the second youngest of eight children, according to the Guardian When she turned 18 she moved to British India to care for a military family for three years before returning back to England In 1931, she met her late husband, Lt. Col Norman Caterham, a senior officer in the Royal Army Pay Corps whom she married in 1933 The two were stationed in Gibraltar and later Hong Kong Caterham lived in the county of Surrey for 50 years She has three granddaughters and five great-grandchildren Born in June 1908 in São Francisco de Assis and many people thought she would not live long She began her life of faith at just 16 years old attending Santa Teresa de Jesus boarding school in Santana do Livramento she was confirmed in the Catholic Church in October 1929 She was first named the world’s oldest person in December 2024 after the death of 116-year-old Tomiko Itooka of Japan According to LongeviQuest she has racked up quite a few titles throughout her life This story has been updated to resolve an inaccuracy By PH Staff / Sunday, 4 May 2025 / Loading comments Devotees will have deduced from the name that there is something out of the ordinary afoot. The story begins with Richard Lee, a name well-known in Caterham circles. After building a carbon-bodied K-series Seven for his wife, Lee set his sights on creating the ultimate expression of the Seven ethos. At Autosport International, he connected with Russell Savory of RS Performance - the chap behind the original V8-powered Levante series - and a new collaboration was born. Unlike the eight "standard" Levantes built on the larger SV chassis, Lee's vision called for a narrower, stiffer S3 chassis - modified by Arch Motors to house the bespoke powerplant - cloaked in full carbon bodywork. Tragically, Lee passed away in 2009 before seeing his creation completed. The current owner acquired the unfinished project from Lee's widow, commissioning Steve Walshaw of SWR to bring the vision to life with RS Performance's continued involvement. The Pie & PistonChat about everything else… MotorsportsWin on Sunday, talk about it on Monday SupercarsNot all cars are created equal EventsMeet your hero Matt Bird in person The LoungeNeed to get something off your chest? View all forumsPistonHeads AuctionsSign up to our emailsGet the hottest news and promotions sent straight to your inbox PistonHeads® is a registered trademark of CarGurus Ireland Limited CarGurus UK Limited is an introducer appointed representative of CarFinance 247 Limited (FRN: 653019) CarFinance 247 Limited are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority for credit broking and insurance intermediation CarFinance 247 Limited is a credit broker and not a lender who lives in a care home in Surrey and takes life in her stride The secret of longevity is to do what you like according to the 115-year-old British woman named the world’s oldest living person is the first Briton to claim the title of world’s oldest person since 1987 when 114-year-old Anna Williams was the record holder acceded to the title after the previous record holder Caterham, who lives in a care home in Lightwater, Surrey puts her longevity down to her attitude to life the highs and lows,” she told BBC Radio Surrey in 2020 adding she has a maxim of “never arguing with anyone” She added: “I listen and I do what I like.” The title has been bestowed on Caterham by LongeviQuest and the Gerontology Research Group, research organisations that verify ages for the Guinness World Records. Free newsletterGet the day’s headlines and highlights emailed direct to you every morning Read moreBorn in Shipton Bellinger in Hampshire on 21 August 1909, Caterham was raised in Tidworth, Wiltshire, the second youngest of eight children. At the age of 18 she became an au pair to a military family in British India before returning to England three years later The couple married in 1933 at Salisbury Cathedral, where Norman had been a choirboy. He served as a senior officer in the Royal Army Pay Corps and they were stationed in Gibraltar and Hong Kong The couple had two daughters and returned to Britain Caterham has lived in Surrey for 50 years and has three granddaughters and five great-grandchildren “I’ve been all over the world and I’ve ended up in this lovely home where everyone is falling over themselves for me Elaborate deception was only recently discovered when judge visited government office to renew his ID card Police in the Brazilian state of São Paulo have uncovered that a judge spent 23 years working under a false identity – and a distinctly British one Born José Eduardo Franco dos Reis – a name fairly typical in a country once colonised by Portugal – he entered law school and served for over two decades as a judge using the false name Edward Albert Lancelot Dodd Canterbury Caterham Wickfield In 1995, having just passed the public examination to become a judge, Wickfield claimed in an interview with a Brazilian newspaper that he was the son of English aristocrats born in Brazil but raised in the UK until the age of 25 What police and public prosecutors are now calling a fraud was only recently discovered and came to the public’s attention following a piece by the news outlet G1 Since then, Brazilians have been left stunned trying to grasp how a judge could sustain such an elaborate deception for so long he visited a government office in São Paulo to renew his ID card All his documents listed his “British” names but the birth certificate registration number matched that of a Brazilian man named Reis When police cross-checked the data – and fingerprints – they confirmed it was the same individual Reis began presenting himself as Wickfield in the early 1980s Police say he falsified his birth certificate entered the University of São Paulo’s law school and began working as a judge in 1995 remaining on the bench until his retirement in 2018 When police uncovered the alleged fraud, he was summoned for questioning. This time identifying himself as Reis, he claimed that Wickfield was his twin brother given up for adoption as a child to a noble British couple He gave no further explanation for the names, though a piece by the Folha de S Paulo newspaper noted that they appear inspired by literature – such as the Round Table’s Lancelot or Mr Wickfield, the lawyer in Charles Dickens’s David Copperfield. A public prosecutor charged Reis with identity fraud and using false documents. Court officers have been unable to locate him, so he has yet to be formally summoned to respond. Last Friday, the São Paulo Court decided to suspend his pension payments as a retired judge – in February alone, he received R$166,413.94 (more than $28,000). Ethel Caterham was born in 1909 and has lived through two world wars and six monarchs Notifications can be managed in browser preferences. I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice A 115-year-old British woman has become the world’s oldest living person after the previous record-holder died in April Ethel Caterham is the last surviving subject of Edward VII and has lived through the Titanic disaster the fall of the Berlin Wall and six monarchs Born in 1909, she is now the oldest living Briton to have ever lived, with two research organisations that verify ages for the Guinness World Records confirming her title as the oldest person in existence, after Brazilian nun Inah Canabarro Lucas died at the age of 116 on 30 April. Ms Caterham was raised in Wiltshire as the second youngest of eight children she travelled to India as an au pair to a military family before returning to the UK in 1931 where she went on to meet her husband Norman Caterham They married at Salisbury Cathedral in 1933 and lived in Hong Kong and Gibraltar due to Mr Caterham’s role as a lieutenant colonel in the army They had two daughters and returned to live in the UK before her late husband passed away in 1976 after over four decades of marriage For the last 50 years, she has lived in Surrey and has three granddaughters and five great grandchildren she said: “Family is the most important thing in life to be able to leave memories with your children and grandchildren “Possessions don’t matter a bit in the end – all you need is someone to look after you.” She currently resides at Lakeview Care Home, which she previously described to the BBC as “lovely”, and has had a garden named in her honour to celebrate her 115th birthday last August. Asked what she credits for her long life, she said: “Never arguing with anyone, I listen and I do what I like.” Reflecting on her birthday last year, she said: “I don't know why there is all this fuss! I had a great day and feel very grateful to the care home for naming the garden after me.” Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies {"adUnitPath":"71347885/_main_independent/gallery","autoGallery":true,"disableAds":false,"gallery":[{"data":{"title":"485147884_1056700069823656_6078696056645196193_n.jpg","description":"Ethel Caterham celebrated her 115th birthday last August ","caption":"Ethel Caterham celebrated her 115th birthday last August Ethel Caterham celebrated her 115th birthday last August Caterham has signed a deal with Horse Technologies that’ll see the cars of the 2026 Caterham Academy series use new engines And so, the new engine for the Caterham Academy cars will be the 1.3-litre turbocharged four-cylinder known as HR13. Yep, that’s the engine originally designed by the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance and used in cars like the Qashqai, the Megane, the Mercedes-Benz A-Class and many, many Merc, Renault and Nissan crossovers. Of course, the direct injection engine will be tuned by Caterham Motorsport to suit the race-spec Seven, and we’re told it’ll produce 130bhp and 130lb ft of torque in the Academy car. It’s also worth noting that although the cars for the Caterham Academy are race-prepped, they’re also road legal. So, is this a sign Caterham will start using Horse engines across the board when its current supply of Ford Sigma units runs out? There’s no confirmation just yet, but we wouldn’t bet against it. “The Caterham Academy has successfully introduced more than 1,400 rookie racing drivers to motorsport in the UK over the last 30 years,” said Caterham boss Bob Laishley. “We’re very pleased to confirm our new partnership with Horse Technologies and look forward to working with their team on the introduction of this new turbo engine to our competitive rookie series from next season.” Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. Look out for your regular round-up of news, reviews and offers in your inbox. Get all the latest news, reviews and exclusives, direct to your inbox. Look out for your regular round-up of news No money from the licence fee was used to create this website The profits we make from it go back to BBC programme-makers to help fund great new BBC programmes BBC is a trademark of the British Broadcasting Corporation By Matt Bird / Thursday is exciting - this is the Seven Holy Grail you probably know plenty already (no doubt a few of you own one) The CSR upgrade was an attempt in the mid-'00s to modernise the Seven for the 21st century and the most significant manifestation of that refresh was independent rear suspension with the front suspension moved inboard and even the wheel arches squared off to benefit airflow The chassis was more torsionally rigid as well and while retaining every element that made all Sevens so joyous The CSR represented a more sophisticated Seven First paired with a rip-snorting 260hp Cosworth 2.3 Which is why £40k is still needed for one nearly 20 years later.  A bolder colour could have shown off the carbon and black badges better; as with almost every car painted the colour of a breezeblock it’s hard to get too excited (even when the driving experience promises so much) Caterham is yet to make a 15-inch wheel design that suits the Seven The configurator says that a custom colour is possible which almost feels like a get-out for offering such plain paint as standard.  The interior is an improvement on a standard Seven if still a little way from the claim of “a level up from what we’ve produced before thanks to an array of high-quality materials used throughout” Like those companies that want to charge £60 for flip flops there’s no escaping the fundamental architecture as is some extra leather and carbon on the dash though it’s hard still not to feel a tad shortchanged given the fairly rudimentary nature of the rest which is between the seats where it’s not seen rather than on a dash that could be spruced up Obviously buying a Seven for its interior ambience is like drinking eight pints of Guinnness for the nutritional benefit but it’s hard not to think that a car nearer £70k without deeper pile carpeting or a premium leather tunnel top might have been an easier sell.  It won’t be a surprise to learn that a lot of those concerns melt away within about five revolutions of the Toyo R888Rs You don’t so much drive a Seven as conduct it welcoming each and every element of the orchestra to exactly the level desired for whatever you want to happen Even after a long time away from that little saucer of a steering wheel a Seven requires precious little acclimitisation: the driver can see every extremity It might be said driving a Seven is like riding a bike such is the intuitiveness - if two wheels without an engine could ever be this much fun The adapted suspension undoubtedly makes a profound difference to the Seven experience stability and maturity with which it can tackle a B road with so much of the environment familiar; sat in a Seven with your bum scraping the floor there’s an expectation that certain bits of road will disturb or deflect it only for the obstacle to be overcome and progress to continue unabated knowing the Seven has the sophistication to properly manage lumps and bumps rather than merely tolerate them every single control can’t help but share everything about what exactly is going on.  it’s a joy to be reminded what a silly sweet spot the plain old Duratec is Perhaps the sound now feels a tad harsh after the evocative gurgle of the throttle-bodied cars but there’s no arguing with the gorgeous throttle response mighty appetite for revs (all the way to nearly 8,000rpm!) and rampant speed If a Caterham is about the ultimate in driving purity there remains nothing to match natural aspiration.  It’s a shame that only a five-speed ‘box could make it to the Twenty Not only would it be nice to have half a dozen ratios to rev out more freely (second will take the CSR to 70 here) there is again the cost to think about - £80k for five speeds looks a bit mean And it’s probably daft to grumble too much about the five-speed when the shift action could hardly be more perfect Just don’t forget your slenderest slippers - that extra carpet in the footwell might make the pedals more cramped than ever… Hopefully it says a lot of the Seven’s innate appeal that even with the reservations around price and spec - plus the smaller matter of summer track Toyos and three degrees ambient - the Twenty remains one of the great experiences on four wheels The more sophisticated suspension lends it some additional ability without detracting one bit from the immediacy and intoxication that’s defined the Seven for half a century The limits are understandably quite low at the end of November in the UK though nowhere near as hopeless as might be expected and there’s such satisfaction from interacting and collaborating with a sports car that speed becomes a secondary concern two driven wheels and an independent rear end doing as you wish it’s hard to say that the Twenty feels a whole lot more fantastic than the conventional Seven on which it’s based Always the problem when working with such an absorbing foundation While it’s impossible to deny the plusher enjoyment on offer from a better suspended Seven the rawness of a standard car is what often appeals to so many Probably a back-to-back between standard and CSR would really highlight the advantages and why the premium is asked it’s difficult to imagine this representing something like £30k more entertainment than a 420R (assuming a few options on top of a £42k asking price) If a Seven can even be assessed in vaguely rational terms of course; the retro limited editions were a heck of a lot more than a regular 160 Those who have always yearned for the CSR experience can now get it again in a new with limited edition fairy dust sprinkled on top So it’ll probably always be worth something near £80k Yet still the impression lingers that this money should buy something even more special Engine: 1,998cc four-cylTransmission: 5-speed manual rear-wheel drivePower (hp): 210@7,600rpmTorque (lb ft): 150@6,300rpm0-60mph: 3.6secsTop speed: 136mphWeight: 560kgMPG: TBCCO2: TBCPrice: £79,995 By Matt Bird / Wednesday It was all the way back in September 2021 that Caterham confirmed the 1.6-litre, Ford Sigma-engined models - the Super 1600, 270, and 310 - would no longer be produced making acquisition of a replacement engine a real priority Now we know (or can make a very good guess because from next season the Caterham Academy cars - also Sigma-powered since 2008 - will use a new 1.3-litre four-cylinder turbo instead.  Specifically, it’ll be the HR13 engine, a unit made by Horse Technologies (the recently announced collab of Renault, Geely, and Aramco). The powertrain was introduced earlier this year though surely can’t be dissimilar to the old HR13DDT seen in Meganes to be built in Brazil primarily for the South American market and with up to 163hp possible we’re told to expect around 130hp and 130lb ft so not drastically different outputs to the old Sigma racers though almost certainly with a different character thanks to the forced induction Caterham CEO Bob Laishley said: “The Caterham Academy has successfully introduced more than 1,400 rookie racing drivers to motorsport in the UK over the last 30 years We’re very pleased to confirm our new partnership with Horse Technologies and look forward to working with their team on the introduction of this new turbo engine to our competitive rookie series from next season.” Aside from the engine swap the Academy will remain the same (very appealing) proposition that it always has guiding you through the first steps of motorsport with one of the world’s best driver’s cars thrown into the deal A price hasn’t been confirmed for 2026 that we can see though expect it to be in the range of this year’s £45k.  As for the future of Horse Technologies engines in Caterham road cars it would seem like only a matter of time before a new line-up with the HR13 is announced Not least because the Academy cars were always road legal anyway (and an absolute blast to take to and from races) so you’d have to assume that will continue with the new turbo and it complies with all the required regs over here The fact it can produce more than 160hp potentially covers a more powerful model while a related HR10 1.0-litre could take the place of the Suzuki triples should the time come what an exciting season of Academy 2026 looks set to be By Cam Tait / Wednesday Remember when there was an air of mystery around TV shows Just think how incredible it is that Top Gear kept The Stig’s real identity a secret for as long as it did with relentless speculation from the tabloids about who the muted character in full race garb could be Was it really that close between the Bugatti Veyron and public transport Was the trip to the North Pole as perilous as it looked To recap: the special ‘A Massive Hunt’ saw James May take this very 310R to Madagascar before ‘transforming’ it into an off-roader with massive it looked relatively tame next to Clarkson’s rally raid-style Bentley Continental GT and Hammond’s pirate-themed Mk3 Ford Focus RS and was (spoiler alert) surprisingly the most resilient of the lot making it to the end of the trip without a single breakdown it’ll come as little surprise to learn that there were in fact two cars And it was the all-terrain version that allegedly came first as Amazon had asked Caterham to cobble one together for the show a near-identical 310R arrived at one of its dealers which was mirrored on the off-road version before the two were bundled up and flown to Madagascar for filming with the ‘normal’ version eventually winding up in private hands receive a number of subtle modifications prior to sale part black 13-inch wheels and the nosecone from a 420R race car meaning 155hp from a 1.6-litre Ford Sigma engine and a five-speed manual gearbox the claimed 4.8-second 0-62mph time is certainly believable We take a closer look at James May’s Seven off-roader plus other Caterham sports cars – including the  forgotten joint venture with Alpine If you remember the episode of ‘The Grand Tour’ called ‘A Massive Hunt’ one-off car that James May drove on the far-flung islands of Reunion and Madagascar it occupied pride of place in the Caterham Cars showroom where we enjoyed a not-so-grand tour of our own let’s take a look at May’s ‘Frankenstein’ Seven… Jeremy Clarkson chose a jacked-up Bentley Continental GT and Richard Hammond fitted caterpillar tracks to a Ford Focus RS chose the most unlikely car of the lot for his jungle adventure: a Caterham Seven 310R The two-seat roadster was modified with enormous rear tyres the Caterham is very basic – and not entirely mud-proof “It’s something I’ve thought about doing for years but never actually had the chance to do it,” said James May “The Caterham racing car is a fabulous off-road adventure vehicle Why you would choose a Land Rover or Toyota Land Cruiser The other cars at Caterham’s former HQ (which has now moved from the Crawley showroom pictured here to a new facility in Dartford – see later slides) are more conventional with a car as unique and iconic as the Seven there is still plenty to get excited about Caterham has manufactured this retro-look roadster since 1973 And a long waiting list suggests it has plenty of life remaining yet The stillborn Caterham coupe codenamed ‘C120’ – was a joint-venture with Alpine that became the A110 Caterham was unable to match Renault’s investment and withdrew from the project in 2014 this curvaceous full-size clay model shows what could have been Alpine and Caterham began working together in 2012 The French wanted to re-launch their defunct sports car brand and the Brits hoped for a more mainstream model to complement the back-to-basics Seven These were the heady days when Caterham had its own Formula One team something the production Alpine doesn’t have And the C120 would likely have spawned a GT4 race car Given the rapturous acclaim the A110 has received the prospect of a Caterham version is a poignant one for petrolheads with similar closed coupe styling and an electric powertrain This is the most extreme Seven currently on sale The 620R has a supercharged 2.0-litre Ford Duratec engine producing 310hp This Seven Superlight R500 took pride of place in the Caterham Cars’ foyer It’s the very same Seven that blitzed the Top Gear test track in 1min 17.9sec in 2008 – earning the team’s Car of the Year accolade in the process Richard Hammond remarked: “The Caterham is faster than the £1 million Bugatti Veyron with nothing but the essentials for fast driving gear shift indicator lights above the steering wheel and six-speed sequential manual gearbox At the opposite end of the Seven spectrum is the limited-edition Sprint Only 60 examples of this retro-look roadster were made The Sprint resembles the original Lotus Seven a polished exhaust and classic-style badges it has a modern three-cylinder Suzuki engine The Sprint’s interior boasts sumptuous scarlet leather retro Smiths gauges and a wood-rimmed Moto-Lita steering wheel stainless steel rear wing guards and a lowered floor for extra cabin space Squint and you could be in a Jaguar E-Type – or any other 1960s British sports car There’s also a numbered plaque in front of the passenger showing which of the 60 cars is yours Note that Caterhams are now built in Dartford Kent – rather than their original home of Caterham in Surrey The success of the Sprint led Caterham to launch the Seven Supersprint (left) a year later but this time the production run sold out in seven hours weather protection on the SuperSprint is best described as ‘rudimentary’ (you could also opt for a conventional windscreen and roof) Delicious details include an aluminium cut-off switch chrome mirrors and a Sebring-style fuel filler cap plus a range of period paint colours and decals One of the (many) unusual things about the Seven is that its wheels stand proud of the chassis That makes the cabin surprisingly narrow – and a tight squeeze for tall drivers The wide chassis option seen here helps counter this increasing the overall width of the car from 1,575mm to 1,685mm which ceased production in 1973 – after which Caterham bought the rights to the design Originally powered by a 41hp 1.2-litre Ford side-valve engine It was unveiled at the Singapore Grand Prix and could have been the replacement for the ageing Seven budgets were tight and customers weren’t convinced The AeroSeven featured plenty of tech from Caterham’s F1 exploits It’s powered by a 240hp Ford Duratec engine and reaches 60mph in ‘less than four seconds’ We love all the naked carbon fibre inside the AeroSeven although it doesn’t exactly look cosseting who cares about fripperies like a windscreen when you’re driving something this cool The stillborn 21 is another Caterham that could have replaced the Seven: indeed It was launched in 1994 and remained in production for five years The 21’s interior is certainly more accommodating than a Seven (not hard the shape of the doors means the windows don’t wind down An extra point if you spotted that the 21’s tail lights come from the Ford Mondeo It also used front indicators from the Suzuki Cappuccino and wing mirrors from the Rover 200 Such parts were simply too expensive for Caterham to make in-house The main reason for the 21’s failure was the launch of the Lotus Elise soon afterwards The car from Norfolk was better resolved and more fun to drive: the Caterham didn’t stand a chance Caterham Cars had this lovely S1 Elise for sale in its showroom you know the score… This is the track-only Caterham SP/300.R a joint project with British racing car constructor With a supercharged 300hp engine (355hp on overboost) this four-wheeled weapon will reach 170mph Caterham says of the SP/300.R: “The feeling of the car beneath you The aggression of the forces acting on your body The satisfaction of placing the car with absolute precision constantly feeding a stream of data to every sense The SP/300.R’s steering wheel is pure racing car with gearshift indicator lights and a button for calling the pits Spot the yellow ‘Pass’ button the right – used to give an extra power boost for overtaking The sequential gearlever is also to the right of the wheel It’s painted green and yellow – the same colours as the Lotus Seven that famously featured in 1960s TV drama series the ‘KAR 120C’ registration plate of the Prisoner Seven is still owned by Caterham Cars This lovely 2006 Classic would make a great starter Seven with a 120hp 1.4-litre K-Series engine and just 7,441 miles on the clock It was advertised at £14,995 – further proof that Sevens simply don’t depreciate This special edition Seven cost just £20,000 back in 2010 while the red and white stripes are inspired by the Monegasque flag A 125hp Ford Sigma engine meant 0-62mph in 5.9 seconds and 112mph flat-out Designed by Caterham F1 Team’s Japanese driver plenty of carbon fibre and a dashboard signed by Kamui himself it’s powered by batteries rather than a 306hp supercharged Ford Duratec this stripped-down 160 is a show car – designed to reveal the inner workings of the Seven but it still looks a snug fit beneath the Seven’s low-slung bonnet No wonder all those louvres are needed to keep it cool Imagine how hot the 620R parked next to it must get Here’s a closer look at the Seven’s double wishbone suspension which delivers taut handling and keeps weight to a minimum The cheaper Seven 160 and Sprint models use a live rear axle you can save around £3,500 by building a Seven yourself Caterham supplies a painted chassis with wiring loom Reckon on 80-100 hours to complete the job after which your car will have to pass an Individual Vehicle Approval (IVA) test the short-lived Caterham F1 Team began life under the Lotus banner This Lotus T127 has a Cosworth V8 engine and was raced by Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen in the 2010 season Team Lotus was rebranded as Caterham F1 Team at the end of 2011 at the behest of Caterham’s charismatic owner The decision followed a legal battle between Team Lotus and the rival Group Lotus over the use of the name in F1 Caterham F1 Team made its debut in 2012 with the CT01 powered by a 2.4-litre Renault V8 and piloted by Heikki Kovalainen and Vitaly Petrov Its best result was an 11th-place finish at the final grand prix of the year in Brazil Just look at the design of the Caterham CT01’s carbon fibre front wing we also discovered this rather cool Caterham-branded kart in the corner of the showroom Caterham runs no less than five Seven-based series The Caterham Academy is the first rung on the ladder with road-legal cars and seven points-scoring events throughout the year This 2011 Academy racer was for sale at £17,995 Tracksport was Caterham’s mid-range racing championship there was the Superlight R300-S Championship This particular R300-S was driven by motoring journalist Dan Prosser The 310R Championship is now the peak Caterham race series The ghost of Colin Chapman looms large at Caterham Cars then add lightness” is writ large on the wall this is actually a heavier Seven SV: the wide-bodied version for drivers with The Seven has been replicated in Lego as part of a new 770-piece kit opening boot and axle stands that allow the wheels to be removed Only 50 examples of the Caterham 21 were built so having two in the showroom at once represents four percent of the total production run Several GT versions of the 21 were used for racing powered by the 230hp engine from the Seven R500 The Caterham Seven might look old-fashioned A process of continuous evolution has kept this much-loved icon at the top of its game – putting smiles on faces and embarrassing Bugatti Veyrons along the way Let’s hope it’s still going strong in another 68 years has now closed – replaced by a new customer centre alongside the factory in Dartford The 54,000 square-foot facility brings together assembly engineering and motorsport all under one roof which was previously the Japanese importer for Caterham Cars has helped to expand Caterham’s presence in Dartford The factory includes 33 individual assembly bays where each Seven is bolted together by a dedicated technician paint booths and a parts warehouse are also on-site Caterham enthusiasts can now book tours of the factory The 2.5-hour experience costs £30 per person and demonstrates how a bare chassis is built up into a completed Caterham Seven so reserve your place now (search ‘Caterham Cars factory tours’) if you want to visit in 2025 Horse Technologies, a division of Horse Powertrain, the JV formed between Renault and Geely for engine and transmission development and sales, has signed an agreement to supply engines for the 2026 Caterham Academy series four-cylinder HR13 turbo engine that is to be used features direct injection technology and will be calibrated to deliver peak power of 130bhp (132ps) and a peak torque of 176Nm at 5,150rpm Horse notes that the HR13 uses a delta-shaped cylinder head to save mass and space lower the center of gravity and improve thermal management of the engine and that the exhaust manifolds are directly cast into the head for faster turbo response and exceptional low-speed torque delivery Matias Giannini “It’s a privilege for us to supply our HR13 engine for the 2026 Caterham Academy Championship Caterham is an iconic brand in the automotive and racing world with a rich history and this is a unique opportunity to collaborate in their mission to discover the next generation of racing talent in the 2026 Academy series.” Bob Laishley “The Caterham Academy has successfully introduced more than 1,400 rookie racing drivers to motorsport in the UK over the last 30 years We’re very pleased to confirm our new partnership with Horse Technologies and look forward to working with their team on the introduction of this new turbo engine to our competitive rookie series from next season.” Ethel Caterham was recognized on April 30 as the oldest living person after the death of 116-year-old nun Inah Canabarro Lucas This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page By Matt Bird / Monday and before we know it the spring will be here - time to think about sports cars because they’re about as much fun as four wheels can offer though there are surely deals to be done with the temperatures still in single-digits.  With a CSR Twenty drive just before Christmas A drive will do that to you - it becomes hard to imagine life without one But there’s no escaping the fact that they’re darn expensive sports cars these days and yes it has more sophisticated suspension That’s before even thinking about having to wait for a new one.  though strong residuals are as much a part of the Caterham experience as burning your shin on the exhaust Arguably the best way to spend less money on an old Seven is to get a lower-powered one; less than £15k and less than 150hp will make for a very sweet little sports car.  But heck are they thrilling once above 150hp The old R300s were often regarded as a sweet spot at 160hp which Caterham later aimed to replicate with the Ford-engined 310 Anything above that makes for something truly ballistic.  All of which - the low mileage, the spec, the recent work - would point to a mega-money Seven. Yet it’s £17k, the kind of money that usually buys old Roadsports and Academy cars. Perhaps there might be a few teething problems given the age, and certainly a 200hp+ K Series will need the appropriate amount of TLC for pretty much the entire time, but it looks a whole heap of super Seven silliness for not that much. See you on circuit... but also ultra-basic: the Caterham Super Seven 600 The Caterham Super Seven 600's spartan cabin: removing the doors looks great The Caterham's dashboard: minimal and purposeful The Seven can also be supplied in knocked-down kit form for keen amateur car makers to complete Completed cars line up alongside new aluminium tubs Seven tubs and Ford and Suzuki engines await assembly An enduring classic: the Caterham Super Seven 600 Overview of Caterham's new factory in Dartford Few automotive experiences are as visceral as a Caterham We’ve sampled one of the smallest and lightest of them all It was as I folded myself into the tiny cockpit of the Caterham Super Seven 600, that I made my first mistake. Collecting the car from Caterham’s shiny new factory facilities in the London Thameside suburb of Dartford I weighed up the practicalities of removing the canvas roof for the half an hour journey back home to South London The sun beat down and I had no sunglasses or hat the cockpit of a Caterham is akin to travelling back in automotive time Keeping the roof up would have been all very well in a modern droptop to counter the effect of sun on black canvas so there was no opportunity to crank open a window the little Super Seven seems to pump heat from the engine directly into the cabin the oppressive climate made getting to know the little car’s foibles and character harder to parse ultra-direct unassisted steering and intimidatingly diminutive scale This is a convoluted process involved popper fastenings an internal deckchair-like structure and brute force ‘usually in the pouring rain,’ according to Caterham’s cheerful PR rep It’s marginally easier to squeeze into but at least you can step in and slide down rather than squeeze through the tiny door opening but once firmly installed you are engaged not just with the Caterham’s snappy dynamics but also the proximity of the world outside eye-level with the wheel nuts on buses and articulated lorries a couple of feet below pedestrians and cyclists one of the unexpected consequences of Caterham ownership is that you’re unwittingly privy to passing comments and conversations when pulled up at junctions and lights This was an almost exclusively positive side effect as people offered up an array of questions Even cyclists seemed to feel some affinity with the spindly little car larger road users imperil you just as much as they imperil them although sometimes it was less than comfortable A 90-mile jaunt to the country was an opportunity to experience everything from motorways to winding lanes The former could be a bit of an endurance test putting the little turbocharged Suzuki 660cc engine through its paces escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox This is the smallest petrol engine on the UK market at a featherweight 440kg (around about the weight of a battery pack in a Tesla Model 3) the power-to-weight ratio allows for zippy acceleration and more than enough speed to keep up with contemporary traffic It’s not even the smallest and lightest car the company makes which swaps out the swooping flared front wings of the 600 for over-the-wheel units and pares everything back to the bare minimum as well as run-out editions of the Seven 485 CSR It’s also where you go to get your Caterham race car specified and fettled part of a long-running single make race series that acts as an affordable springboard into motorsport The current European range consists of the Seven 170 and the Seven 485 and Seven 485 CSR Final Editions Once you step into the Super Seven 2000 and beyond you’ll be using the tried and tested Ford Duratec engine a 2.0-litre unit that can be had in various levels of tune dramatically increasing the power-to-weight ratio The 2.0-litre cars can also be built using Caterham’s ‘Large Chassis’ which increases the width of the car to provide slightly less intimate accommodation for two the buzzy drone coming from 660cc keeping up with modern traffic is starting to get a little wearing and then there’s the task of canvas and popper wrestling once you’ve parked up in order to weatherproof the interior And yet life with this tiny machine has a lot going for it The view down the long bonnet to the skinny tyres and round headlights is timeless The steering communicates instant direction changes and the engine demands to be revved hard as you switch up and down through the gears Although I occasionally physically tired of the experience any travails or discomfort were once again re-set to zero How long can Caterham go on providing this kind of raw Low volume car makers are notoriously susceptible to big shifts in regulation but also extremely adept at mapping out a legal path to market Electrification of the Seven’s simple ultra-light package would change its character irrevocably possibly losing the allegiance of many whilst welcoming others to the fold the use of Suzuki and Ford engines is assured an electric sports car on an altogether different mission to the Seven If it happens – and Parent company VT Holdings has already set up a separate entity to oversee ongoing development – it’ll need a new factory and facilities there are no better cars than a Super Seven Jonathan Bell has written for Wallpaper* magazine since 1999 covering everything from architecture and transport design to books He is now the magazine’s Transport and Technology Editor He is also the host of Wallpaper’s first podcast Care Home Professional The oldest person in UK history has officially become the world’s oldest woman living and oldest person living Ethel Caterham, who lives in Surrey, England, has earned the titles at the age of 115 years and 252 days, as confirmed by LongeviQuest Ms Caterham received a letter from the King congratulating her on a “truly remarkable milestone.” Ms Caterham takes the records following the death of Inah Canabarro Lucas (Brazil) who was also the world’s oldest living nun said she “didn’t know why there was all the fuss.” Ms Caterham was the second youngest of eight children surviving to the grand age of 104 years and 78 days She is the youngest person to be named the oldest woman in the last 12 years A spokesperson for Hallmark Lakeview Luxury Care Home said: “What an incredible milestone and a true testament to a life well-lived spirit and wisdom are an inspiration to us all Here’s to celebrating your remarkable journey.” and website in this browser for the next time I comment has officially become the world’s oldest living person following the death of Sister Inah Canabarro  According to the Gerontology Research Group (GRG) and LongeviQuest making Caterham the oldest confirmed living human Although Caterham now holds the title of the world’s oldest living person the record for the oldest person ever still belongs to Jeanne Calment of France who lived to the age of 122 years and 164 days Caterham has shared her approach to longevity over the years offering a blend of pragmatism and optimism and I do what I like,” Caterham said from her nursing home in Surrey when asked about the secret to her long life USA Herald covers everything from breaking news to investigative journalism We also report on politics on the State and National levels A 115-year-old British woman born when Edward VII was on the throne has become the world’s oldest person is the oldest Briton ever thought to have lived and became the world’s oldest person after the previous record-holder previously said “I do what I like” when asked how she had achieved such longevity I listen and I do what I like,” she said last year She has outlived her husband by almost 50 yearsBorn in Shipton Bellinger There’s a reason why anyone who owns a Caterham probably owns a handful of other cars These are track cars that happen to wear licence plates built for the sole purpose of delivering nothing but a raw driving experience you’d have to be slightly bonkers to try and daily one first in a Kei car-powered Super 600 and then a more hardcore 360R Forget pretty much everything you’ve learnt about operating any car to this point Even the basic functions of a Caterham are quite unlike anything else on the road most of the road cars now have a battery kill switch fitted You’ll want to turn this off even if you’re only leaving the car parked overnight – and remember to turn it on before you get in I promise it’s no fun trying to reach back around for it afterwards but rather an unmarked toggle switch that will not self-cancel wipers and everything else associated with those are all controlled by on/off switches you probably won’t be able to fit your feet in the footwell of a Super 600 with shoes on Noise-cancelling earphones become your best friendI’d never quite understood why people drive with earphones in it’s just going to be massively distracting It’s not so much about missing listening to music (in case you hadn’t realised there’s no speakers in a Caterham) but being able to hear anything at all My first drive in the Super 600 was around the M25 the entire time being bombarded by wind noise HGV airbrakes two feet away from my head and the grating sound of everyone else’s cheap tyres Pop a set of decent noise-cancelling earbuds in and it'll drop the harsh noises around you a touch and relax you a bit You can hear enough around you to drive safely still Even in the middle of the summer in the UK we’re guaranteed pissing wet weather at some stage This is exactly what happened on three occasions in my time with the Caterhams Any other car and you probably wouldn’t even give driving in the rain a thought That’s not the case when you have to clip on a vinyl roof that will keep the rain out but leads to making it even harder to get in and out of windows steaming up as you drive and more heat inside than is comfortable If you’re like me and have to park outside even not driving the car becomes a game of checking the weather radar to see if you should pop outside to put the roof back on Don't buy anything too fragile There is a boot in a Caterham but the likelihood is you’re going to have that filled by the roof you’ve got on hand just in case the weather turns sour that leaves the passenger seat and footwell as your place to stuff the essentials in A Super 600 will handle three big bags of shopping and probably could take a fourth I’d suggest taking it out of the car before you take yourself out Driving a Caterham in stop-start traffic is laborious and will make your left leg ache from clutch use It’ll be a pain to manoeuvre out of a tight parking space with no power steering and not being able to see beyond the seas of crossovers packed around you when you come across the one deserted country lane late in the evening This is as pure a driving experience as you’ll get from anything with number plates on Get the best out of yourself and you’ll get the best out of the car reviews and unmissable promotions from the team direct to your inbox For more information see our Privacy Policy Next 10 Racing Games That Need To Be Remastered Ryan Hirons Ryan is Car Throttle's News and Features Editor you’ll find Ryan pretending to drive them on Gran Turismo or playing with radio-controlled ones © Crash Media Group Ltd 2025.The total or partial reproduction of text photographs or illustrations is not permitted in any form James O'Brien is Leading Britain's Conversation A British woman has become the world's oldest person at 115-years-old following the death of a Brazilian nun who held the title is now the oldest person in the globe at 115 years and 253 days old That's according to LongeviQuest and the Gerontology Research Group which verify ages for the Guinness World Records’ Mrs Caterham has become the first Briton to claim the title since 114-year-old Anna Williams in Shipton Bellinger in Hampshire and was raised in nearby Tidworth in Wiltshire The centenarian has lived through at least 27 prime ministers and six monarchs throughout her long life Read more: America's oldest-serving astronaut returns to Earth on his 70th birthday Read more: Ethiopian runner Assefa sets women's-only record at London Marathon, as Kenyan Sawe wins men's elite race Mrs Caterham is one of eight children - the second youngest among her siblings She has said “I do what I like” when asked what about her top tips for living a long life I listen and I do what I like,” Mrs Caterham said last year on hitting the 115-year mark she said: “I’ve taken everything in my stride the highs and lows.“I’ve been all over the world Mrs Caterham has three granddaughters and five great-grandchildren was born in 1897 and lived until the age of 104 Her new position as the world's oldest woman comes after the death of Brazilian nun Inah Canabarro Lucas Ms Lucas became the world's oldest person when Japanese woman Tomiko Itooka See more Latest News See more World News See more More Topics What makes it unique is that the chassis (which Caterham calls its ‘most compliant’ - read pointy) is offered together with the 420’s 2.0-litre Ford Duratec engine for the first time producing 210bhp and redlining at 7,600rpm 0-62mph takes but 3.9 seconds and the top speed is stamped at 136mph The CSR Twenty also features inboard front and independent rear suspension to make the steering as direct as possible and the rear end as grippy as possible And combined with the willing-but-not-620R-levels-of-rapidness with ventilated front brakes and quad-piston calipers It’s also “without doubt the most premium Seven we’ve ever built”  To that end the dashboard gets a satin carbon finish Meanwhile the seats are fitted with ‘premium’ leather red stitching and of course CSR Twenty logos You also get a numbered plaque for your one-of-twenty Twenty plush black carpets (you lucky thing) and a leather Momo steering wheel the CSR Twenty gets a nose cone in the style of a 620 there are LED lights front and rear and those 15in alloys are exclusive to this edition of the Seven Two colour choices are offered: Kinetic Grey and Dynamic Silver READ MORECaterham has built this Seven 360R from... bits of an old helicopter The price is… punchy. Very punchy. It costs £79,995, which is a lot when you think a base 420 starts from £42,000. And your one-of-20 Twenty is actually a one-of-40 Twenty, as 20 cars have also been earmarked for the US. “When you combine this with the exhilarating and engaging handling of our CSR chassis, this really is a Caterham built for longer distance road trips,” says Laishley. “It’s a vehicle that truly celebrates 20 years of our CSR chassis and I’m proud to see it being hand built here in our new Dartford factory.” Turn on Javascript to see all the available pictures.1 / 30AdvertisementAnother Caterham special edition Been a few of those lately.Missed the headline It might look like a Seven and quack like a Seven an altogether different take on the original Lotus blueprint It’s the work of Nottinghamshire’s Great British Sports Cars which has championed DIY shed builds – and lord knows how many mid-life crises – since it picked up the torch from Robin Hood Engineering almost 20 years ago As a kit car supplier with a dozen or so members of staff it’s carved out a happy little niche for itself: most of its business is in the UK but it has customers in Norway New Zealand… so now it wants to expand its horizons into the turnkey game No that exhaust pipe’s the real deal: it’s plumbed into a 2.5-litre Ford Duratec unit one of many engines GBS has mounted for its customers over the years This one’s good for 210bhp and 200lb ft – plenty given the wet weight’s just 598kg – although evidence from the dyno suggests they actually leave the factory with more like 235bhp That’s because GBS has made a few modifications installing a flywheel lighter to the tune of 3.7kg and its own throttle bodies to help the engine breathe easier Power is sent through a five-speed Mazda gearbox with 0-62mph dealt with in under four seconds GBS says it makes 80 per cent of its components in-house carbon fibre panelling and those adjustable dampers; complete with 12 clicks for endless tinkering The Zero runs double wishbones front and rear with GBS claiming the wide track helps with stability and grip You’ve got a good eye. This here is the standard chassis, and at 1,720mm it’s a full 250mm wider than the equivalent Caterham Seven that means it’s less of a squeeze – this is the first time I’ve driven a car like this where I’ve not had to take my shoes off to operate the pedals If that still doesn’t cut it, GBS also does a GT version that’s 80mm wider again. Must feel like a Continental GT, that one. SuccessYour Email*Anything else that sets it apart from a Caterham?As well as inching the engine rearwards for 50:50 weight distribution, there’s some aero trickery underneath the car with a fully flat steel floor leading to a rear diffuser made of glass reinforced plastic. Like a Seven it’s built around a space frame chassis, but stressed aluminium body panels are said to double the rigidity of the structure as a whole. It does. And maybe not in a good way. Part of what makes a Seven so biddable is the flex in the chassis, whereas here there’s far less give; almost no appetite to compromise at all. On a track – with smooth, predictable asphalt, that’s fine – but on a b-road the Zero gets pushed around by undulations and camber in the surface, which you then have to correct for. It keeps you on your toes. Especially approaching 60mph. At town pace the Zero has very weighty steering, but as the speedo climbs the steering starts to get noticeably lighter and more vague. Maybe if I’d pulled over and fiddled with the dampers… Fear not, because in every other respect the Zero is magnificent. The kind of thing you get up early to drive on a weekend morning, just for the pleasure of it. Even in the dead of winter. Let’s not overstate things, in terms of outright performance the Zero’s not as dialled in as a Seven. Though the chassis is stiffer, the suspension's softer and more leisurely. But it honestly doesn’t feel like more than a few setup tweaks away from being properly sorted. And the extra squidge in the ride (plus GBS’s own seats) means you can drive it for longer before needing to book a session with the chiropractor. Happy days. Caterham better watch out. This lot know what they’re doing. There’s not much to it, although it’s interesting where GBS has diverged from Caterham in its approach. Instead of a ball-mounted gear lever you get a more graspable stick; the handbrake is further back, allowing room for a quartet of buttons on the centre console; there is – and this is my favourite departure of all – an indicator stalk! Doesn’t half make roundabouts easier. Combined with the ride and less claustrophobic interior, this is altogether more liveable than a Seven. GBS should go further with it: give me a cupholder so I’ve got somewhere to stash a drink; give me a phone mount so I can run Google Maps and not get lost. The Zero Hassle, here to add convenience Dartford’s finest export daren’t dream of. For the right person, yeah. But the thing to be mindful of is that 80 per cent of GBS’s business is still in kit cars, so execution of the fit and finish still has a way to go. Prod the starter button and you’ll notice how much flex there is in the dashboard; the fuel gauge is comically inaccurate; buttoning the door shut is exasperating. Worse yet, get the roof up and above 40mph the buffeting will beat you over the head until you pull over and take it off again. A fix is coming, says GBS – the Nottingham Head Massage can’t be cured soon enough. The point is, those are all things you’ll put up with if it’s a project you’ve poured your own blood, sweat and tears into. But anyone who just wants the sports car with none of the self-assembly will be expecting craftsmanship. On that front, GBS isn’t there yet. This one’s about £48k with options, including the 12-stage dampers and four-pot brakes (£1,445), lightweight suspension and alloy billet rear hubs (£1,166), plated limited slip diff (£1,124), doors (yes they’re extra – £1,053), heated seats (£608), Momo quick-release wheel (£230), plus a few others. But with the 2.5 fitted here prices start from £41,860. That’s already £3k less than a factory-built Seven 420 of equivalent power, and although the options list won’t lose you quite as many hours (or days, or weeks) as Caterham’s configurator, the benefit of dealing with a manufacturer that builds just over 100 chassis a year is that it can listen to individual requests. Now, about my cupholder… By PH Staff / Friday There are good special editions and bad special editions and then there is a one-off Caterham Seven made with bits of a former Royal Air Force Puma HC2 helicopter it’s about supporting Mission Motorsport and the RAF Benevolent Fund - very worthy causes both it’s a glorious and uniquely British mashup of car and chopper even allowing for the fact that the latter is it has served the military very well indeed for over half a century it has provided the backbone of the RAF’s ground support contingent and has served in virtually every conflict which has seen in the insertion of British troops And while it’s not done yet (the New Medium Helicopter programme isn’t due to select a replacement till next year) the end is now vaguely in sight.  We know this to be true because the RAF deemed one of the earliest airframes - XW232 which entered service in 1972 - fit for turning into a car Or at least they’ve used elements of it to extensively modify a 360R including the aluminium skin from the aircraft’s tail boom and doors where it has retained the door jettison handle.  The Puma’s quilted soundproofing lines the door panels and forms padding for the carbon fibre seats an ammunition box now contains the car’s battery But our favourite has to be the military-grade switchgear on the unique satin black dashboard which apparently includes a three-stage ignition sequence to fire up the engine.  a lot of love has been poured into the project not least because assembling the car was a joint effort between Caterham and serving personnel from RAF Benson the latter in support of the Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) division which includes external opportunities for those participating to grow their skills “It has been an honour to be a part of the Caterham project,” commented one of the team. “As an Aircraft Technician (mechanical) I volunteered my time to remove the decommissioned materials from the Puma for the Caterham RAF Seven 360 To see the transformation of the materials has been fascinating.” The car will make its public debut at the British Grand Prix before being offered for auction later in the summer with the aim of raising more than £100k for the charities involved Xing Mobility has announced a new partnership with Caterham, the UK-based sports car manufacturer, to supply its Immersio CTP (cell-to-pack) battery system for Caterham’s first all-electric sports car, Project V. The collaboration will be showcased at the Tokyo Auto Salon from 10th_12th January 2025, where both the car and Xing’s battery system will be featured. Project V is the result of a global collaboration involving Caterham, Xing Mobility, Tokyo R&D, and Yamaha Motor. The car features a chassis developed by Caterham, a battery system from Xing, and an e-Axle from Yamaha. The combination of these elements is designed to deliver a balance of performance, handling, and lightweight design. Since its debut at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in 2023, Project V has drawn attention as Caterham’s first foray into electrification. The car’s return to the Tokyo Auto Salon marks an important step in the company’s transition toward EVs. Ah you’re thinking of the identical Caterham Super Seven 2000, which gets the same olde, yesteryear styling as this but a pokier 2.0-litre Ford engine hewn from the Seven 360 The car we have here is the 600, which nabs its power and drivetrain from the humble little 170 but the kind of retro cues that’d let you slip into an early episode of Call the Midwife without looking out of place in post-war Poplar Pretty much. Unlike the 170 you can’t tick the box for the R pack but most of what that gives you is optional anyway Extras thrown in here include those body-colour 14in alloys leather side panels (£1,000) and another £1,300 of leather and carpet that base price of £29,990 doesn’t hang around for very long Getting Caterham to build it for you adds another £2,595 to the bill And you can add a limited slip diff for £1,250 But that rather misses the point of a car like this The 600 and 2000 seem to be Caterham’s way of appealing to those who think the standard Seven - and feel free to use some imagination here - is just too modern and future-looking the kind of thing you see all the time parked up at youth clubs and McDonald’s drive-thrus Caterham is simply doubling down on what makes its cars so attractive in the first place If you’ve got something that evokes a bygone era at every turn why wouldn’t you turn the nostalgia up to 11 READ MORECaterham 485 Final Edition review: goodbye to the highest-revving nat asp Seven ever And I reckon the 600 is the better of the two; forget big power-to-weight and punishing acceleration this thing strips away everything that’s mundane about driving and leaves you with the good stuff On paper 0-62mph in 6.9 seconds doesn’t look like much but when your bum’s this close to the road and the air’s attacking you from every angle… it feels jolly brisk It’s about revelling in the act of driving The sense of occasion as you drop into the seat; the immediacy of the steering; the nose-first feeling as it scythes into a corner; the wind in your hair and the sunshi- Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter But there’s an innocence to its mechanical simplicity that you just don’t see that often any more Like the 170 the 600 is brimming with information and you sit at the epicentre of it all The turbo chirrups every time you lift off The short throw of the manual is purposeful and decisive With only 460kg to cling on to those tyres give you the confidence to explore the car’s limits through a corner But not at the kind of speeds that’ll give you problems with the local constabulary Oh, tonnes. Caterham is still immune to innovation so the concept of a cupholder remains a taboo in its new Dartford HQ. The button-up roof is a royal faff. The pedal box is unusable if you’ve got big feet. The indicator makes an annoying noise. Worst of all, the sheer vibration through the frame makes the mirrors utterly pointless. So merging with traffic is mildly terrifying. Luckily there’s something about the charming little anachronism that taps into the kindness of strangers as you chug into view. Life in the 600 is a never ending stream of smiles, waves, raised thumbs and being flashed. No, not like that. By headlights as you’re let out of junctions. Honestly. And therein lies the real magic of Caterham’s lightest, littlest Seven. It always makes your day, and you constantly get the sense that you’re doing the same for other people too. Simply by driving past. That’s a lovely feeling on the road. Arguably the standard 170 does all that anyway, if you want to save some dosh. But if you’ve got the means (and a tartan scarf in the wardrobe)… get one. You won’t regret it. And the rest of the world will love you for it. ► Caterham Project V reveals battery tech► Promises life beyond the Seven► Partnering with Yamaha on powertrain The Caterham Project V electric sportscar has taken another step towards production with the announcement of Xing Mobility as the supplier of its battery technology This follows the news earlier in 2024 that Caterham Cars is using Yamaha e-axle technology to provide the driving force A working prototype of the Project V coupe is set to completed in 2025, with development assisted by both Yamaha and Tokyo R&D Co. Ltd. Caterham is owned by Japanese automotive group VT Holdings, and the Project V is set to make its next public appearance at the Tokyo Auto Salon in January founded by ‘veterans’ (as the corporate website puts it) of Tesla and Panasonic It’s a lithium ion battery pack manufacturer pioneering immersion cooling technology that it calls Immersio Cell-to-Pack This places the battery cells inside a dielectric liquid creating an environment of increased safety and ‘top-class’ energy density by enabling rapid and uniform heat-dissipation If you want to build an electric sportscar that properly relates to Caterham long-standing ethos of lightweight performance getting as much energy as possible from as little weight as possible is a pretty good idea the claimed 200 watt hours per kilogram (wh/kg) of the Immersio technology isn’t that high We’re therefore intrigued to see how the Caterham Project V will continue to develop There are other lightweight sporting EVs on the horizon, including the Electrogenic Mazda MX-5 conversion ‘The collaboration with Yamaha will not only deliver a powertrain to match the expectations of what an all-new Caterham should be but confidently accelerate the delivery of Project V to the market,’ says Caterham in a statement in October 2024 Caterham Cars CEO, Bob Laishley, told CAR at the 2023 Goodwood Festival of Speed: ‘We want this in production in 2026 ‘Project V is not just a concept or design study we’ve conducted engineering and production feasibility throughout the development process,’ Laishley adds ‘Project V fulfils our ambition to sustainably grow the company and explore electrification simultaneously Subject to the next phases of development and technical capability Project V could be brought to market towards the end of 2025 or early 2026 with a target price starting from less than £80,000.’ A car from Caterham that doesn’t look how you expect it to. The Project V concept, as it’s currently named, features an enclosed roof and wheels as well as an all-electric powertrain. The A110-sized sports car is our first look at what Caterham could (and might need to) look like in a post-electrified world While the Project V doesn’t look like a traditional Caterham the brand says it promises to keep to the values of the company ‘A Caterham Seven’s design is simple and minimalist to be lightweight and fun to drive,’ said the brand’s new chief designer Anthony Jannarelly we’re applying this philosophy to the sports coupé architecture to create a seducing and timeless silhouette Every single feature has to justify itself from a weight perspective to maintain lightness and optimise driver engagement.’  For that reason, the Project V’s silhouette has been determined exclusively by what’s underneath. The result is a car with flowing lines, and minimal overhangs and a face not unlike its designer’s own creation, the Jannarelly Design 1. There are flourishes of design around the car with Caterham’s chief designer also tapping into aspects of the old Lotus Elan president and CEO of VT Holdings and Caterham’s owner has a soft spot for the old British sports car The Project V concept debuted in 2023 with a 200kW motor on the rear axle and pairs it with a 55KWh battery The 0-62mph takes 4.5 seconds before a top speed of 143mph and Caterham engineers have targeted a WLTP range of 249miles Charging from 20 to 80 per cent should take just 15 minutes provided you have a 150kW charger and it’s also possible to have the Caterham in a 2+1 or 2+2 configuration The crucial figure here is the weight; Caterham has targeted a kerb weight of 1190kg making it one of the lightest EVs on the market That featherweight figure has been achieved with a carbonfibre and aluminium composite chassis the Caterham Project V has been undergoing feasibility studies as the brand weighs up and formulates a business case for the new lightweight EV Cost-saving has been considered even in the concept but there will now be an even greater focus on making the car as easy to to produce as possible Caterham says the production version of the Project V will include ‘vehicle motion technology’ from Yamaha Caterham’s new chief designer will also play a key role in the road to production: ‘I’m like a custodian of the shape,’ Jannarelly told CAR at Goodwood ‘I need to make sure this shape will go into production.’ ‘You will see some slight change on the back edge I have to make everything which we [do] is close to what we show today That’s key because otherwise people will say it’s not the car we saw two years ago [when it goes to production] The Project V real and on sale in 2026 – an extremely short timeline from sketch to road – but Laishley is confident it’s achievable And that’s partly down to Caterham’s size: ‘Based on my experience working with a big OEM Caterham is much more agile,’ Laishley admits ‘Decisions can be made much much quicker implemented faster So the infotainment system: we just decided it’s iPhone mirroring at the bigger OEM the discussion will be well we need our own embedded system because we can’t rely on that.’ and we believe that by retaining the core Caterham values it will appeal to both our existing customer base and attract new fans to the brand,’ Laishley explained ‘By using a more practical coupé body style and by exploiting the packaging benefits of an EV this is a car that works as well for trips to the shops Curtis Moldrich is CAR magazine’s Digital Editor and has worked for the brand for the past five years social media channels such as X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook and helps on wider platform strategy as CAR magazine branches out on to Apple News+ and more Caterham Seven Academy racer In its 50-plus year lifespan, the Caterham Seven has sourced power from all over the place – Vauxhall, Ford, Rover, Suzuki and even a bespoke and entirely terrifying supercharged V8 made up of two superbike engines smushed together there’s another name to add to that list: Horse was a hybrid with a remarkably old-school 1.8-litre nat-asp four handling the combustion side of the equation The Horse power that Caterhams are set to gain next year is a bit different: it’s a little 1.3-litre turbo four-cylinder codenamed HR13 and producing 130bhp and 130lb ft of torque While all this info’s come straight from the Horse’s mouth, it’s keeping quiet on whether this engine is, in fact, an evolution of Renault and Nissan’s existing 1.3-litre turbo engine that’s been used in all manner of unremarkable cars from both manufacturers plus Mercedes it gets new bits like a delta-shaped cylinder head to save weight and space plus exhaust manifolds cast directly in the head to improve turbo response the engine’s place in the Caterham range will be a bit of a one Horse town as it’s only been confirmed for the company’s Academy race cars from 2026 the 1.6-litre Ford engine that powered the Super 1600 that following on from its appearance in the Academy car it could find its way into a new entry-level Seven for the road the Academy racers have long been road-legal anyway so this new one could be a bit of a dark Horse among the Caterham range It’s starting to feel like we’re beating a dead… oh Next This Toyota Corolla Proves White Wheels Are Just Cooler Mike Bartholomew The first full sentence spoken by an infant Mike was a review of the ride quality of a Volvo 850 It was “Daddy’s car goes bumpy-bump on a bumpy road,” so would probably need proofreading a bit the new CSR Twenty is a celebration of the British sports car marque’s past and present As well as celebrating the 20th anniversary of Caterham’s most sophisticated CSR chassis CEO Bob Laishley says it’s built for ‘longer distance road trips’ insectoidal sports/track car that we know and love A few special touches mark out the CSR Twenty against your usual Sevens the two-tone Union Flag grille set within that 620-spec nose and the silver stripe running the length of the car This Kinetic Grey and Dynamic Silver livery is standard though you can add a load more colour should you desire There are also new 15-inch ‘Vulcan’ five-spoke wheels that come wrapped in Toyo R888 rubber Look closer and you’ll see the ‘CSR Twenty’ logo on the right rear wheelarch itself featuring optional carbon shield plates The CSR Twenty exclusively uses the wide body and is as easy a Caterham to fold yourself into as they get especially with the canvas roof buttoned in place If weather conditions allow (warm and dry is better for those tyres the roof being off makes everything much easier as you lower yourself two-footed into the footwell like raising and lowering the roof and making sure your harness straps are within reach before you’re seated reminders you’re in a CSR Twenty are aplenty spongy leather and alcantara trim lines the central tunnel and seats There’s thicker carpeting and an exotic satin carbonfibre dash to which tactile toggle switches and your vital dials are attached A numbered CSR Twenty plaque sits between the seats while there are logos on the five-speed gear shifter and the dials ahead of the driver Look out through the windscreen over the leather Momo wheel (alcantara optional) and you see the sculpted carbonfibre wheel fairings hiding the track-biased tyres from view The CSR Twenty’s Duratec heart awakens with a splutter and chunter The option of directing the heater’s efforts would be nice and noise-cancelling earbuds are your friend over good distances at speed > Ariel Atom 4R v Caterham Seven ‘evo25’: power-to-weight heroes go head-to-head Between the tiny wheel and lack of power assistance though it comes to life the instant you get the 620kg Caterham moving the compliance of which relative to your expectations of a Caterham being noticeable instantly The CSR Twenty flows across changeable English roadways riding better than some high-performance German saloons Even a wintery two-hour top-down motorway schlep from Dartford to Suffolk didn’t stop us from taking a quick lap of some of our favourite local roads before parking up On a more enthusiastic drive you discover that the compliance doesn’t come at the expense of capability the CSR Twenty is tight and linear through direction changes It has a combination of talents that has you relishing a spirited drive on a wider variety of roads in more kinds of conditions than you’d expect On dry country sweepers under the chilled rays of winter sun the grip and dialogue building as they warm through and the miles flow beneath you which need a few seconds of friction heat to wake them up the four-piston grippers and vented discs do a great job The choice of the 210bhp 420 powertrain is inspired and tops off the CSR Twenty’s offering as the ultimate Caterham road car This engine isn’t possessed of the high-tech hum of a hot naturally-aspirated Honda mill but it’s brimming with character and anger The CSR Twenty is a rapid machine thanks to its 340bhp-per-ton but it’s not so fast that you can’t enjoy it pedals that are perfectly judged in terms of positioning weighting and action and the joy of the short-throw five-speed manual shift this is a car that you can revel in on the road without tempting litigious fate The ratio of thrills per miles per hour is perfectly judged The CSR Twenty is an impressive device for road driving The CSR Twenty’s upgrades are similar to what Porsche offers with its GTS-badged sports cars That means that instead of plumping up £79,995 for this you could spec up a narrow-chassis 420 with most of what makes the CSR Twenty the best road-going Seven That money buys you exclusivity and bragging rights which for the dedicated and well-heeled in the Caterham community 2014-2020) review – the original hyper hatch now cheaper than any new car on sale today GMA T.50 v McLaren F1 – has the best car in the world been dethroned by its successor Best Italian cars – Italy's greats from Alfa to Zonda Carwow Studio Limited is part of the Carwow Group SearchJasmine Shaw makes Caterham debut at SnettertonLIAM REDFORDApr 174 min readJasmine Shaw returned to competitive action as she made her debut in the EDGE Caterham Seven 270R Championship at Snetterton where she banked vital knowledge and completed a clean weekend of racing Photo credits: Nexus MotorsportJasmine Shaw returned to competitive action as she made her debut in the EDGE Caterham Seven 270R Championship Shaw banked vital knowledge as she completed a clean weekend of racing with a best result of 23rd in a competitive field of drivers Moving into the EDGE Caterham Seven 270R Championship provided Shaw with a new challenge as she began her 2025 season Jasmine’s circuit racing career began with two seasons in the highly competitive BRSCC Fiesta Junior Championship in both 2022 and 2023 Shaw tested Formula 3 machinery for Fern GP before gaining experience in a GB4 Championship car at the end of the season With experience in both tin top racing and formula cars under her belt a move into the EDGE Caterham Seven 270R Championship allowed Shaw to develop her racecraft in a single-make championship A competitive grid of drivers were entered for the season opener at Snetterton and Jasmine was targeting a weekend of progress as she adapted to a new car Shaw participated in an optional free practice session on Saturday morning ahead of qualifying It was a productive session for Jasmine as she completed 23 laps at Snetterton with a best time of a 2:15.816 Qualifying took place shortly after with 30 drivers eager to utilise the powerful slipstream in order to achieve a fast time Improving upon her quickest lap from practice by four tenths of a second Shaw’s qualifying time of a 2:15.488 placed her in 26th position For her first race in the EDGE Caterham Seven 270R Championship Shaw lined up from 24th on the grid following penalties for drivers ahead Jasmine made a clean start and although she fell to 26th at the end of lap one she was keen to remain within slipstream range of the drivers ahead Shaw was faster than the next three drivers ahead and this encouraged Jasmine as she looked to move forward Shaw was inside the top-25 and this was the start of a race-long duel with Finlayson Louis Darling and Barry Hanif on the following lap Shaw continued to develop her racecraft as she exchanged positions with Finlayson The pair continued to run side-by-side during the middle portion of the race with neither driver able to break clear Shaw set a personal best time as she continued to gain knowledge in her first race of the 2025 season Shaw’s perseverance had paid off as she opened up a gap approaching one second on Finlayson Jasmine was able to hold this margin to the checkered flag and complete her first race of the weekend in 27th position while setting another personal best time on the final lap the grid positions were decided by the results from race one with Shaw lining up from 27th position It was another clean start as Jasmine adapted to the Caterham 270R and she ended lap one in 29th position Although she was battling an issue which limited her pace she continued to improve her sectors during the opening portion of the race Shaw was now matching Ann Hall ahead as she worked on catching her fellow female driver separate issues for both Nick Sampson and Harrison Cavers elevated her back into 27th position her lap times improved and this resulted in a new fastest time on the penultimate lap A clean end to the race resulted in Shaw taking the checkered flag in 27th position in race two at Snetterton Shaw lined up from 27th on the grid and was targeting a positive end to the event Jasmine made a good start and held her position on the opening lap while showing improved pace compared to Sunday’s earlier race Shaw was into 26th position as Harrison Cavers was forced to pit with a technical issue Joyce pulled clear on lap three with the safety car deployed shortly after as Graham Finlayson had stopped out on track Paul Oggelsby and Nick Highton then entered the pits and after Adam Kene encountered a technical issue behind the safety car Shaw was immediately set personal best sectors as she chased down the drivers inside the top-20 Shaw was close to matching her best times from race one of the weekend as she remained in slipstream range of Joyce A strong end to the race allowed Shaw to remain ahead of Ann Hall and secure her best finish of the weekend in 23rd position Shaw banked a significant amount of knowledge in her debut Caterham weekend as she returned to competitive racing Developing her racecraft in a competitive grid of drivers saw her improve during the event and Jasmine came away with her best result in race three The next round of the EDGE Caterham Seven 270R Championship takes place at Thruxton on the weekend of 3rd/4th May Or you simply want to stay up-to-date with their results Privacy Policy We use some essential cookies to make this website work We’d like to set additional cookies to understand how you use our website so we can make improvements These cookies allow us to monitor traffic to our website so we can improve the performance and content of our site They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous If you do not allow these cookies we will not know when you have visited or how you navigated around our website These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and content They may be set by the website or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly Currently we are not utilizing these types of cookies on our site These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites They do not store directly personal information but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device you will experience less targeted advertising work will begin to convert some tennis courts into multi-use games areas (MUGAs) which are versatile spaces for playing football These new facilities will provide more opportunities for people of all ages to stay active and enjoy a variety of sports the courts will be closed for around eight weeks while the work takes place We appreciate your patience and look forward to the new MUGAs opening soon Former Caterham boss Finbarr O’Connell has revealed how the final days of the team played out after taking over as team boss for their final race O’Connell appeared as the team boss of the Caterham F1 team for their final race at the 2014 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix as the plucky squad tried to remain afloat through a period of administration who led the administration process of Caterham on behalf of London and Dublin-based Smith & Williamson (now known as Evelyn Partners) granted a no-holds-barred interview to PlanetF1.com to explain the dramatic and downright confusing circumstances that led to the demise of the team after months of turmoil While most F1 fans automatically think of Eddie Jordan when it comes to Irish representation in Formula 1 the most recent team boss hailing from the Republic is Leitrim-born Finbarr O’Connell The now-63-year-old was catapulted into action as a team boss at the 2014 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in Yas Marina as he attempted to showcase the F1 team as a viable going concern and find a new buyer for the Leafield-based squad O’Connell wasn’t much of a Formula 1 fan prior to taking over at the helm of the team “It was never a sport I was hugely enthusiastic about,” he laughed as we began our chat about that tumultuous period in his life I find it goes on for so long and can be processional but having been the team principal of an F1 team I’d be much more interested nowadays But I have a real interest in the finances having been in the centre of it all.” O’Connell had done some prior restructuring work in F1 before being called in to get involved with Caterham A bit of backstory is required here in order to understand how the accountant suddenly found himself in charge at Caterham as they struggled for survival performer throughout its first two years of racing the F1 team was renamed Caterham for 2012 as team owner Tony Fernandes acquired the Caterham Cars company Caterham Cars is a British manufacturer of specialist lightweight sports cars established in Caterham is a direct evolution of the Series 3 Lotus Seven designed by Colin Chapman That Lotus name was to have important consequences for the Formula 1 team a Malaysian businessman who is the founder and CEO of the AirAsia airline which included Caterham Cars and his F1 team A very public licencing argument with Lotus over the naming rights of the team resulted in Fernandes renaming his F1 team Caterham F1 and a general tidying up of his two entities under the one umbrella Fernandes’ Malaysian company which operated the Caterham F1 team CSL was also responsible for the design and maintenance of the F1 race cars Fernandes’ patience with a failure to progress in F1 was wearing thin Coupled with his increasing involvement with football team Queens Park Rangers Fernandes bought the whole of Bernie Ecclestone’s 66 percent stake in Queens Park Rangers for a reported £35 million with Caterham’s new CT05 being the slowest car on the grid 1MRT) to a group of faceless Swiss and Middle Eastern investors who operated through a mysterious entity called Engavest SA There is much speculation as to who might have really been behind that entity but that’s a subject for another day Former HRT & Jordan/Spyker/Midland boss Colin Kolles took on a senior advisory/controlling role with the team while former race driver Christijan Albers looked after the team on a day-to-day basis bailiffs entered the team’s headquarters at Leafield and seized assets like a test car With debts of up to £15 million owed to suppliers it was at this point that restructuring professionals from accountancy firm Smith & Williamson (‘S&W’) were appointed by the UK courts to become administrators for CSL and began seeing if a recovery plan could be put into action for the now-Engavest owned Caterham F1 team (1MRT) He explained that the F1 team was an asset the administrators viewed as worth trying to find a new buyer for One of the other administrators from S&W was Henry Shinners with two emerald green (or perhaps shimmering shamrock!) coloured cars to race they thought ‘What could possibly go wrong?’ “I was originally appointed administrator over the company that manufactured the cars (CSL) as they were two different companies,” said O’Connell recalling the time period when he took over as boss of CSL “The racing team (1MRT) was still trying to get itself sorted and get up and running There was a separation where the assets were in one place while the liabilities were in a separate company “Then it became clear the racing team wasn’t going to get racing under its own steam and so it was decided I should get involved and I effectively took over as administrator of 1MRT and as Team Principal of the F1 team “I spoke to the mechanics and the people involved in organising the racing side to see if I could get their backing There was a big upside for them: If we managed to race and sell the team then all of them could hopefully have a good chance of continuing to work there was that Tony Fernandes was not winning races and not getting any prize money and so the team was surviving on sponsorship Press reports were saying that there was sponsorship coming in from the airline world but Fernandes was having to plug a very substantial gap every year and he came to a point where he wanted to get out “We were appointed to oversee CSL in the first instance as the F1 car manufacturer and we were appointed administrator of it in the UK as an unregistered UK company it effectively traded in the UK so English courts have the right to appoint administrators if its centre of main interests 1MRT would continue and sort out its issues but that wasn’t happening.” The muddying of the waters regarding the ownership of the F1 team with the transferral of shares from Fernandes to Engavest reportedly never being finalised meant that O’Connell was left without a clear picture as to who the actual owner was A statement from Engavest in late October said: “The seller [Fernandes] has refused to comply with its legal obligations to transfer their shares to the Buyer [Engavest] The Buyer has been left in the invidious position of funding the team without having legal title to the team it had bought “This is in total contradiction to the Seller’s press release of 3 October 2014 which stated that Mr Fernandes and his Caterham Group had no longer any connection with the Caterham F1 Team.” It was at this time that Fernandes took to Twitter and said: “If you buy something you should pay for it A statement issued on behalf of Fernandes and the Caterham Group read: “We agreed in good faith to sell the shares on the basis that Engavest undertook to pay all of the existing and future creditors Sadly Engavest has failed to comply with any of the conditions in the agreement and Caterham Sports Ltd (the UK operating company of the F1 team) has had to be put into administration by the bank with large sums owing to numerous creditors it is others such as the employees and the fans of the Caterham F1 team that will suffer if the team ceases to race I sincerely hope this will not be the case and a solution can be found.” The story quickly became even more bizarre During the time in which Kolles was in charge a chain of events led to the factory janitor becoming the main shareholder in CSL who said that he recognised him from his football career and elevated his position to being the owner and the director of CSL The shares were transferred to him by 1MRT “Tony Fernandes stepped out and Colin Kolles took over to run the team,” explained O’Connell “When that ran out of steam… Colin Kolles must have been looking for a substantial backer and he didn’t have the money to go forward Cojocaru became the owner and sole director of CSL He had been the janitor of the company beforehand and described being brought down to London signing some papers and suddenly he owned all the shares in the company It moved from Tony Fernandes’ interests over to him but I can’t remember if Engavest ever took over legal ownership in between “Engavest was linked with Colin Kolles and not with Cojocaru He definitely wasn’t capable of reading the documents.” O’Connell’s own dealings with Colin Kolles were limited as the businessman seemingly wanted nothing to do with the administration process: “He didn’t want any dealings with me the previous managers spend a lot of time with you helping you get your feet under the desk and understand the situation and maximise the funds for the creditors to supply 1MRT with equipment and services at substantially under cost Colin Kolles effectively walked away and brushed his hands of the situation and hoped I wasn’t going to take any action against him.” As for why Kolles might not want to have engaged with him, O’Connell said: “A number of reasons. The big thing was that Caterham, owned by Tony Fernandes and all of the parties trading with it like Pirelli (for tyres) & Red Bull for gearboxes… all of those saw a multi-billionaire behind it and had confidence that they would be paid “Once Fernandes stepped back and the Colin Kolles and Cojocaru era began it was a complete nightmare for suppliers because… where’s the financial backing that’s going to be paying them Are the sponsors going to continue sponsoring the team he would have been blamed by the suppliers for non-payment of their bills.” Walking into the factory of Leafield in the wake of the bailiff’s visit “I mean there weren’t tumbleweeds blowing through but there was no positive activity at all and the vultures were flying around I suppose one good thing was that because the team had been down in South America on the last race it took part in the machinery – not the people – were actually all altogether so they weren’t in Leafield to be nabbed by anybody I was later able to organise that the kit got shipped from South America over to Abu Dhabi.” O’Connell decided that the best way to try securing the future of the Caterham team was to participate in the season finale in Abu Dhabi But funding meant that was going to be an issue and it was only after talking to members of the team that he started to realise just how important the racing meant to the staff “We weren’t getting any dialogue from Colin Kolles or any of the people who were in charge We feared that we might get appointed to the racing team and just be selling off the cars as collector’s items or for the parts when I got to meet the Caterham F1 team leaders and all the various people who were effectively involved in running the actual ‘nuts and bolts’ of the team and just realising what sort of people they were… they were people who have got F1 fuel in their veins that is what they loved in life… and it became clear to me that I could get the team to Abu Dhabi and that was the best way to showcase the team “There’s a simple equation really and it is that if you’re a multi-billionaire and say ‘I’m going to have an F1 team and I’m going to start it from scratch’ – it’s going to take you 2 years and probably $100m (even before F1’s $200m entry cost) which had a Red Bull gearbox and Renault engine and a quality engineering and pit team – I could be racing next season and it’s going to cost me $20m “The objective was always to save the team as a going concern because it was probably worth 10x (at least) maybe 20x the break-up value if it was sold as a going concern And that means handing over to somebody a racing team that can race ”I would have had to restructure the company; normally administrators don’t restructure the company we just sell businesses out of companies but because of the F1 license the membership of the Concorde Agreement – the ultimate document – that would have been fine.” Caterham famously did some crowdfunding ahead of the Abu Dhabi weekend with lead driver Kamui Kobayashi helping with the push to raise the money required to go racing that weekend This was one of the first times that crowdfunding had been used in a restructuring scenario and O’Connell admitted he was very proud that the team and himself were thought leaders and pathfinders in this area of funding O’Connell had to negotiate deals with the team’s existing suppliers to ensure that they’d have everything they needed for the weekend “We had to get all the suppliers we needed to commit to actually support us so effectively Red Bull… because these people were already owed a very substantial amount of money we had to pay for (every drop of) our oil at full price and we had a lot of support from Renault on using the engines as well and Pirelli were brilliant supporters of our efforts to showcase the team in Abu Dhabi and to sell it to a financially strong operator.” With the crowdfunding drive raising around £250,000 Finnbarr was doubtful whether the team could have raced without that generosity shown by the public: ‘The tank was completely dry and I paid 2000 GBP in expenses to all the members of the team who went and then there are all the various hotel costs and flights and everything else because we had to raise the money very quickly and we wouldn’t have been given any credit to do it.” O’Connell explained that he had to raise a seven-figure sum to be able to afford to go racing in the administrator’s efforts to showcase and sell the F1 team also intervened in the case of a supplier not wanting to help the team out: “There were but this is where Bernie came in very handy in that he didn’t like the fact he had 2 insolvent teams on the grid if we were going to put 2 cars on to the track and compete So he did everything he could to help me get the cars going.” A concerning storyline from the tail end of 2014 was regarding the safety of the Caterham cars with rumours suggesting that maintenance wasn’t stringent after Kamui Kobayashi had raised doubts about the quality of the equipment he was driving But O’Connell denied that he saw any evidence of corners being cut to the detriment of the standard of the machinery “But the processes and the analysis going on – the examinations of the chassis and all the equipment in the different teams – it was just clearly happening completely differently “I mean Mercedes is probably the pinnacle of that where every single part is analysed and reanalysed and reanalysed… They put electric currents simple things like that which actually helps you spot any invisible fractures in the metal and that’s just at a simplistic level but there are highly sophisticated ways to spot things “That is one of the dangers of teams being run on a complete shoestring budget… the engineers and the mechanics were absolute quality and these people they could be working for Caterham one year and then Mercedes the next They’re all at the top of their field So it is absolutely nothing to do with the personnel we had Just the funds and the processes and the procedures…” it became clear that there were substantial vibrations in Kobayashi’s car and whilst Kobayashi wanted to continue to race the advice of the racing team was that he should be called in O’Connell made the decision to bring Kobayashi in to retire when he addressed the full racing team over their headphones in the pit before the race having thanked them for their Herculean efforts in getting the team there he had made it clear his ambition was to have a safe race and to showcase the team in the best possible light to find a buyer Read next: The inside story of Caterham’s F1 collapse – the finaly chapter © Planet Sport Limited 2025 • All Rights Reserved and after a quick Google search and the close study of a YouTube video on pronunciation we now know how to say the name of this new supercar and also that it’s named after a medieval King of Northumbria because I thought I could offer an alternative to today’s supercars which lack purity and soul,” Jannarelly said as evidenced by the Jannarelly Design-1 cars circulating worldwide this adventure was never financially viable because I came up against insoluble complications linked to the marketing and homologation of the car my team and I found a solution to bypass these difficulties.” the difference with the Ælla-60 is that it isn’t a ground-up build but it actually started life as a Ferrari 360 Modena Art Machines doesn’t admit that it’s based on a 360 but it’s fairly obvious given that the press release references “a sports car from the 1990s” and the technical specs show a 3.6-litre mid-mounted naturally aspirated V8 and six-speed manual gearbox READ MOREDriving a Ferrari 360 Modena race car on the road: genius or insanity? The Ælla-60 now makes 473bhp and weighs 1,130kg dry so Art Machines reckons on a 0-62mph time of just 3.5 seconds if you can nail your shifts It also imagines a “thrilling driving experience that recalls the greatest GTs from the past” The ‘retro-futuristic’ styling means it almost looks like a cross between the aforementioned Project V and Design-1 Modern luxuries like air con and phone connectivity are included “Our idea is simply to take an already homologated and proven base and turn it into the ultimate original supercar created without any compromise on design or driving experience,” says Jannarelly like the gentlemen drivers of the 1960s who drove their GTs to Le Mans to compete in the 24 Hours It's a concept that combines design and lifestyle for enthusiasts looking for emotions they can no longer find in today's car industry Other limited series with a different design will follow.” the Seven would do alright with a bike engine’ the Seven would do really alright with a massive V10' Caterham, as we know, is now dipping its toe in the EV water with an electric sportscar and efforts to push the Project V along the development path towards production are beginning to ramp up That means the concept car’s numbers - 268bhp 0-62mph in 4.5 seconds and a kerbweight of 1,190kg - need a little more substance And so Caterham has turned to Yamaha for said substance Why? Yamaha makes all manner of things and not just bike engines or mad V10s for Japanese supercars and it will now provide Caterham with an ‘e-axle’ as well as technology and expertise in ‘vehicle motion control’ READ MORECaterham on the Project V sportscar: "we don't need to chase numbers" Naturally it’s been given the brief of making the powertrain as light and as compact as possible (because Caterham) while matching ‘the expectations of what an all-new Caterham should be’. So riotously loud and bone-shakingly vibratious? We keep saying ‘Caterham’ of course, but development of the prototype is being conducted by engineering house TOKYO R&D, with the Project V, er, project being overseen by brand owner VT Holdings, which is also based in Japan. Call us crazy, but a lightweight e-sportscar with a hint of Japanese flavour… doesn’t sound like the worst thing? More as we have it. The production version of the Project V will use Yamaha’s lightweight e-axle technology and a prototype is already in development with Tokyo R&D There have been periods in the past when Caterham has dabbled with the idea of models other than its iconic Seven, such as the 21 of the nineties, and the stillborn mid-engined C120 sports car that was to share its make-up with the Alpine A110 Now the small British maker is entering the electric era with its focus on a compact 2+1-seat coupe This new all-electric machine was created by British designer Anthony Jannarelly and with Yamaha now on board to supply the powertrain it is slated to go into production as early as the end of 2025 The firm is serious about the car as a road-going machine although that Project V name is likely to be just a working title This relative lack of weight compared with many other EVs means the battery will provide a target range of 249 miles and feed a 268bhp rear-mounted motor for a projected 0-62mph time of 4.5 seconds Rapid charging at up to 150kW means a 20 to 80 per cent top-up will take as little as 15 minutes so it’s clear Caterham has an eye on track work when it comes to the Project V’s intended use “Project V is not just a concept or design study,” said Caterham CEO Bob Laishley adding: “We’ve conducted engineering and production feasibility throughout the development process “An electric Caterham of any shape and size has to stay true to what sets us apart from everyone else: being lightweight simple and offering an unparalleled driving experience; that’s our DNA.” When it comes to the car's design, Jannarelly outlined that “a Caterham Seven’s design is simple and minimalist, it’s designed for its intended function, to be lightweight and fun to drive. With Project V, we’re applying this philosophy to the sports coupe architecture to create a seducing and timeless silhouette Every single feature has to justify itself from a weight perspective to maintain lightness and optimise driver engagement.” The Project V show car features a 2+1 seating layout although a 2+2 configuration will be optional on the production version Caterham says the 2+1 set-up means getting in and out is easier while there's more space in the rear for the single passenger making Project V a more usable machine than some other small sports coupes with a simple instrument readout that includes key info Smartphone mirroring will also be included while the V offers three drive modes to choose from: Normal These settings adjust the steering weight and throttle response/acceleration for different driving environments According to Laishley: “Project V isn’t instead of Seven it will appeal to both our existing customer base and attract new fans to the brand.” With a working prototype using Yamaha’s technology due by mid-2025 and a targeted production date towards the end of 2025 or early in 2026 the eventual road-going Project V could cost less than £80,000 Now read our review of the Wiesmann Project Thunderball.. Steve looks after the Auto Express website; planning new content growing online traffic and managing the web team Icon could be reborn with a little help from Volkswagen New Renault 4 2025 review: as good as the Renault 5 with the bonus of extra space New 2025 Kia PV5 van starts from a tempting £22,645 Our marketing claims explained. Average savings are calculated daily based on the best dealer prices on Auto Express vs manufacturer RRP Please contact the dealer for a personalised quote Illustrations are based on personal contract hire Auto Express "Find A Car" is managed by Carwow Ltd Auto Express "Find A Car" is a trading style of Carwow Studio Limited which is an Introducer Appointed Representative of Carwow Ltd which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority for credit broking and insurance distribution activities (firm reference number 767155) Carwow Ltd may introduce you to Carwow Leasey Limited (trading as Carwow Leasey) Carwow Leasey Limited is an appointed representative of ITC Compliance Limited which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority for credit broking (firm reference number: 313486) Carwow Ltd and Carwow Leasey Limited are each credit brokers and not lenders Carwow Ltd and Carwow Leasey Limited may receive a fee from retailers advertising finance and may receive a commission from partners (including dealers) for introducing customers All finance offers and monthly payments shown are subject to application and status If you’re unhappy with Auto Express or Carwow’s service you may be able to contact the Financial Ombudsman (please see www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk for more information) 13601174) and Carwow Studio Ltd (company no 13018565) are limited companies registered in England with their registered offices at Verde Building Carwow Studio Limited and Carwow Leasey Limited are wholly owned subsidiaries of Carwow Ltd not far from its old one but spectacularly different on an industrial estate on the outskirts of Dartford was where Caterhams were built for 40 years a low-rise collection of eventually four units that looked a bit run down when I first visited back in the early ’90s Caterham’s new home is in a 54,000 sq ft unit – with another 30,000 sq ft of mezzanine – less than a mile from the Dartford Crossing and just a couple of miles from the old Kennet Road factory to help retain as many of the workforce as possible Bicester and Silverstone were floated as potential sites but CEO Bob Laishley reckons they’d have lost a number of employees and about six months’ production while hiring and training replacements has invested £3.5m to convert the building you can take a tour of Caterham’s production facilities ‘We started offering factory tours in August/September ‘We released dates up to Christmas and they sold out in a week.’ Dates for the first quarter of 2025 have proved similarly popular There’s a motorsport theme to the building encapsulated in the illustration of the route of the factory tour which looks like a circuit layout and has features such as Race Control (the offices) Hospitality (the canteen) and Scrutineering (quality control) There have been some changes to the way Caterham does business and it will also no longer field cars in its race championships bringing down build times to raise production from around 500 cars a year to as many as 750 citing a steady stream of enquiries from people around the world wanting to become Caterham dealers because the cars vary greatly in complexity and the line would move as slowly as the most complex car So the shop floor is laid out with 33 individual bays with a spine behind each run housing tool chests and all the services that might normally hang down from the ceiling Project V Development is now with Tokyo R&D in Japan Yamaha has been announced as the e-axle supplier and VT is still seeking funding which would see it built in its own factory Laishley had hoped by now to be able to demonstrate the potential of the electrified Seven to show Caterham and electrification could work A more immediate challenge is securing reliable and long-range supplies of internal combustion engines ‘We’ve spoken to five different manufacturers who are building ICE engines well into the next decade,’ says Laishley ‘and the challenge is finding something that fits.’  Caterham had a long and fruitful relationship with Avon but last year Avon’s parent company Goodyear decided to end production and close the factory Caterham was grateful to strike a deal with Toyo from its track-ready Proxes R888R to its more humble the Japanese tyre maker is planning to drop a couple of the sizes that Caterham uses because the general trend is for bigger fitments meaning there’s dwindling demand for these smaller sizes As well as having two paint booths turning out high-quality work another innovation at the new facility is that finished cars can be driven onto curtain-sided delivery trucks backed up to the building > GBS Zero review – a convincing Caterham alternative? at the end of the tour you exit through the gift shop’ It’s a room on the mezzanine that does indeed offer some merch (and a great view of the factory) but which will be developed into a space where customers can come to spec their cars Caterham may have only moved down the road but it’s come along way in doing so a 115-year-old British woman has been officially recognized as the oldest person in the world by Guinness World Records This comes after the death of 116-year-old Brazilian nun Inah Canabarro Lucas She is now the last surviving person born in 1909 and in the past 12 years she is the youngest person to have ever held the tittle of the world's oldest woman Ethel is not only one of the oldest person alive but also one of the oldest known survivors of Covid-19 having been infected at the age of 110 in 2020 Gem died in the early 2000s and Anne died in 2020 at the age of 82 Gladys also had a long life and lived 104 years and 78 days before passing away in 2002 When she was asked about the secret to her long life "Say yes to every opportunity because you never know what it will lead to Have a positive mental attitude and have everything in moderation." Ethel is healthy and likes to sit in the garden at her care home which was named "Ethel's Garden" to honour her As we move inexorably towards automotive electrification the transition will be easier for some genres than others Even the most ardent EV sceptic can see that a Rolls-Royce with whisper-quiet propulsion makes sense – especially given that increased kerb weight had negligible negatives on the way the car behaves.  Caterham’s history is entwined with Lotus’ When Lotus wanted to push upmarket it sold the rights to the Lotus Seven and Caterham has made hay with it for 51 years Now that Caterham has ambition to move upmarket it would be ironic if it took over the mantle from the Elise it’s not strictly true to say that Caterham is moving upmarket; the production version of the Project V will be offered alongside the Seven rather than replacing it.  There’s more recent history with Alpine The A110 was originally a joint venture with Caterham but the Caterham C120 remains stillborn since the partnership hit the buffers midway through development Is Caterham about to challenge both Lotus and Alpine at their own games The Project V is not the first Caterham to have deviated from the Seven theme a full-bodied two-seater that used the Seven’s underpinnings That meant it has a surprisingly cramped cockpit as well as absence of wind-up windows and other niceties that the Elise could offer Similarly limited in production was the SP.300/R of 2012 a track day special that intended to challenge Radical Caterham’s latest deviation from the Seven is an altogether more mainstream offering The Project V transposes the firm’s values of light weight simplicity and driver focus to a package that’s much more habitable than a Seven The curvaceous composite bodywork is a far cry from the pop-stud roof and exposed exhaust of a Seven yet the interior is stark by the standards of a modern car there’s a smartphone mirroring screen but there are also analogue instruments and a simple three-spoke steering wheel There’s also a single back seat: the styling looks mid-engined but the EV platform allows alternative packaging The Project V made its public debut at the 2023 Goodwood Festival of Speed presented by Mastercard there was always a definite intention for it to reach production and Caterham has announced technical partnerships that should see testing start this year and production begin in 2026 Yamaha is on board to develop the motors while Taiwanese firm Xing is working on the batteries.  The 55kW lithium-ion pack delivers its energy to the 272PS (200kW) motors which Caterham says translates to a 0-62mph time of 4.2 seconds and a top speed of 143mph Those are not figures that will write headlines but they’re just about right for a typical British B-road or a continental mountain pass that performance is akin to that of a mid-range Caterham Seven 360 All with the benefit of a roof that doesn’t look like it will blow away As well as looking and feeling very different to a Seven the Project V is also very different in its construction Out goes the spaceframe chassis and riveted aluminium and in comes carbon fibre composite and aluminium construction By the time the Project V reaches showrooms the price is expected to be around £80,000.  We’re at the dawn of the EV sportscar era. MG’s Cyberster is already here the next Porsche Boxster is going electric as is the Alpine A110’s successor while the Boxster’s weight is as-yet disclosed With Lotus sitting out of the game for now and little yet known about the Alpine Caterham is blazing the trail for lightweight electric sportscars but at the moment it is single-handedly giving us hope for the future of B-road fun in the electrified age Book early bird tickets before the 30 April to save up to 10% PETROLHEADS have the chance to get their hands on James May's custom-built Caterham The race car was made especially The Grand Tour and comes with a £30,000 price tag The Caterham Seven 310R was made famous on a special episode where James took the car on an epic adventure across Madagascar Ahead of the 'A Massive Hunt' episode the TV presenter transformed the car into an off-road beast "The Caterham Super 7 racing car is a fabulous off-roader and vehicle "Why you’d buy a Land Rover or Toyota Land Cruiser I don’t know," James told RadioTimes.com. The car retains its original 1.6-litre Ford Sigma engine, producing 155hp, with a 0-62mph time of 4.8 seconds. This 2018 Caterham 310R is now being offered for £30K by PT Sports Car. “This is a great chance to own a piece of The Grand Tour history,” reads the listing. “The car also comes with an array of upgrades perfect for someone who wants to own a piece of motoring TV history.” Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond joined James on the show after the trio migrated from BBC's Top Gear It was launched in November 2016 on Amazon Prime Video The show kept viewers entertained by mixing car reviews in with road trips to far-flung places However, after six successful seasons, the motoring series wrapped up last year with its final special: One For The Road During a recent appearance on Sunday Brunch James was quizzed about why he and his co-stars decided to call time on the show when it was so loved He initially brushed off the question with a bit of humour joking: "I just couldn't stand them!" James eventually gave a more thoughtful response rather than fly into the White Cliffs of Dover desperately trying to keep it along - and I think we just about managed that I believe it’s time for a new generation to find a new take - I don’t know what it is." When Simon Rimmer asked whether the decision felt right You’re supposed to leave the audience wanting more Tim Lovejoy joked about the trio possibly returning for a Grand Tour 25th-anniversary special if the price was right Our journalists strive for accuracy but on occasion we make mistakes. For further details of our complaints policy and to make a complaint please click this link: thesun.co.uk/editorial-complaints/ because the answer lies beneath the surface This limited edition version of the esteemed British sports car and track toy celebrates 20 years since the company made dramatic changes to the Seven’s underpinnings and created what it calls the ‘CSR chassis’ The motor, which is also used in the Caterham 420, delivers 210bhp with 203Nm of torque, and sends all of it to the rear wheels. That’s hot hatch power and the CSR Twenty only weighs 620kg so you can guess the result if you can shift quickly enough with the five-speed manual gearbox The fundamental design of the Caterham Seven is largely unchanged from the fifties and the CSR Twenty sticks with what works. It features a two-tone Union Flag grille, a nose cone and front wings inspired by the crazy Seven 620 LED front and rear lights and a set of exclusive 15-inch rims wrapped in Toyo high-performance tyres The interior features a satin carbon dashboard plus seats in leather and Alcantara with red stitching Caterham’s CEO Bob Laishley said: “This is without doubt the most premium Seven we’ve ever built.”  Just 40 examples of the Caterham Seven CSR Twenty will be made in total, 20 of which are going to UK customers. Each one will be built at Caterham’s brand new factory in Dartford Prices start from £79,995 – nearly double the price of a standard Caterham Seven 420 Click here for our list of the best track day cars.. Ellis is responsible for covering everything new and exciting in the motoring world He was previously the content editor for DrivingElectric and won the Newspress Automotive Journalist Rising Star award in 2022 two-seat speedster is 150,000 euros not including VAT (about £125,000)  - and it’s unclear whether that price will include the Caterham donor vehicle needed for this extensive conversion We expect the performance figures to be in the region of the Caterham’s 4.1-second 0-62mph time and 139mph top speed Caterham doesn’t exactly festoon its interiors with gadgetry and luxurious features The overall layout has changed quite a bit Camel says it has gone to lengths to ensure the Scoperta is fully road-legal The design house was founded in 2008 in Turin by Alessandro Camorali and in recent times it has worked on projects including the BMW Mille Miglia Concept and the divisively-styled Aznom Palladium Time to have some fun! These are the best sports cars to buy.. Alastair Crooks has a degree in journalism and worked as a car salesman for a variety of manufacturers before joining Auto Express in Spring 2019 as a Content Editor his daily duties involve tracking down the latest news and writing reviews With the aid of an array of algorithms married to precise engine management and brakes that can be individually applied by software almost anyone can drive a modern performance car at incredible speeds Technology has taken over from talent. Except at Caterham Cars where you’ll find no trace of driver aids whatsoever The driving experience is utterly unadulterated and in the case of the most powerful Seven 620S two-litre Ford Duratec engine to which the comedians at Caterham have fitted a supercharger Cue 310 bhp at 7,700 rpm and 219 lbft of torque at 7,350 rpm Neither of these numbers is as important as its 610 kg weight The five-speed manual transmission is based on the Mazda MX-5’s and there’s a mechanical limited-slip differential You’ll find double wishbone suspension up front and a De Dion rear end with adjustable sport dampers and vented discs with four-piston callipers behind 13-inch lightweight alloy wheels wearing Avon ZZS tyres Caterham claims a 0–60 mph time of 3.44 seconds and top speed of 149 mph Today’s quickest cars are a cinch to get going: Simply engage launch control release the left and then hang on while the computers do the work and fire you forward like a bullet Launching a Caterham of this calibre is like being inside the bullet casing itself triggering an instantaneous explosion all around you and only then are you ejected from the barrel toward the horizon Snatching second gear in that fraction of a second between the shift lights going full Christmas tree and hitting the limiter is almost impossible in the chaos as the rear wheels keep smoking all the way to the change to third Applying full throttle at any point in first gear also results in immediate Avon evaporation so to drive the 620S on the road with any semblance of sanity means short-shifting The Seven’s power delivery is quite unlike that of any supercharged car I can recall There’s an initial linearity but as soon as you hit 5,000 revs it simply goes ballistic the sense of speed is heightened as all five senses are assaulted (I’m counting the taste of the flies in my teeth the scenery blurring by and the firm grasp on the steering needed to apply continuous correction as the diff fights for traction) The Seven’s performance goes far beyond the straight-line I’d normally keep any go-kart analogies at arm’s length but you won’t experience the kind of feedback and directness offered by the tiny quick-release Momo steering wheel anywhere else but direction changes can also be enhanced with the right pedal A little lift to transfer weight forward then a prod of the throttle and the Seven rotates enough to exit your bend of choice with a half-turn of opposite lock The car’s petite dimensions also mean that there’s more room on the road to manoeuvre than in just about any other car while the minuscule mass means shedding speed happens instantly you can also opt for a slightly wider SV chassis but I fit just right into the standard width my dimensions matching the optional carbon seats perfectly but with my narrow Converse Chucks I find it easy to heel-and-toe aiding downshifting of the delightful short-throw Mazda ‘box but the aircraft-style toggle switches on the carbon dash look and feel great Should you need protection from the elements there’s a full hood (which is an acquired skill to fit) and a heater – although given the tremendous temperature generated by the engine and exhaust What you will need is ear protection and a gas station loyalty card if you’re going to cover any distance I find that noise-cancelling headphones work a treat allowing me to have a little background music and navigation instructions for the 150 miles between fill-ups (the tank is a mere 32 litres) my pretty-in-pink (Rosso Targa to be precise) test car weighs in at £65,615 To achieve this level of performance on the road or you’d realistically need to shell out over £100,000 more for a Porsche 911 GT3 Save my name and email in this browser for the next time I comment Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" which stands for Great British Sports Cars The Ollerton factory in which it’s built sits amid pretty We paid a visit to learn more about the company ‘It’s about taking the Lotus Seven concept and bringing it right up to date,’ says director Richard Hall The Zero has double-wishbone independent suspension all-round and is longer wider and roomier than a traditional Seven It still has a steel tubular spaceframe but with stressed aluminium sections making it akin to a semi-monocoque Hall says it’s more than two-thirds stiffer than an equivalent Caterham Its shape is instantly recognisable as a Seven albeit a little more square-cut and broad-shouldered Drag-fighting aerodynamics are incorporated into its design: there’s a fully flat floor with a generous diffuser that starts just behind the seats a splitter moulded into the nose and aerodynamic surfaces for the front cycle wings Customers can choose more traditionally shaped wings if they prefer but you can knock the corners off a brick,’ Hall smiles a popular choice particularly for kit-build cars Some wackier choices have also found their way into Zeros – bike engines, rotaries, even a 330bhp Honda S2000 engine in a race-car build But the Duratec is the main option for factory-build cars modified by GBS with its own throttle bodies a 3.7kg lighter flywheel and a baffled sump > The new Caterham Seven CSR Twenty is an £80k road-ready Seven The majority of Zeros produced have been kits but GBS is concentrating more and more on fully factory-built and while it doesn’t intend to produce cars in the same numbers it is concentrating on making inroads into a modest but sustainable percentage of the Seven’s market share now sells GBS cars alongside Lotus and Morgan operations with the bare minimum of components for an MX-5 donor car and there is a sliding scale upwards from that topping out at around £30,000 for an all-in The price for a factory-built Duratec car is £41,860 GBS’s 14 full-time staff manufacture a remarkable amount of the Zero’s components in-house: its own four-piston brakes optional carbonfibre wheels (a recent development) the entire exhaust system including the catalytic converters… Very little is outsourced They’re attractive components too: in situ on the car or individually as objects the throttle bodies and the brake units really do look great They’re offered in custom-anodised colours to suit customers’ individual specs The company’s own dampers offer 12 clicks of adjustment particularly the precision of their initial reaction to an input: ‘The most important thing,’ he stresses the Zero is offered with proprietary Gaz dampers as standard with GBS’s adjustable dampers a £528 option It’s looking at creating its own non-adjustable units GBS has also produced dampers for stock car championships historic racing cars and existing road cars such as the Lotus Elise under the ATR brand The engineering side of the business makes a variety of components for various clients ‘Diversifying into different projects also feeds into our production and development side and a track/race version is available from the factory with a sequential gearbox and a choice of reassuringly strong MSUK or FIA-spec roll-cages 2.5-litre petrol-powered Zero feel like to drive it immediately feels like a wide car compared with other Seven-style sports cars with weighty steering and a deep soundtrack from its torque-rich 2.5-litre engine the Duratec’s 196lb ft is so easily drawn upon that you’re rarely in first and second gear for very long and the Zero can pull out of villages in fifth gear and accelerate up to the national speed limit without breaking into a sweat Ride quality is pliant with the adjustable dampers on close to their softest setting and the handling solid: the Zero is a consistent car stable under braking and with strong traction – a quality aided by the independent rear suspension and there are two limited-slip options: a Quaife ATB unit sunny day and wearing a fresh set of Yokohama A052 tyres (AD08s are standard) it needs provocation to breach its limits but when it does so it’s consistent and controllable there’s the particular magic that comes with driving a minimalist Hall says that road compliance and manners have always been equally important attributes for the Zero ‘We’ve spent as much time tuning the response on a partial throttle input for driving at lower road speeds as we have on getting top-end performance,’ he explains its balance is similarly stable and predictable there’s a little too much body movement on its road-friendly damper settings straightforward process to increase the stiffness the most impressive attribute is consistent behaviour in each corner with optional carbonfibre trim for the dashboard (with Smiths instruments soon to be replaced with GBS’s own design on future cars) and centre console The windscreen is heated as an option – ‘We did that for Norway,’ Hall explains – and heated seats are available in place of a conventional heater Another luxurious appointment in the GBS is self-cancelling indicators something not seen on the Caterham Seven since the all-round double-wishbone CSR model given the number of times I’ve accidentally driven a Seven down the road with one indicator coquettishly winking at traffic all around not hearing the accompanying beeping sound amid the road and wind noise Our Bedford Autodrome session also provides an opportunity for a back-to-back with our Caterham Seven long-termer it’s immediately clear just how much bigger the GBS is and how much longer its suspension arms are Sheer roominess is one of the Zero’s USPs; a six-foot-plus driver fits without difficulty GBS also offers a 40mm-wider GT chassis option but the standard chassis is likely wide enough for most people There’s enough space in the footwell to drive wearing boots or wide trainers and heel-and-toeing is much easier than in the Caterham something Hall says contributes significantly to chassis stiffness The Zero’s main rear-view mirror is at dash level and works well while the exterior mirrors are mounted to the windscreen frame rather than the sidescreens so they don’t disappear when you take the doors off those on this particular car being from a motorcycle – their odd shape impacts the ultimate field of vision but a different design is being fitted soon The Zero’s steering is both weightier and slower than the Caterham’s – although a quicker rack is available as an option – but its turning circle is usefully smaller at parking speeds the Caterham feels edgier at the limit than the GBS with a more rapid transfer between under- and oversteer There were still clicks available to stiffen the GBS’s dampers further while our Caterham Seven evo25’s own adjustable dampers were set close to their firmest setting So the Zero’s handling could have been made edgier and vice versa for the Caterham though you sense the GBS’s broader footprint and larger dimensions ultimately make it a less pointy car though I do wish there was more space in the footwell I also find its smaller dimensions and aesthetic more beguiling than the larger I have a particular bond with the evo25 car having covered so many miles on road and track and made so many memories with it over many months That’s not to say that you wouldn’t build a similar bond with the GBS Zero over time and it certainly has advantages in terms of practicality and useability as well as thoughtful depth to its engineering and design While the Caterham would still be my choice in terms of ultimate thrills the Zero can still provide a special kind of sports car magic This story was first featured in evo issue 325 Financial deal aims to boost accessibility for specialist sports car buyers CA Auto Finance, the UK subsidiary of the international CA Auto Bank Group, has entered into a long-term financial partnership with Caterham the British manufacturer of lightweight sports cars allows Caterham’s retail network to offer customers a broader range of finance options including Personal Contract Purchase (PCP) and Hire Purchase (HP) Promotional offers will also be introduced on the 360S and 420R models The Caterham 360S is a road-focused sports car powered by a 2.0-litre Ford Duratec engine producing 180 horsepower the Caterham 420R is a track-oriented model with a more powerful 2.0-litre Ford Duratec engine delivering 210 horsepower The partnership marks another step in CA Auto Finance’s UK expansion following a period of growth in 2023 It also aligns with the company’s strategy of supporting niche car manufacturers by providing flexible financing solutions said the deal would give buyers greater flexibility when purchasing a vehicle “Our 360S and 420R represent some of the most sought-after models in our UK range and I have no doubt this service will enable more car enthusiasts to enjoy the thrill of owning and driving a Caterham Seven,” he said Christian Gorton, Marketing Director at CA Auto Finance described the agreement as a milestone in the company’s support for the UK automotive sector “We are fortunate to have the centenary heritage of CA Auto Bank behind us meaning our team has the expertise and ability to provide flexibility to support all businesses from the world’s largest innovators to more niche specialist manufacturers,” he said Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis The new financing options are available now through Caterham’s UK retailer network Give your business an edge with our leading industry insights View all newsletters from across the GlobalData Media network. Caterham has made 85 ‘Final Editions’: 60 standard cars (in regular or large chassis) and 25 of the tricked-up CSRs Because if you’re not a hyper Caterham nerd Because the 485 was the result of other markets getting salty at the crazy supercharged Sevens us Brits could get but they couldn’t Our friends on the continent were so angry they couldn’t scare themselves silly Then made a Seven just for them: a naturally-aspirated ripper with 224bhp from a 2.0-litre Duratec Sport button (to get around the Euro 6 legislation) and a 525kg kerbweight Euroheads could even spice it up further by ticking the CSR box; garnishing their British lightweight with an uprated chassis that included push-rod inboard front suspension and fully independent double wishbones at the back Well, the 224bhp output falls in between the 210bhp of the Seven 420 and the 310bhp of the supercharged 620 Caterham says it is sufficient to deliver 407bhp-per-tonne in the 560kg standard spec; good for 4.1 seconds to 62mph and a top speed of 140mph Throw it into a corner too fast: it’ll understeer Turn in and mash the throttle: it’ll oversteer Manage all these things effectively and you’ll make enviable progress and driving satisfaction that can’t be bettered That’s why it’s dressed up with plenty of Final Edition embroidery a unique numbered plaque and a choice of five premium colours all of which are quite pop-y and blingy hues including a rich Verdes Emes Extras include carbon extras (such as carbon indicator pods and a quick-release motorsport steering wheel but you can get the more generous SV wide body and lowered floor if you want it's easy to acclimatise: you have a speedo For these Euro spec cars the buttons – and indicators – are labelled and in the dash READ MOREListen now: fastest ever Caterham screams down the Catesby Tunnel the standard leather seat or 620-style carbon seats with Final Edition embroidery Once you’re in they’re surprisingly supportive and comfortable addictive driving traits of most Caterhams (glorious and the charisma to captivate onlookers within a 10-mile radius) but this isn’t the best drivetrain for a Caterham The main problem is the lack of torque. Where the potty 620S and R get forced induction and therefore a decent slug of torque low down in the rev range (which makes them enjoyable and useable at a slower speed) the 485 doesn’t Although the 485's 2.0-litre is impressive with electronically-actuated throttle bodies its peak of 151lb ft of torque is delivered at 6,300rpm And that’s not a particularly rewarding experience Plus, when you go and grab another gear from the closely stacked box via the satisfyingly stubby knob, the revs drop so much you’re then fighting for torque again. The taller-geared five-speed manual (sourced from a Mazda MX-5 and also deployed in the 620S) just doesn’t quite work in this car unless you’re revving it furiously, making it less useable and enjoyable day-to-day. Another good question. It’s a quirk of the 485 as it’s the only Seven equipped with one. A prod of it sharpens the engine, opens an exhaust flap and no doubt gets the car through European emissions tests. But there’s no reason not to press it every time you get in the car. While we’re talking about noise, it’s worth noting that European cars have the side pipe coming out the wrong side for a driver, so you don’t get the aural joy of others. Worse than that, the 485 we tested had no side pipe at all. Instead, it was plumbed around to the rear, adding 13kg to the weight and silencing it even more. Plus, it means the car can easily be ground out on short, sharp speed bumps. If you’re into your track days and want the fastest naturally-aspirated Caterham for the continent, it’s the only option. It’s possibly also an investment given only 85 units of the celebratory model will be made. With prices starting from €67,495 excluding VAT and local taxes, it's not a cheap investment. Even if Sevens hold their value more than anything that’s borderline prehistoric should. If you really want a rapid Caterham that’s more useable and fun on the road, as well as track, we’d recommend the 620S. Although there are plenty of other track lightweights you can look at too.