Other Makes : Caterham Lotus Super 7

THIS IMMACULATE 1989 LOTUS CATERHAM SUPER 7 ROADSTER.

BEAUTIFULLY FINISHED IN BLACK OVER BLACK LEATHER INTERIOR

862 MILES (1. 89KM) ONLY

THE BEST FUN YOU CAN HAVE WITH YOUR PANTS ON!!!

1. 6LTR 125HP 16V DOHC FORD "SIGMA" ENGINE.

5 SPEED MANUAL SHIFT GEARBOX.

CUSTOM STAINLESS STEEL EXHAUST & HEADERS WITH BUILT IN CATALYST MUFFLER.

14" MINILATOR ALLOY WHEEELS & AVOZ Z23 TIRES.

DUAL CIRCUIT MASTER CYLINDER WITH 4 WHEEL DISC BRAKES.

INDEPENDENT FRONT SUSPENSION.

ADJUSTABLE EIBACH LINEAR SPRINGS.

BLISTEN SHOCKS AND SWAY BAR. /p>

DE DION REAR SUSPENSION.

SUPER 7 BADGES.

CHROME LIGHTS.

FRESH AIR HEATER.

SOFT TOP & SIDE CURTAINS.

FULL WINDSCREEN.

WIPERS WASHERS & MIRRORS. BOOT.

TRUCK COVER.

INERTIA SEAT BELTS.

TUNNEL TOP.

FULL CARPET AND TRIM PACKAGE.

SIDE SCREEN ARM RESTS.

IMMOBILIZER.

TOOLS. JACK. ETC.

Today's Caterham cars have a blend of traditional styling and modern components. They can trace their lineage directly to an original 1950s-era Colin Chapman design. Chapman. a Royal Air Force pilot. studied structural engineering and went on to become one of the great innovators in motorsports design.

After the war. Chapman became a highly successful race driver and then founded Lotus Engineering Ltd. in 1952. Chapman's vision of light. powerful cars and performance suspensions guided much of his development work with the basic design philosophy of. "Simplify. then add lightness". (This motto is ascribed to 1930's aircraft designer Harry Hawker. and this editor recalls it being discussed in Flight Magazine in the mid-1950s. as "Simplify and add lightness. "

The Lotus 7 originally debut was at the 1957 Earl's Court Motor Show in London.

The first Lotus 7s were priced at £1. 36 including purchase tax but it cost only £536 in kit form as no purchase tax was required. It weighed only 725 lb (329 kg). Fast and responsive. the Lotus 7 was one of Chapman's masterworks. an advanced machine that surpassed the earlier Lotus 6 as a vehicle that could perform well on the track and be driven legally on the road. The 7's basic design was to stand the test of time. continuing in its popularity for the ensuing 56 years.

The 7's evolution continued when. in 1973. Caterham Cars obtained manufacturing rights from Lotus to enable Lotus to move away from 'kit cars' and produce more up-market sports cars. Caterham renamed the car the "Super 7" – an apt name. as it was becoming clear that the car's fundamental design was nearly impossible to improve having the right balance of strength and handling with a very light weight. Caterham's original offering was the Series 4. since that was the current production car at the time of the handover from Lotus. Unfortunately Caterham suffered numerous supply problems with the Series 4 and by the middle of 1974 they had reverted to the Series 3. which was perceived to have better sales potential. The modern day Roadsports and Superlights (in "narrow-bodied chassis" form) are the direct descendants of this car and therefore of the original Lotus 7.

As with the Lotus Six before it. the original Lotus Seven used an extremely light space-frame chassis with stressed aluminum body panels. Although the chassis has had numerous modifications to strengthen it and accommodate the various engine and suspension setups (and to try to find more cockpit space for the occupants). this basic formula has remained essentially the same throughout the Seven's life (with the exception of the dead-end Series 4. which used steel for the cockpit and engine bay and glassfibre for the bodywork). Early cars used a live rear axle. initially from various Fords. later from the Morris Ital. De Dion rear suspension  was introduced in the mid-1980s and both geometries were on offer until 2002 when the live-axle option was phased out. The modern Superlight employs adjustable double-wishbone suspension with front anti roll bar and a de-dion rear axle. located by an A-frame and Watt's linkage.

The Caterham 7 range was based exclusively on this Series 3 chassis until 2000. when the SV (Series V. or Special Vehicle) chassis was released. aimed at accommodating the increasing number of prospective buyers who could not fit comfortably in the Series 3 cockpit. The SV chassis offers an extra 110 mm (4. 3 in) of width across the cockpit. at a cost of 25 kg (55 lb) of extra weight. and both chassis sizes are available today in Roadsport and Superlight variants. The SV chassis subsequently provided the basic dimensions for the Catherham CSR. The suspension was completely redesigned. bringing the front suspension inboard. using pushrods. and replacing the De-Dion rear axle with a lighter. fully independent. double-wishbone layout with new coil/damper units. Additional chassis modifications resulted in a 25% increase in torsional stiffness. The CSR was released in October 2004. with a Cosworth Duratec engine and is currently available from the factory in either 200 bhp (150 kW) or 260 bhp (194 kW) form.

Early cars used the Lotus Twin Cam engine (subsequently manufactured by Vegantune). followed by Ford cross flow engines. The first Cosworth BDR engines appeared around 1983. in 1600 cc 140 bhp (104 kW) form. followed by 1700 cc 150 bhp (112 kW) versions three years later. By 1990 the top of the range engine had become the 2 litre Vauxhall HPC. as fitted to the Vauxhall Calibra. putting out 165—175 bhp. A few HPC "Evolution" models were built with engines developed by Swindon Race Engines producing between 218 bhp (163 kW) and 235 bhp (175 kW). In 1993 Caterham created the JPE special edition (named for Formula 1 driver Jonathan Palmer) by using a 2-litre Vauxhall Touring Car engine. putting out around 250 bhp (186 kW) and reducing weight to around 530 kg (1. 68 lb) by such measures as removing the windscreen in favor of an aeroscreen. The JPE was quoted at 0-60 mph times of around 3. 5 seconds and. with Jonathan Palmer at the wheel. set a 0-100 mph-0 record of 12. 6 seconds. Around 1997 the cross flow range was replaced by 8v and 16v Vauxhall units which. in various guises lived on until the end of the VX-powered Caterham Classic. in 2002.

The Rover K-series made its appearance in 1991. initially as the 1. 4 litre engine from the Metro GTi. This engine became the backbone of the range for the next 15 years. The 1. 6 litre k-series appeared in 1996 and the 1. 8 litre a year later. 1996 also saw the addition of the 'Superlight' range. a range that successfully focussed initially on reducing weight and subsequently on bespoke tuning of the k-series to ever-higher outputs. Weight was saved by removing the spare wheel (and carrier). carpets. heater and often the windscreen (replaced with an aeroscreen). hood and doors. Lightweight "Tillet" GRP seats were usually fitted along with carbon-fibre front wings and nosecone (note however that items such as heaters and windscreens could still be specified by the Superlight customer if they so wanted). Wide-track suspension was added to the superlight. increasing the track at the front to match that at the back. The later Superlight-R offered the dry-sumped VHPD (Very High Performance Derivative) variant on the 1. 8 litre k-series. Output was now up to around 180 bhp (134 kW). in a car that now weighed as little as 490 kg (1. 80 lb). Three years later Caterham took the same concept to a new level and created the iconic Superlight R500. still based on the Rover 1. 8 litre k-series but now tuned (by Minister Racing Engines) to around 230 bhp (172 kW) at 8. 00 rpm in a car weighing just 460 kg (1. 14 lb). The R500 was initially available in kit-form. but quickly became a factory-build only item. Quoted performance figures still make impressive reading; 0-100 mph in 8. 2 seconds (although EVO magazine quotes 8. 8 seconds). Perhaps unsurprisingly. such a stressed engine required frequent "refreshing" in order to keep it on the road and a series of engine revisions was undertaken throughout the R500's life in order to increase reliability. This culminated in 2004 with perhaps the most extreme production Caterham of all; the R500 EVO was bored out by Minister to 1. 98 cc and delivered 250 bhp (186 kW). At £42. 00. the R500 EVO was hardly a sales success - it is widely believed that just three examples were sold. It did however succeed in setting a series of performance car benchmarks several of which last to this day; the 0-100 mph-0 record was set at 10. 73 seconds (in second place was a Ferrari Enzo costing ten times as much) and. until the end of 2006 it remained the fastest production car timed by EVO magazine around the Bedford Autodrome West Circuit. ahead of a Porsche Carrera GT. Only the Radical SR3 1300 has subsequently posted a faster time than the R500 EVO.

After the demise of Rover and Powertrain. Caterham started the process of phasing out the Rover k-series engine and replacing them with Ford engines; the Sigma engine for Roadsports and the 2. 0 litre and 2. 3 litre Duratec engines for the more powerful Superlight and CSR ranges. Although Caterham's website suggests that there are a few models (such as the Superlight R300) still available with a k-series engine. this migration is largely complete.

Caterham have had something of a tentative relationship with the installation of motorbike engines into their cars. Since 2000. a Canadian firm has been selling Caterham 7 models using the GSXR1300 engine used in the Suzuki Hayabusa. It reportedly does 0-62 in under 3 seconds. In 2000 the Honda CBR1100 engine was installed into a 430 kg (948 lb) superlight chassis to create the Caterham Blackbird. delivering 170 bhp (127 kW) at 10. 50 rpm (although just 92 lb·ft (125 N·m) of maximum torque). The Blackbird offered near R500 performance for rather less money (Top Gear quote 0-60 of 3. 7 seconds and a top speed of 143 mph (230 km/h) at a new cost of £25. 50). In 2001 a Honda Fireblade engine was offered in a live-axle chassis. via James Whiting of Ashford. Middlesex. Quoted power was 128 bhp (95 kW) at 10. 00 rpm. Both of these models have ceased production. There has also been at least one installation of the RST-V8. created by Moto Power; a 2-litre. 40 valve 340 bhp (254 kW) V8 made from a pair of motorcycle engines joined at the crank. An early. pre-production review of the car/engine combination exists on the EVO website. In Feb 2008. the "Caterham 7 Levante" was announced. featuring a supercharged version the RST-V8. offering over 500 bhp (370 kW). installed in a modified Caterham chassis. with bespoke bodywork. Made by RS Performance (described in the press release as "Caterham's new performance arm"). the Levante is intended to be a limited run of 8 cars at a cost of £115. 00 each.

The Lotus 7 was conceived by Chapman as a car to be raced. Whilst still a prototype. in September 1957. it was raced at the Brighton Speed Trials and by the end of 1958 Graham Hill was winning races with the Coventry Climax-engined 'Super Seven'. The car has had a strong racing history throughout its life under both Lotus and Caterham stewardship. Amongst the marque's more famous races was victory in the Nelson Ledges 24-hour race in Ohio when. against a field including works teams from Honda and Mazda. a four-man team from Caterham (including both Jez Coates and Robert Nearn) won by seven laps (after 990 laps) in a modified Vauxhall HPC.

After dominating open class races for decades. Caterham Super 7 Racing. a one-make championship for Caterhams. began in 1986. Caterham 7 races have since expanded to include club and competitive races in the United Kingdom. continental Europe. Canada. the United States and Asia. In 1995 the Caterham Academy. a novices-only format. was introduced in the UK. For £17. 95 (2009 price). entrants get a modified Roadsport kit (although a factory-built option is available for extra cost) with a sealed 120 bhp (89 kW) engine and 5-speed gearbox. Having completed the ARDS license qualification. the season then consists of four sprints followed by four circuit races. The Academy is designed as the first step in a well-established chain of Caterham race formats. such as the Caterham Motorsport Ladder which consists of Roadsports B then Roadsports A. R300. Superlight and Eurocup. or theCaterham Graduates Racing Club.

The car was banned from racing in the USA in the 1960s. as being "Too fast to race" and again in the UK in the 1970s for the same reasons. which prompted Caterham Cars boss Graham Nearn to produce 'T' shirts with "Caterham Seven. the car that's Too Fast to Race. ". Both bans were later lifted. In 2002 an R400 won its class (and came 11th overall out of 200 starters) at the Nurburgring 24-hour race by 10 laps. ahead of competition that included Porsche and BMW racecars. leading. once again. to a ban on entry in subsequent years.

The existing range provided by Caterham Cars comprises a mixture of chassis types (the traditional narrow-bodied 'Series 3' chassis. the wider SV chassis and the CSR chassis). engines (Ford Duratec engines for the more powerful variants. Ford Sigma engines for the lower-powered models) and models (Roadsport. Superlight. CSR. in ascending order of price). All are available either factory-built or as a self-build kit.

Until mid-2013 the factory had offered options around the Rover K-series engine. including the entry level "Classic" with a 1. 4 litre. capable of 0-60 in 6. 5 seconds and a top speed of 110 mph (180 km/h). But with the cessation of the engines production and new EU emissions regulations. the end of the engines production also removed the "Classic" from the company's model line-up.

Also published at eBay.ca

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