Unfortunately most of our worthy intentions had disappeared in the slipstream of the fastest, least practical and most expensive Caterham, the R500. More worrying was that there was an even faster and more demanding Seven just around the corner. The idea of the 250bhp R500 Evo seemed faintly ludicrous but a sorely tempting proposition. I for one lobbied furiously for an R500 Evo. Fortunately some of the other evo staffers realised that replacing our mad, bad old R400 with an even faster, scarier Caterham costing ΂£42,000 wasn't really in the spirit of the feature and in the end we plumped for the ΂£22,250, 160bhp Superlight R300.

The basic spec of the R300 is pretty comprehensive and includes wide-track front suspension, four-pot front brakes, Caterham's own superb six-speed 'box, race seats with harnesses, and carbonfibre wings and dash. We stuck with the standard 13in rims because 15s (a no-cost option) hurt ride quality and offer no more grip on road or track, but we couldn't resist a few choice options. An lsd was essential as we hope to use the Caterham on trackdays and the odd sprint and an open diff just wouldn't be as much fun, and the weather kit should mean we can enjoy the Seven even when the British summer is doing its worst. Add paint (yes, really), a master switch and a roll-bar and the R300 tots up to ΂£27,855. That's hardly bargain basement but it does create a really usable but still very fast road and track car. And the famous resale value of the Seven should sweeten the pill.

Then came the hard bit: what colour? We wanted it to look different but not overly fussy, ruling out fancy metallics. Red was out after our R400, and blue went the same way to differentiate it from my old racer. After much debate somebody suggested white and it stuck. The chaps at Caterham were a little sceptical, but they needn't have worried. Our R300 looks fabulous. And with the bonnet stripe that we'll be adding next month it'll be perfect.

GK04 CMV arrived only a few days before deadline so we're yet to cover any meaningful miles, but early signs suggest we were right to downgrade a little. It's still fearsomely fast but lacks the R400's crazy, intimidating side. It's easier to drive smoothly and to begin to explore the fantastically playful balance when you're not scared of the throttle or distracted by flames licking at the passenger side window.

Perhaps we've gone soft, but it's all relative. The R300 makes even the most pared-down road cars feel flabby and slow. Now all we need is a bit of sunshine...