Caterham has unveiled its latest Seven sports car. The Seven Supersport is something of a bargain, too, sitting under the £20K mark if you’re willing to screw it together yourself. It’s the usual, proven Caterham recipe, the rear wheels being driven by a front-mounted 140bhp 1.6-litre Ford Sigma engine. But there’s a motorsport twist, with a short-shifting five-speed gearbox, lightweight flywheel, race-prepped suspension and a limited-slip differential alongside change-up lights on the dashboard and four-point harness equipped race seats in the typically spartan interior. The Supersport’s 520kg weight means a power-to-weight ratio of 273bhp/ton, more than a Maserati GranTurismo MC Stradale or Porsche Cayman R. It yields a modest 120mph top speed but a sprightly 4.9sec sprint to 60mph from rest. We’ve driven it, too. evo features writer and Caterham and trackcar expert Roger Green is very impressed. ‘The Caterham Supersport gets to the heart of what these little cars all about’, reckons Rog. ‘It’s pared back to the bare bones, there’s no screen, no roof, nothing at all that might add weight and dilute the performance of the rowdy 140bhp 1.6-litre Sigma engine or the purity of the interaction between the car and road. You need to be in the mood, but when you are it's extraordinary.’ The Caterham Seven Supersport is on sale now, costing £19,995 in component kit form or £22,995 fully built. There’s a full review in evo Issue 157, on sale Weds April 27.
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