Caterham 7

Caterham 7
Caterham 7 Roadsport 175
Overview
Manufacturer	Caterham Cars
Production	1973–present
Body and chassis
Class	Sports car
Body style	Open two seat
Layout	Longitudinal front-engine, rear-wheel drive
Powertrain
Engine	0.6L Suzuki K6A I3 (Seven 160/165) 0.6L Suzuki R06A turbo I3 (Seven 170) 1.6L Lotus-Ford Twin Cam Cosworth BDR engines I4 (Seven DBR 1600) 1.4–1.8L Rover K-Series I4 1.6L Ford Sigma TI-VCT I4 (Seven 270) 2.0L Vauxhall twin-cam I4 (JPE) 2.0L Vauxhall twin-cam Turbo I4 (S7 Competition R) 2.0L Ford Duratec I4 (Seven 360/420) 2.0L Caterham Powertrain Duratec I4 (Superlight) 2.0L Caterham-Ford Sigma I4 (Supersport) 2.0L Ford Duratec supercharged I4 (Seven 620) 1.6L Caterham tuned Ford Sigma I4 (ACADEMY RACE PACKAGE) 2.0L Caterham tuned Ford Duratec I4 (420R RACE PACKAGE) 2.4L Roush RST-V8 supercharged V8 (Seven RST-V8)
Transmission	5-speed manual 6-speed manual 6-speed sequential manual
Dimensions
Kerb weight	545 kg (1,202 lb)
Chronology
Predecessor	Lotus Seven
Successor	Caterham 7 CSR (for Caterham 7 SV)

The Caterham 7 (or Caterham Seven) is a super-lightweight sports car produced by Caterham Cars in the United Kingdom. It is based on the Lotus Seven, a lightweight sports car sold in kit and factory-built form by Lotus Cars, from 1957 to 1972.

After Lotus ended production of the Lotus Seven, Caterham bought the rights to the design, and today make both kits and fully assembled cars.^[1] The modern Caterham Seven is based on the Series 3 Lotus Seven, though developed to the point that no part is the same as on the original Lotus.

Various other manufacturers offer a sports car in a similar basic configuration, but Caterham owns various legal rights to the Lotus Seven design and name. The company has taken legal action in the past in order to protect those rights, although in South Africa, it lost its case against Birkin on the basis that it never obtained the claimed rights from Lotus.^[2]