CDX Limited Edition Seven - Let The Driving Experience Never End To commemorate 15 years of the renowned Caterham Driving Experience (CDX) days, Caterham has released a high-spec, limited edition version of the tyre-smoking cars at an attractive price. Caterham's motto of 'Designed for racing, built for living' is more relevant than ever with the CDX Limited Edition. Thrill-seeking drivers are urged to act fast as the first 20 cars will include over £2000 worth of performance extras - including a tuned 1.6-litre power unit - within the £17,495 asking price. A finance option is also available on this model with a monthly payment as low as £199*. Created to mimic the highly focused abilities and looks of the actual Sevens used on CDX days, the latest Seven boasts a 135bhp version of the distinguished K-Series powerplant, a limited-slip differential and track day roll-over bar. All this creates a serious tool for the track that's equally at home on the road. Finished in gloss black with a decal kit reflecting that of the real CDX cars, this limited run car also includes a push button engine start, Momo leather steering wheel, full weather equipment and sticky Avon tyres fitted to 13" Superlight alloy wheels. Power is transmitted to the rear wheels via a 5-speed manual gearbox. Caterham Driving Experience (CDX) days have been enjoyed by thousands of drivers of all ages and abilities. Hosted at venues in the UK and across Europe, the popular days place licensed drivers behind the wheel of a legendary Seven - be it for the Slalom, Drift or Circuit courses. With experience days starting from £99, participants are taught new driving skills to help push the venerable two-seater to its limits or simply to execute some tyre-smoking frolics. The latest Seven is available in component form from just £17,495, or factory built for £20,495, and can be owned for as little as £199 per month.* Caterham is offering a finance scheme of 9.5% APR on the limited run car, requiring a deposit of £4600 followed by 36 monthly payments and then a final balloon payment. For more information visit www.caterham.co.uk or call 01883 333 700 (South) or 01455 841616 (Midlands).

With lithium polymer batteries holding enough juice for 124 miles, it's a little on the chunky side for a se7en, tipping the scales at 1,664 lbs. We're betting with all that torque available at zero RPM it will be a hoot on the track — if you can find a class for it. No word on the acceleration figures yet, and also no explaination as to why it seems to prefer hanging out in remote fields of grass. [Carscoop]

Caterham announces official performance arm: powerhouse V8 engine delivers 1,000 plus bhp-per-tonne

For those wanting an expression of British sportscar exclusivity, Caterham Cars has joined forces with RS Performance to offer the ultimate in bespoke Seven coachbuilding. Caterham has long been the epitome of personalised motoring with almost every version of the 12,000 Sevens on the road differing from one another. The joint venture takes that famous philosophy to an altogether new level.

RS Performance is an exclusive, niche engineering house. Born out of the passion and pedigree of its founder, Russell Savory, it will offer an 'everything is possible' service to Caterham customers wanting cars truly 'built to order'.

Using the motorsport-honed Caterham chassis and benchmark technology as a cosmetic and engineering base, RS Performance, will "turn imagination into reality," says Savory.

The heartbeat of every RS-monikered Seven will be the unique RST-V8 engine. With more than 16 years of development behind it by Russell Savory, the 40-valve, 2.4 litre engine reliably delivers an incredible 400bhp in normally aspirated mode, or over 500bhp as a supercharged varient, whilst weighing only 90kg in full running gear.

The unbridled lightness of the RST-V8 matched to the already featherweight Seven chassis delivers a power-to-weight ratio of over 1000bhp per tonne - more than double of a Bugatti Veyron. This unique partnership will be open to customers looking for the ultimate in exclusivity, and carry a price tag to reflect the tailoring, detail and hand-built craftsmanship that will go into every RS-badged Caterham.

Validation of the engineering house's abilities comes in the form of the supercharged 'Levante'. This is the first Seven to rollout of RS Performance's Hertfordshire doors and which only seven more of this type will be available.

With a 12 week waiting time and costing over £115,000, this supercharged engineering masterpiece boasts a modern interpretation of the Seven's classic looks with a sophisticated electronics package with traction and launch control to help get the phenomenal power to the floor. Weight reduction runs throughout the car, from the carbon fibre interior finished with Kevlar seats down to the hosing used on the cooling systems
The RS Performance badge will sit alongside the established, and soon to be expanded, Ford powered Caterham Seven range.

"Caterham and Russell Savory have a long history, and this seemed a natural progression of that relationship and shared engineering philosophy," explained Ansar Ali, Caterham Cars managing director.

RS Performance RST-V8 Engine Technical Specification
Configuration 90° V8
Capacity 2.4 litre
Valves 40
Construction Aluminium main frame with dry sump
Max Power 380 bhp @10,000rpm / 500+bhp @ 10,000rpm (supercharged)
Max Torque 190 lbsft @ 8500rpm / 300 lbsft@ 8500rpm (supercharged)
Gearbox 6-speed
Overall length 45.6mm
Overall width 45.6mm
Height 48mm
Weight 90kg
Service intervals 8000 miles (minor) / 30,000 miles (major service & belt change)
RS Performance 'Levante' Technical Specification
Price £115,000 (dependent on specification)
Chassis Caterham SV
Engine 2.4-litre, 40-valve RST-V8 supercharged
Max Power 500+bhp @ 10,000rpm
Max Torque 300 lbsft @ 8500rpm
Supercharge boost 0.8 psi
Gearbox 6-speed sequential, paddle shift option
Transmission LSD
0-60mph (claimed) Less than 3 seconds
Top Speed 150mph (limited)
Wheelbase 2305mm
Overall length 3530mm
Overall width 1685mm
Height 1140mm
Weight From 520kgs
Suspension de Dion rear, Nitron 3-way adjustable shocks all corners
Wheels Image Billet; front 8 x 15, rear 10 x 15
Tyres Avon CR500; front 195/45-15, rear 245/40-15
Brakes Hi Spec; front 280mm vented, rear 260mm.
Exhaust system BTB 2 x 4-2-1 rear exit
Dashboard Farringdon and SPA design
Driver aids Traction Control, Launch Control
Additional Two day driver training course provided on delivery of vehicle

If you're near Donington Park in Derbyshire, UK this weekend (and frankly, who isn't), get thee to see the latest Caterham Seven concept. It's dubbed X330, and that sound you just heard was Al Navarro banging his head on the ceiling. Caterham is 50 years old this year, and the celebrations involve tweaking out a CSR with a supercharged 2.3-liter Ford Duratec producing 330 hp and torque of 220 lb-ft, and linked to a flyweight six-speed manual. That the company could shave even more weight off the CSR testifies to the miracle that is carbon fiber. The company has no plans to produce the extreme Cat in number, but it shows what can be done if Al Navarro constituted the ruling class. – Mike Spinelli

Caterham's birthday concept [Autocar]

Related:
Caterham to Use Ford Sigma Engines in New Seven [internal]

I used to think Spinelli, Wert, and company had the best jobs ever because they got to drive concept mules, travel to exotic places sponsored by Bruce, and cover car shows for a living. Well, having visited the recent Carlisle Import/Kit/Replicar Nationals show with an eye toward writing something worth guest posting, I can tell you that it is not the easiest way to make a living. First of all, try walking miles in the midday sun for a few hours. Resisting the temptation to stop at every funnel cake vendor you see. All the while keeping an eye out for the diamonds among the rough...and at Carlisle, there was plenty of rough. I am still amazed at the lengths people will go to ruin a perfectly good Fiero. Then you've got to take photos that add enough visual interest to keep the commenters off your back. Which may or may not include shooing people out of your frame. Mike Bumbeck, you are my hero.

But I tried my best. And here are the highlights of my day at Carlisle.

The Se7ens
If you didn't already know, now's a good time to make it perfectly clear that I attend the church of Colin Chapman with some regularity. I'm the acting president of the USA7s club and a co-organizer of the upcoming Se7ens meet down at Deals Gap. That's not some stock photo in my avatar, either. So it should come as no surprise that I came to Carlisle looking for Lotus Seven-inspired Sportscars (LSiS). And I found a handful, including one in a very unexpected place.

Westfield and Brunton Automotive were located in the same open sided building. I'd never seen either variant on the LSiS theme in person before, so it was nice to have Justin Sims of Brunton (http://www.bruntonauto.com) on hand to give me a tour of the Stalker kit makes with his stepfather, Dennis Brunton. The Stalker uses a GM V6 drivetrain and the pretty silver and black customer car they had on hand featured a supercharger.

The Westfield booth featured the triumvirate of Doug Beckett, Tom McClintock, and Julian Turner. Doug's the relatively new East Coast dealer/builder who brought the Miata-engined Westfield 1600 on display; Tom runs Manik, LLC, the Texas-based US distributor; and Julian Turner is the Managing Director of Westfield Sportscars over in the UK. I think they were all moderately amused that I was fawning over their cars while wearing a Caterham hat.

The 1600 is an LSiS that uses a Miata donor car. From the engine to the gauge pod to the wheels. The Orange 1600 they had on display was well turned out, with excellent padded seats that I'd trade my Kevlar Tilletts for in heartbeat. When I sat in one of these perches, I noticed that I could barely see over the scuttle (I'm trying to use as many Se7en-centric terms as possible in this paragraph). The guys told me that this particular car had the lowered floor option — which gives tall guys a little more room. While the all fiberglass body may not be every one's cup of tea (original Loti had aluminum body panels and fenders), Doug says turnkey cars are available for under $30k, which is a lot less than I paid for my Superlight a few years back. So I think they'll sell lots of these.

In addition to a few other LSiS-related vendors displaying their wares, I found a Caterham Twin Cam, a Dax Rush with nitrous Hayabusa power (this thing runs low three second 0-60 times) — both being shown by their respective owners, as well as a Locost built around Volvo P1800 mechanicals. It was the first Se7en I saw in the open car show parking area, and I thought it was a mistake because it was sitting in the Volvo area.

The Hartley V8
You know you make a good product when your trade show booth consists of a piece of yellow lined paper, a business card, a wooden folding table, and your product — and there's still a line of people waiting to talk to you.

That's the situation I found John Hartley in when I went looking for the H1-V8. For those of you who haven't heard of the H1, it's a 2.8 liter V8 built around a custom block and crankshaft that uses Suzuki Hayabusa top end bits. I think it redlines up at 11,000 RPM, making 400 horsepower a few hundred revs below that. It's light and small enough that John managed to shoehorn one into his Caterham without modifying the bonnet. John's site has videos of the car on the dyno that are pretty amazing.

According to John, he's sold three of motors so far — although none have made it into fully operational vehicles yet (besides the one in his Seven). I'm sure it's just a matter of time before the $28,000 mills are more common with the add-lightness set. It might sound expensive, but you can't get close to that sort of power in a normally aspirated engine that will fit into a Se7en.

Later in the day, I saw John Hartley at the Westfield booth. He was digging the XI they had brought along — so perhaps we'll see some sort of Westfield-Hartley to follow in the footsteps of original Westfield SEight.

Odds and Ends
The only sorts of car shows I had gone to in the past were either the New York show or a smaller regional marque-specific meet (Porsche, Ferrari, etc.). So you can imagine my surprise when faced with the sprawl of something like Carlisle. By the time I got home, I was beat.

There were a few acres dedicated to a parts and assorted car stuff "swap meet". A few acres given over to kit/replicar manufacturer and dealers. About an acre of "car corral", where vehicles are for sale, cash and carry. A few more acres of show field for cars of all types (including ones that you don't have to build yourself), including at least two acres of Fieros of every imaginable configuration.

Not surprisingly, the Cobra and its various authorized and unauthorized offspring were the most common kit/replicar car at Carlisle this weekend. Cobras at Carlisle were sort of like hot women in Manhattan, there are so many that eventually you just tune them out. My personal favorite vehicle of the meet was this electric blue Renault R5 Turbo in a very deep field of French cars. It had the "hot at the time" asymmetric steering wheel, and an orange interior. – Al Navarro

Related:
First Customer's Phase III Baldwin-Motion Camaro Displayed at Carlisle [internal]

Can a gas-electric hybrid powertrain translate into roadster hijinks? The cats at Westfield think it can. The makers of Lotus 7-style kit cars have teamed with the University of Warwick in the UK to produce a hybrid-drive version of the Westfield SEi. Since the announcement last week, the company's yet to release details, but we're holding out for a combination Hayabusa engine and the same high-torque motor (by AC Propulsion) as in George Clooney's Tango. Talk about cats in a bag. – Mike Spinelli

[via 4Car]

Related:
Think Global, Drive Local: Westfield's Recycled Mazda Kit Car [internal]

The Perse School for Girls must be quite proud indeed (or not) of alum Vicky Vicki Butler Henderson's car-racing chickfactor — shown here on an old-school episode of Top Gear. But if you haven't seen her pilot Tiger Racing's 1245-lb Se7en clone, powered by two, 150-hp Suzuki GSXR-100 engines (Al Navarro call the front desk), click go. It's only a few minutes long. Oh, and that "naught to 60" time? 3.1 seconds. – Mike Spinelli

[Tiger Z100]

Related:
Hoon of the Day: Sportbike-Retrofitted Smarts [internal]

Think the Caterham Seven roadster was only good for track days and carving up country lanes? You're absolutely correct, but the company found out if you also slap on a bunch of aerodynamic gear and skinny tires, you can get one to hit 131 miles per gallon (though, to be fair, that's probably those bloated UK royal gallons). Still, it's a matter of bragging rights for the roadstermaker, which showed off its eco-minded prototype at the recent Shell Eco-Marathon at Rockingham. The concept was based on Caterham's outgoing 1.6-liter Rover K Series engine (the new models have Ford engines), with a carbon-fiber aero kit from Axon Automotive. A company rep also said they used "careful driving" to blast through the original target of 100 mpg.

Caterham 7 Hits Max Economy [Pistonheads]

Related:
More on Caterham [internal]