Caterham Cars: Multiples of Seven

Caterham Cars got its start in 1973, when they wisely obtained a license from Colin Chapman to produce his Lotus 7 design, which had gone out of production the previous year, after its 15th birthday.  Why was this wise? Well, the Caterham crew had apparently taken a good look at the Lotus 7 Series 4 introduced in 1970, and realized that compared to the newer car, with its awkward, squarish fiberglass contours offset mostly by the bourgeois luxury of a heater, the original 7 and Super 7, bodied mostly in aluminum, had more enthusiast appeal. They were proven right, and several iterations of the Caterham 7 are still in production. Chapman's upscale, odd-looking Seven S4 went out of production after only 3 years, in the same year Caterham began its own adventure with the Seven...  

Chapman's young specialist car factory had first offered the Lotus 7 as a tubular-framed advance over the previous, equally minimalist Lotus 6. Like the 6, the new car was offered with a Ford side-valve engine of just under 1,200 cc capacity, rack-and-pinion steering from a Morris Minor, open aluminum bodywork (truly open; no doors) a windshield, lights and rudimentary folding top in case customers would like to drive their cars to the local road racing venue.  Sevens were aimed at club racers in England, with with Ford's introduction of modern, short-stroke 4 cylinder engines a couple of years after the original 7 appeared. These were soon joined by larger and more powerful versions, which led in turn to the Super 7 in 1961, which was eventually offered with Cosworth-modified engines up to 1,600 cc, which made for startling performance in a car weighing around 1,100 pounds. 

Perhaps taking lesson from the failure of Chapman's concept for the upmarket, semi-civilized Lotus Seven S4, Caterham focused on improving the 7 as a narrowly focused, spartan road rocket.  In the first year of production 20 units of Caterham's variation on the Series 3 Lotus 7 were built with the 1557 cc engine from the Lotus Elan, based on a Ford engine block and with Cosworth-designed twin cam head.  One car was fitted with a 2 liter Alfa Romeo engine, and this presaged later offerings with even more vivid performance from 24 valve, twin-cam fours, as well as supercharged variants. 

Owing to changes in safety and emissions standards in Caterham's export markets, the firm continued to offer cars in complete knocked-down (CKD) form, much as Lotus had originally done as a response to British vehicle taxation laws.  Unlike other manufacturers who offered kit cars, Caterham kits were complete with all parts necessary to assemble the car.  This formula allowed the small firm to continue maintain a presence in the U.S., where there was a small but avid enthusiast market for the cars.  Unlike the home market, the U.S. one was limited to the kit offerings.

As the 20th anniversary of this successful formula approached, however, Caterham looked for ways to expand their market share. They decided to offer a more practical car for everyday road use, one with more comfort and safety features.  In 1994, to celebrate their 21st year as a car manufacturer, Caterham introduced the 21.  The car was still based on the tubular chassis of the Seven, but this was not apparent at first glance. Body designer Iain Robertson, perhaps inspired by Costin's late 50s Lotus Eleven, gave the new car generously curved fenders, faired-in headlights, and cleverly integrated outsourced components like Ford tail light units. Also as on the Eleven, the curves of the prototype were highlighted by its polished aluminum finish…

In order to save weight and complexity, the curved side windows were fixed in place, but the convertible top was easier to operate than the pup tent offered on the Seven, and the dash layout offered more a more ergonomic design than the earlier car.  The chassis increased rigidity over the Seven by 50%, partly by using wide door sill sections which limited interior width.  Under the bonnet, which tilted up with the front fenders, was a 24-valve Rover K-series 4 of either 1.6 or 1.8 liter size, coupled to either a Ford-sourced 5 speed or Caterham 6-speed gearbox.  While the new car was less than 3 inches shorter than the original Mazda Miata, it was over 800 pounds lighter at just under 1,500 pounds, so performance was more than adequate with any engine / gearbox combination.  Production was planned at 200 units a year, and bodywork was switched to fiberglass from aluminum for the production cars.

The reason that most car enthusiasts have never seen a Caterham 21 came down to timing. The company took a bit of time to tool up for production, and by 1996 rival Lotus had introduced its new Elise, also a lightweight and planned around the same Rover K-series engine, but mid-mounted for sharper handling.  Die-hard Seven fans felt that the handling of the new Caterham offering was blunted compared to their featherweight club racers, and seekers of comfort and convenience found more of that in the new Lotus Elise. As a result, Caterham built just over 4 dozen of the 21, while Lotus built over 8,600 of the Elise Series 1 between 1996 and 2001. Somehow, despite the name, prospective buyers didn't find the 21 to be three times the car that the 7 had been.  In 1999, a friend visited the Caterham factory in Dartford, east of London, and actually persuaded his wife to come along.  This was the last year of production for the failed 21, and while the photo from their visit shows a bevy of Caterham 7s about to be shipped, no 21s are on view. It may be a consolation that while production totaled only 49, this is at least a multiple of 7, and that the Seven lives on.  Meanwhile, this souvenir photo perfectly expresses the wild enthusiasm of a practical-minded lady for a cramped, drafty, noisy little car that can get you soaked when it rains.

Photo Credits
Top through 4th from top:  wikimedia
5th from top:  Caterham Cars
Bottom:  Marcus Nashelsky