After 21 years of producing the Seven, he took the design over from Lotus in 1973 Caterham Cars boss Graham Nearn finally decided that the company was in a position to build a new car from the ground up. It wasn’t intended as a replacement for the classic, sketchy, two seater fun car, but as something a little more modern and forgiving, with an all enveloping body to provide more room inside. Physically, however, the new car would not be much bigger than the Seven, and would retain the same wheelbase and front and rear tracks. That way, the existing suspension components could be transferred straight over. Designer Ian Robertson was contracted to create a new body. He sketched a lithe and elegant roadster inspired, perhaps, by the Lotus Eleven in its wing line. The new design had a spare and muscular feel all of its own, though. The interior, with its stacked dials and rounded consoles, was as bold as the exterior. It helped ensure that the car was the talk of the 1994 Birmingham Motor Show.
Powered by the multi valve Vauxhall 2 liter engine or Rover’s K- series, performance was mind blowingly strong, with 0-60mph (96km/h) coming up in four seconds from the Vauxhall unit. Although the prototype was finished in polished aluminium, production cars built at a rate of no more than 250 per year, used fiber glass and were offered in fully built up and component forms, just like the original Seven.
