Goodwood Test: Caterham Super Seven 1600 Review

Admittedly, my time with the Caterham Super Seven 1600 didn’t get off to the best start… As it turns out, burning your leg on the exhaust as you climb out of the car is quite painful. However, a tube of Savlon and a couple of weeks later, and all that remained was a scabby reminder of a brilliant week in Caterham’s most respectable model.

Debuting earlier this year, the new Super Seven 1600 immediately assumed the responsible role in the Caterham line-up, its retro roadster styling proving a tonic to the sharper models. While it indeed shares the same powerplant – the 137PS (101kW) 1.6-litre Ford Sigma unit – and comparable performance figures to the 270 and 310, it dresses far smarter, with a design that harks back to the original Lotus Sevens of the 1960s and ‘70.

Our test model sat on the larger of Caterham’s chassis, the SV, making it a serious, if slightly impractical, contender with other open topped roadsters, such as Morgan’s Plus Four. 

Wide, flared wings, heritage colour schemes and chrome detailing mark this out as a Caterham that is as much about being seen in as it is about being driven fast. It of course features the bug eye lights and iconic grille, too.

Much of its styling nods to the original Super Sevens, the first of which was a Coventry Climax-engined Lotus 7, raced by Graham Hill in 1958. While many Caterhams have shared similar ‘Super’ Characteristics, only three have borne the official Super Seven moniker – until now. 

Our test model was finished in the so-called Caribbean Blue, a relic of Aston Martin’s mid-century heyday. It’s one of seven (coincidence? We think not…) ‘Exclusive’ paint options, which also includes ‘Bordeaux Red’, ‘Oxford White’ and ‘Racing Green’.

With 135 horses coursing from its 1.6-litre Ford Sigma (at 6,800rpm) and weighing just 540kg, the Super Seven takes exactly five seconds to sprint to 62mph, with a top speed of 122mph promised. Jenvey throttle bodies justify the ‘Super’ name in this instance, and the result is a wonderfully analogue, carbed throttle response. The motor delivers a delicious induction whoosh, while the exhaust barks in accord.

The gear ratios are long and the throw is short and wonderfully mechanical, making for an effortless drive. The steering is sharp and immediate too – at speed, that is, for the lack of power steering can prove a right pain when it comes to slow manoeuvring. In fact, while it may look like an original, the new Super Seven boasts all the performance and handling characteristics of its modern peers. It clings as if on rails, its low centre of gravity conducive to fast corners, while the firm, short-travel suspension swallows small digressions from the road surface well.

There’s nothing in the way of electronic driver aids here, and it’s a refreshing change. Give it an eager stamp on the pedal on a greasy road, and the back end will gladly step out. It’s nowhere near as tail happy as many of its peers, however, and would make perhaps the gentlest introduction to the marque a driver could get. The brakes are perfectly matched to its performance and the suspension is a firm reminder that this, after all, just an overgrown go-kart.

There’s not a lot to the Caterham’s cabin, but what is there is exquisite – tan leather trim throughout (a £2,000 extra), comfortable seats, a slim wooden Moto Lita steering wheel and yet more chrome detailing. And the SV chassis means that there’s comfortably room for two in there, without feeling like you’re sat on top of one another. Similarly, operating the pedals is a far more relaxed experience than other, racier Caterhams.

However, there was one issue that was hard to overcome… At 5ft 7in, I wouldn’t class myself as short – in fact far from it. But apparently, I was borderline too short for the Super Seven, with the seat only just sliding forward far enough for my feet to touch the pedals, but not far enough for me to be confident in that.

At speeds, you can forget about holding a conversation – even with the faffy, popper-fit hood up. Earplugs are optional.

The in-car tech is as delightfully simple as you would imagine, with only the essential functions in button or switch form. Aside from the indicators, which beep with the grace of a reversing dump truck, it’s a distraction-free, driver-focused experience.

While far from refined, the Super Seven is an exquisite combination of past and present, offering an exhilarating, immersive drive that embroils you in the sensation of the ‘70s.

It’s admittedly not the most practical of sportscars, and while the SV chassis makes it a worthy contender to the Morgan Plus 4, the noisy, complicated roof is enough to put but the sunniest of Sunday drivers off. But those that can look past its unpractical quirks will be rewarded with a gorgeous, engaging track-day toy in a tuxedo.

And as for the cost? £33,495 will buy you a base Super Seven 1600, while an extra £2,500 will upgrade you to the larger SV chassis (definitely worth it). Oh, and it’ll cost you an extra £2,395 if you want it built in the factory…