Caterham Seven Supersprint 2017 first drive

The Caterham Seven Supersprint is the second of two limited-edition cars introduced by the firm this year to mark the 60th anniversary of the original Lotus Seven. It’s also further proof that one of the most dependable tricks playable by purveyors of niche-market sports cars to guarantee success for their all-new models right now is simply to make them look like old ones.

This car went on sale at the Goodwood Revival earlier this year and reportedly sold out its 60-unit production run in just six hours. You’d imagine the Revival crowd might be receptive to any new combination of retro styling on modern mechanicals, of course – but there’s receptive and then there’s 'kerching every six minutes' receptive. July probably brings tougher days selling ice cream on Brighton Pier.

The Seven Supersprint picks up where the Seven Sprint left off earlier this year – but where the latter was intended for road-based enjoyment primarily, the former’s the kind of Caterham you can drive to and from a track day and blast down the pit lane in while you’re there.

Like the Sprint, the Supersprint is based on the Suzuki-engined entry-level Seven 160, but it has a more purposeful specification than even the Sprint had. A fettle for the Suzuki-sourced 660cc three-cylinder turbo petrol engine increases power from 80bhp to 95bhp, and that power finds its way to the Tarmac via the same five-speed manual gearbox and live axle rear suspension as both the Seven 160 and Sprint. In the Supersprint, however, you get a limited-slip differential as standard, as well as uprated adjustable suspension, complete with Bilstein struts, tuned for the track.

Circuit-ready or not, this Seven definitely has the aura of a car intended for the stationary affection of car club collectors rather than for regular track sessions. From its polished chrome exhaust to its 1960s-era ‘Brooklands’ glass aero screens and its wooden-rimmed ‘Moto-Lita’ steering wheel, the Supersprint is delectable in almost every detail. It’s the kind of Caterham you stop to clean when there’s a splash of mud around the rear wheel arches; firing one into the gravel at Oulton Park would make you feel like burying your head in the paddock cesspit.

The car’s wooden-rimmed steering wheel is a fixed affair, mind you, and it doesn’t make the act of levering yourself into the Supersprint any easier. There’s no option of a larger ‘SV’ body with this Seven and, if you’re taller than average height, you’re likely to feel the squeeze in more ways than one. The standard Seven offers a narrow driver’s seat with limited leg and elbow room, and has a cramped pedal box. Unless you’re unusually slight, you’re also likely to find it difficult to use all of the steering rim’s circumference.