Caterham recently revealed two new versions of its perennial Seven, but rather than going down the route of turning them into tiny cup cars for the road, its new Super Sevens channel all the nostalgia they can into their tiny packages. In this month’s issue, Jethro Bovingdon and evo photographer Aston Parrott had an enjoyable day finding out just how good these latest creations are before the British winter closes in.
The two new models feature existing powertrains: a turbocharged 660cc triple (sourced from Suzuki) and a larger naturally-aspirated 2-litre Ford Duratec. Both are connected to a five-speed manual transmission and power the rear wheels; you can even fit an optional limited-slip differential and rear anti-roll bar. But these are Super Sevens, which means that alongside their fantastically fun driving experiences, nostalgia is their defining element.
The Lotus Seven, which the modern Caterham Seven is directly derived from, was designed in 1961 by Colin Chapman. The Seven, of course, evolved over the years, and it’s the second generation introduced in 1965 that the modern Super Seven takes inspiration from, the most obvious visual reference being the flying wheel arches.
Of course, from a driver’s perspective, they have evolved more than their appearance would suggest. With modern suspension, tyres and powertrains, the latest generation of Caterham drives with a precision and flamboyance that you just wouldn’t expect of a car whose design created over 60 years ago.
What was Jethro’s reaction? You’ll have to grab the new issue to find out, and while you’re there check out this month’s other features including our 2022 tyre test, first drive of the new 992-generation Porsche 911 GT3 RS and more.
You can browse the evo magazine back catalogue here, and make sure you don’t miss the next issue by subscribing now!
Car pictures of the week: archive
Below are some of our favourite images from previous editions of evo car pictures of the week. Click on the pictures for the full galleries.
Gallery 1
Click below to see all the images of our first car pictures of the week gallery, here featuring the indomitable Bugatti Veyron Super Sport, mk1 Volkswagen Golf GTI, Ford Shelby Mustang GT350 and the stunning Porsche 911 re-imagined by Singer.
Gallery 2
Here we dig further back into the evo archives where we pull out some iconic images of the Ford GT slightly out of context in the European Alps, a TVR Sagaris in central London, the Audi RS2 as well as one of our most iconic twin tests between the Ferrari 599 GTO and Lexus LF-A.
Gallery 3
The previous-generation Bentley Continental GT seemed to get better with age, a notion mirrored by the Jaguar E-type when in modern ‘lightweight’ form. Both of these British icons, as well as the Aston Martin Vantage GT12 feature in gallery three.
Gallery 4
Fans might have cried fowl when Ferrari decided to turbocharge the Ferrari 488, but it’s not like Ferrari don’t have a history with turbocharged V8 engines. Here the 488 co-stars alongside the stunning F40, while elsewhere in this gallery we take a Porsche Cayman GTS to Japan for a stunning mountain blast.
Gallery 5
Italian twelve-cylinder supercars seem to be the main agenda in the fourth evo car pictures of the week gallery, here featuring four V12 Lambos and the stunning 599 SA Aperta limited edition alongside its 550 Barchetta predecessor.
Gallery 6
GT3s and GT-Rs are just the beginning for gallery number six, with the Noble M600, Aston Martin One-77 and a couple of McLaren flagships filling out our most amazing gallery yet.
Gallery 7
A gallery of new and old, here the McLaren 720S cemented its place as a truly great supercar alongside a daring night shoot with an Audi R8 LMX, pitch a Nissan GT-R and Audi Quattro against each other on Welsh mountain roads and drive the original ‘Hakosuka’ GT-R.
Gallery 8
Ford‘s RS200 in a moody dark garage is just one of many amazing shoots in our 8th gallery, click on the image for the full gallery
Gallery 9
Click on the image below for our ninth car pictures of the week gallery, including this hardcore lot!
Gallery 10
Our tenth gallery turned it up another notch, including the wettest shoot in history (apparently).
Gallery 11
The best hardcore Ferrari supercars and more feature in our 11th car pictures of the week gallery.