Many automotive pundits claim you have to own certain cars at least once. I’ve heard this said often of vintage Alfa Romeos, that they represent a gateway to an automotive experience that few others can provide; specifically, the iconic models like the GTV and Giulia. Some folks say you should also experience the raw performance of the C4-era Corvette ZR-1 for its striking performance, especially for an American-made performance car at the time. Me? I believe the Lotus/Caterham Seven is one of those cars we should all experience once, and this 1998 Caterham Super Seven VX 1600 listed here on eBay is all the more intriguing for its connection to the company’s racing program.
First, I have never driven one of these rolling riots. I have always wanted one since watching this ridiculous gymkhana video and reading one of Sam Smith’s accounts of building and owning several of these classic roadsters. The combination of the styling that has barely changed from the original Lotus design and the potentially habit-forming performance where you live every mile like you’re on a qualifying lap makes the Seven somewhat unrepeatable in the modern sports car marketplace. It’s almost one of those cars you have to speak of in hushed tones because you don’t want some government agency to realize it’s still being made.
The car shown here is all the more intriguing for its connection to the Caterham Academy, an in-house racing school that the company still offers to young drivers today. In reading up on it, I’m struggling to think of a better experience than being a 16-year-old hot shoe and having mom and dad tell you that you’re going to polish your racing skills with members of the Caterham team and partner racing centers. Each year, when the Academy gathers, there is a model that is built for that cohort of students, and this is one of those cars (at least, that’s how I understand it.) The Caterham is equipped with heated seats and windshield, a roll bar, all-weather gear, a removable steering wheel, and most importantly, a 120 horsepower Vauxhall engine.
The seller notes it is also an incredibly well-maintained example, with factory service books showing regular stampings from British service centers. The selling dealer notes the tires are fairly fresh and it has new brake pads and shoes. Combining the strong service history with the heated features and all-weather gear makes this an enthusiast’s Seven, one that can go racing in all sorts of weather. On my personal automotive bingo card, an early morning romp in a Seven when the weather is still chilly but the sun is rising seems like an idyllic start to any day, and at $29,500 or best offer, I’m not sure there’s a better sports car for the money.
The Academy, Graduates etc. are different race classes, as I remember; the cars are to different specs for each one. I have a pal who used to race in the Academy; she never progressed through the classes because she was having so much fun in the one that she was in.
I had another friend who used to race a Lotus 7 – until he bought a Porsche 356 from a certain Jim Clark…
My buddy owned one of these, and then had problems with it, he had a front suspension arm break, among other things, so he finally got rid of it. There’s a reason that these are always low mileage. Or to quote the famous saying, lotus means lots of trouble, usually serious.
I rebuilt a Super Seven with a buddy back in the 70’s who had a Lotus dealership. We put in a Lotus Twin Cam Big Valve motor with 130 HP. I drove it once and that was plenty! Way too much power being that low to the ground! Still lots of fun! I don’t know today if I could cram my 70’s body into one again! Good memories!! It is basically a giant go kart!!
There are just a couple of British cars that I’ve wanted and not owned, and a 7 is one of them. But,,, I’ve driven a couple and they are a “riot”. In the mid-70’s I was racing a D Sedan 970 Cooper S, and a racing buddy had an early Lotus 7. His was a very rare boattail car with the 948 A series engine and smoothcase gearbox. Maybe 50 horsepower, maybe 1100 pounds. At the time it was the “funnest” car I’d ever driven. Handled better than my Mini, accelerated better than my 67 Healey and was everything a proper British sports car was supposed to be. He enjoyed my 67 3000, so we swapped cars several times and I won on that trade, big-time. Ten years or so later, I had another racer buddy whose brother had a Caterham with a 200hp twin cam and a 5 speed. Whoa! Blistering acceleration, punishing handling and I was luckily wedged into the drivers seat, there would have been serious problems. These are great cars, and like ANY high performance car that is used as intended, stuff breaks. If you don’t maintain them, they will lay down on you and then you have to fix them. Cool Car!
I bought a Westfield for my daughter when she graduated college, it was a RHD but we were living in the south of France, so my neighbor’s teenage son and I decided to convert it to LHD. It was pretty straight forward as Westfield had built them to be “gender fluid”. We crafted a new dash from an oak plank and thought to just flip the steering rack over, as it mounted in some rubber bushings. The first time we turned the wheel we realized it wasn’t quite that simple, and even today 30 years later as he is an adult with a family we always laugh at our mistake. It was a fun car to drive along the bas corniche between Nice and Monte Carlo and to a kart track in Bar Sur Loup where some of the FI drivers kept karts and would show up every now and then. Made a couple trips between Nice and Paris in it, but the most exciting event was running out of gas in L’Ariane and walking to a gas station in the evening. When recounting it to my neighbors they were totally aghast, as L’Ariane is the part of Nice that is the equivalent to S. Chicago today. When we returned to the states in ’96 I sold it to a Renault dealer in Paris who wanted it for his son.