2017 Caterham Seven

Showing just 5,800 miles on the odometer, this silver Caterham Seven 420S started life as a 360S – and then the owner discovered track days shortly after buying it in 2018 when it was only a year old.

Now a beguiling mix of elegant lines and brutish functionality, the four-into-one exhaust, rollover bar, and wide tyres hint at its performance.

Which is prodigious. A £6,000 upgrade from Caterham Cars in October 2021 comprising a dry sump conversion, new camshafts, a remapped ECU and much more means it is now in full-fat 420 mode.

And what a car the 420 is. Described by Top Gear as “not the fastest nor the most extreme member in the family, but it could very well be the lip-smacking sweet spot”, with 210bhp from the dry-sump Ford Duratec engine, a Caterham 420 will streak to 62mph in 3.8 seconds on its way to a top speed of almost 140mph.

But, with a weight of only a little over half a tonne, the power-to-weight ratio of 375bhp-per-tonne means it’s the mid-range acceleration that’ll impress the most.

Well, that and the handling. And the roadholding. And the braking. The owner tells us he liked it when it was a 360S but loves it now.

A full suite of LED lights and a fancy set of alloy wheels bring that iconic shape slap-bang into the 21st century, while bucket seats and proper racing harnesses keep you and your passenger firmly anchored. There are carpets ‘n’ stuff too; as a 420S, it gets the fripperies the ‘R’ does without – and as an SV, it gets the larger cockpit, which means real human beings can fit in there.

In the care of the seller since November 2018 and with just the one previous keeper, we doubt you can go this fast - or corner this hard - for less.

As you can see from the paperwork, Caterham Cars arranged for the rear wings and the side skin to be repainted in November 2022. As you’d expect, the silver bodywork is impressively tidy; Caterham sub-contracted the work and it chose well because it looks bloomin’ stunning.

Paint Protection Film (PPF) was also fitted to the repainted panels plus the front wings, nose cone, and bow tubes, so it’ll stay looking this good for a long time to come.

Modern LED headlamps and similarly uprated clear indicators give the front end a surprisingly modern look but it’s the rear that impresses more; slickly minimal, we weren’t expecting such an ultra-modern look on an old design but the combination of silver paintwork and clear LED lights works brilliantly.

(There is a third rear brake light too, for increased visibility, something that’s always an issue with a car that sits this low.)

However, it’s the profile you’ll fall in love with. A gorgeous four-into-one Raceco exhaust sits alongside the driver and it is book-ended by the wonderfully OTT alloy wheels. In an excellent condition with only moderate lacquer loss here and there, the 6.5” x 15” lightweight Orcas wheels - they weight just 5.9kgs each - are more usually found on the bonkers 620.

They look terrific, of course, and are cloaked in sticky 195/50R15 Avon ZZS rubber. Only recently fitted, they still have plenty of tread left on them.

We will never get tired of telling you that experience shows that matching high-quality tyres are an infallible sign of a caring and mechanically sympathetic owner who is prepared to spend the appropriate amount in maintaining their car properly. Their presence does not, of course, preclude the need for a thorough inspection - something the vendor would welcome, by the way – but it does perhaps give you a shortcut into their attitude towards maintenance.

Stainless-steel wing protectors prevent the wide rear wings from being damaged by stones and other road debris and louvres galore vent the dry-sump engine of heat.

There is a roof. Kind of. It, and the two door tops, might keep you dry in a shower but you’d be better off dressing for motorcycling if there’s rain in the forecast and accepting you’re going to get wet. What is provided is in a good condition though, so at least you don’t have to worry about that.

The lines ‘twixt inside and out are so blurred we aren’t sure where to put the description of the track-day rollover bar. We’ll pop it in here because it’s unlikely you’re going to use the roof anyway, so it’s probably more of an external feature than internal.

Whichever way you look at it, it adds rigidity and reassurance in equal measure and is in great shape. It adds a hefty anchor point for the two four-point harnesses, which are definitely an interior feature, so we’ll move on…

Incredibly simple and all the better for being so, the Caterham essentially consists of two bucket seats, a miniscule Momo steering wheel, and a delicate trio of pedals. Plus, of course, the shortest and most direct gearshift you’ll ever find on a road car.

But then what else do you need?

For touring, three netting pockets draped over the transmission tunnel comprise the Caterham’s internal luggage space but they do give you somewhere to store your passport, wallet, and mobile phone; thus equipped, you could circumnavigate the world.

You’d certainly be comfortable enough. As an SV you get a larger cockpit and a lowered floor, which means the Seven is no longer restricted to jockeys. Caterham suggest the standard car is suitable for anyone up to 6’ 2” tall, with the larger model able to accommodate drivers up to 6’ 6”.

Regardless of height, Caterham-branded leather seats, full carpeting, and the option of using the factory three-point inertia reel seatbelts make it more comfortable in there than you might think.

Oh, and you even get a dedicated Mobil 1 bag to keep a spare litre of engine oil in. That’s pretty cool, isn’t it?

Pressing the big red starter button – and who doesn’t want to own a car with a big red starter button? – provokes the engine into a snarl. It immediately settles into a docile idle but is happiest chasing around the upper reaches of the rev counter, at which point it sounds awesome.

Of course, the four-into-one exhaust and de-cat pipe couldn’t be any closer to the driver’s right ear, which is nice. (The original, including the catalytic convertor, comes with the car should you prefer something a little less intrusive.)

Both the underside and the engine are very nicely presented but then you’d expect that given the Caterham’s sub-6k mileage and the pampering it’s had, wouldn’t you?

NB: There’s a semi-hidden battery cut-off switch underneath the steering wheel that does double duty as an anti-theft measure when it’s parked in public and battery saver while it’s in your garage.

The Seven’s MoT certificate is valid until December 2023 and it was gained (after tweaking the CO) with no advisories, just like every one it’s ever had.

But then the service history is impeccable – and expensive:

• 07.11.2019 and 3,131 miles – service by Caterham Cars

• 09.10.2020 and 4,229 miles – service by Caterham Cars plus a 420R power upgrade and a dry sump conversion at a cost of more than £6,000

• 18.10.2021 and 5,286 miles – service by Caterham Cars including fresh brake fluid and coolant plus upgraded brake hoses and a new battery as part of the £2,035-worth of work

• 30.11.2022 and 5,852 miles – service by Caterham Cars. This included a comprehensive inspection. Both rear wings and the side skin were also repainted. The final bill came to £3,664

With just one previous registered keeper, the recent Vehicle History Check is clear and it comes with the owner’s handbook in addition to the invoices for the work detailed above.

Top Gear again: “We’ll confess, we thought we’d use it on a sunny Sunday afternoon then park it up and pocket the kill switch. Instead, the Seven did 400 miles in its week in the TG garage, through rain, hail, rush-hour traffic and some of the best B-road blasts we’ve ever had.”

And that was in the track-focussed 420R; imagine how much fun, and how much further you could go, in the slightly softer 420S. NordKapp and the Arctic Circle, maybe? Or even Morocco and down past the equator.

Or both. Now, that’d be a road trip, wouldn’t it?

Only for sale because the owner has bought a full-blooded race car ahead of next year’s season, it’s not as if the cost of buying his Caterham is going to kill you.

That’s ridiculously good value, isn’t it?

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