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Caterham

Caterham Seven 620R revealed

Caterham Seven 620R

Ahead of its public debut at the Goodwood Festival of Speed this weekend Caterham has revealed details of its most powerful Seven model ever, the 620R.

Powered by a supercharged 2.0 litre Ford Duratec engine the 620R produces a very tasty 310bhp (230kW). It’ll be fast, right? Very much so, the official press release claims 0–62mph can be despatched in “under 2.8 seconds”.

Kerb weight for the 620R is being withheld for now, we suspect it will be revealed  during the Goodwood FoS, but we know it will be light. For example, the Superlight R500 is only 506kg, while the entry level Roadsport weighs 550kg.

“The 620R is the most hardcore production Seven ever built for the road,” boasts Graham Macdonald, Caterham Cars CEO. “The R500 claimed its place in motoring history as a benchmark for lightweight sportscar performance but this new vehicle pushes the boundaries even further.”

Macdonald then goes on to give the 620R something of a health warning. “While I wouldn’t necessarily recommend this car for those inexperienced in driving Caterhams, we always ensure that even our fastest cars retain the manageable delivery of power that makes them accessible, despite the daunting statistics,” he added.

The price tag in old Blighty is a fiver under £50K and the order book is now open. A slightly less extreme 620S will be released later in the year.

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Caterham

Caterham Roadsport 125 Monaco

Caterham Roadsport 125 Monaco

Caterham has released a new entry-level special edition called the Roadsport 125 Monaco. Based on the iconic Lotus/Caterham 7 the cars of today haven’t changed a great deal in over 50 years.

The Roadsport 125 Monaco is powered by a 1.6 litre four cylinder Ford engine. As the name suggests the engine offers 125bhp (approx 93kW). It’s not a lot, is it. Consider, though, the car weighs just 550kg. Fitted with a 5 speed manual transmission the Roadsport can accelerate to 100km/h in 5.9 seconds.

Any genuine link to Monaco is tenuous, at best, you’d think. But the car looks the business and driving it through the tunnel on the Grand Prix track would be a great way to start a day attacking the hills and winding roads around the French riviera.

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Caterham Top Gear

All in all it’s just another brick in the mall

Top Gear & Caterham R500 in Lego

Check this out, this is the coolest! Those funky kiddy entertainers at Lego have paid homage to Top Gear and the Caterham Superlight R500.

The Caterham featured in Series 12 of Top Gear back in 2008 and won the program’s coveted Car of the Year award in the same year. That was all the inspiration required for LEGOLAND’s chief model maker, Guy Bagley, “My colleague remembered that the Stig had put the R500 through its paces and how incredible it was on the track. It’s such a timeless and iconic car that it was a ‘no-brainer’ as our choice for the motorsport area, having already decided to feature Top Gear. Its design lends itself particularly well to our bricks, too.”

It’s enough to make you want to be a kid again!