Top Gear Car of the Year 2008 - Caterham Superlight R500

If the Aero SuperSport was too much, then look at the Caterham Seven.  Originally designed as the Lotus 7 by Colin Chapman over 50 years ago, Caterhams have made a name for themselves as cars for drivers!  Whether on the track or on the road, they are purely and simply, driving machines!  For an example of that, a R500, like the one pictured above, made it around the Top Gear track in 1:17.9 (currently, sixth all-time) and beat the £1 million Bugati Veryon! 

Caterham RS Seven V8

More than anything else, Caterhams are great value for money.  The cheapest one in the range, the Classic, ranges from £12,995.  While, even the top range ones, such as the new Caterham RS Seven only costs £115,000.  In other words, you could purchase all eight that were produced and still get change from your Veryon!

But, enough of that, if I was to get one, I would just get one of the more basic models … a Roadsport or a CSR.  They are cheaper and because of the lack of fancy body panels and weight-saving gear, they would be easier to maintain.  More than anything else, they would be fun to have for a day out or, even better, at the beach!  (Using one on the beach could require some tweaking and some new tires, but it would definitely be fun!)

For information about then in the States, see Caterham USA.

For descriptions of the cars by the Top Gear Guys, see Caterham Reviews.