One-off 220hp Caterham Seven for sale

January is done, thank goodness, February will be gone in a flash, and before we know it the spring will be here – time to think about sports cars. Caterham Sevens specifically. There’s never a bad time to consider one, really, because they’re about as much fun as four wheels can offer, though there are surely deals to be done with the temperatures still in single-digits. 

With a CSR Twenty drive just before Christmas, Sevens have been on the brain ever since. A drive will do that to you – it becomes hard to imagine life without one, such is the joy they bring. But there’s no escaping the fact that they’re darn expensive sports cars these days, the CSR being the perfect example. Yes, it’s limited-run, and yes it has more sophisticated suspension, but £80,000 is a huge amount. That’s before even thinking about having to wait for a new one. 

There are always plenty around used, though strong residuals are as much a part of the Caterham experience as burning your shin on the exhaust. That’s probably how it will always be. The car is immediately available, though not a whole lot more affordable. Arguably the best way to spend less money on an old Seven is to get a lower-powered one; less than £15k and less than 150hp will make for a very sweet little sports car. 

But heck are they thrilling once above 150hp. The old R300s were often regarded as a sweet spot at 160hp, which Caterham later aimed to replicate with the Ford-engined 310, and once near 200hp they’re very rapid. Anything above that makes for something truly ballistic. 

This one has 220hp, believe it or not. A one-off build 30 years ago with a very fruity K Series under the bonnet – the rev counter goes to 10 – it’s now being sold as the original owner is no longer with us. Described as a ‘no expense spared’ project that resided in a private collection, it has been driven five thousand miles in 30 years. A couple of good blats a year, really. But with a recent recommissioning at a Caterham main dealer, it should be on the button and ready to rock whenever the moment arrives. 

All of which – the low mileage, the spec, the recent work – would point to a mega-money Seven. Yet it’s £17k, the kind of money that usually buys old Roadsports and Academy cars. Perhaps there might be a few teething problems given the age, and certainly a 200hp+ K Series will need the appropriate amount of TLC for pretty much the entire time, but it looks a whole heap of super Seven silliness for not that much. See you on circuit…