Caterham unleashes most powerful Seven at Goodwood

Caterham Cars will launch its most extreme Seven to date at the Goodwood Festival of Speed this weekend (July 12-14).

As the lightweight sportscar manufacturer celebrates 40 years of developing and building the Seven, Caterham is re-inventing the already enviable parameters of its iconic model, with the Seven 620R setting a new benchmark in outrageous performance.

A newly-engineered, two-litre supercharged Ford Duratec engine pumps out 310bhp, providing even more of a kick in the back for the driver and propelling the Seven 620R from 0-60mph in under 2.8 seconds.

Priced at £49,995 (incl VAT) fully built, such extreme performance, pushing on to a top speed of 155mph, will put the 620R at the top of the current range, replacing the legendary Superlight R500.

Caterham F1 Team driver Charles Pic will drive the 620R up the famous Goodwood hill at the Festival of Speed, as will Caterham F1 Team reserve driver and Caterham Racing GP2 driver, Alexander Rossi.

A static version of the new car will also feature on Caterham’s Festival of Speed stand, along with other performance vehicles from across the Caterham Group.

Caterham Cars CEO, Graham Macdonald, said: “The 620R is the most hardcore production Seven ever built for the road.

“The R500 claimed its place in motoring history as a benchmark for lightweight sportscar performance but this new vehicle pushes the boundaries even further.

“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.”

The 620R is diametrically opposed to the new ultra-efficient, affordable entry-level Seven that will sit at the opposite end of the range when Caterham unveils it in Autumn this year.

Like all Sevens, the 620R adheres to Caterham’s brand mantra of delivering ‘accessible fun’ and the traditional Caterham minimalistic, lightweight approach to the engineering of the car is ever-present.

As well as producing more horsepower and torque than any previous incarnation of the Seven, the 620R also benefits from several other new enhancements.

The car features a unique gunmetal chassis, an air-flow optimised nose cone and a race-developed cooling package. De Dion rear suspension and wide track front suspension units are complemented by high-performance dampers all round, while the car sits on lightweight, 13” alloy wheels fitted with track-inspired Avon ZZR tyres.

In the cockpit, there are more noticeable improvements, with features including performance-focused instrumentation and ergonomic switchgear.

Meanwhile, carbon fibre interior panels and dash plus carbon fibre race seats and a Q/R race steering wheel complete the sports feel to the interior.

“The Seven 620R is an extreme piece of kit,” concludes Macdonald. “We know there is demand for cars that re-write the rules of performance and, if you’re brave enough to take it on, the 620R will be an enormously rewarding, fun car to pilot.”

While the launch edition of the Seven 620 features the sportier ‘R’ pack, a slightly less hardcore ‘S’ pack, which harnesses all the power of the original but offers a little more accessibility will be launched later this year.

Orders are now being taken for the Caterham Seven 620R, with first deliveries expected later this year.

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Caterham starts its first ever Le Mans 24 Hours

The Caterham Motorsport team will start its first ever Le Mans 24 Hours from 21st on the grid, 13^th in the LM-P2 category, following two strong qualifying sessions for the team.

Caterham was forced to sit out Wednesday night’s qualifying session, as the team worked to re-build the Zytek Z11SN-Nissan following an accident in free practice.

In a gutsy display, a valiant team effort by the Caterham Motorsport crew and their Greaves Motorsport colleagues saw them work through the night to repair the #41 car in time to take part in Thursday’s two qualifying sessions.

In the first opportunity for the Caterham Motorsport LM-P2 machine to take part in competitive on-track action at the La Sarthe circuit, it was Tom Kimber-Smith’s lap time of 3m44.621s that secured 13^th in the LM-P2 grid.

The session began in the wet; Tom Kimber-Smith gained some vital track-time and, as the track surface began to dry, the double-LM-P2 class-winner made strong progress, making up for time lost in Wednesday’s night-time session. 

The 120-minute session was curtailed to just 90 minutes, after being red flagged for lengthy barrier repairs and, as Thursday’s first session drew to a premature close, the #41 car placed 19^th in the LM-P2 standings.

With final set-up tweaks made, the final qualifying session of the day got underway at 2200 CET, as Caterham’s three drivers drove into the night for the first time at the 8.47-mile track.

As the session began, a damp track necessitated intermediate Dunlop tyres for Kimber-Smith, who was the first man out on track for Caterham Motorsport. It was then the turn of Caterham F1 Team Reserve and Caterham Racing GP2 driver, Alexander Rossi, to take to the la Sarthe circuit – the first competitive drive of the week for the young American.

Still on intermediate rubber, Rossi immediately made an impact on the timing screens, placing third in his class on only his second flying lap.

On an ever-evolving track, Kimber-Smith was soon back behind the wheel; the 28-year-old was the first of the trio to switch to slick tyres and it was evidently the right move, as the Briton topped his class by over three seconds, with a time of 3:44.621.

Rossi too proved quick on slick rubber, with his first and second sector times placing him within the top six in terms of class pace.

The American was unable to fully unlock his potential, as he was first held up by GT traffic in the Porsche Curves, before being called in for fuel.

As the chequered flag fell just after midnight, the starting positions were determined by the best times set across the three qualifying sessions.

Caterham Technology CEO, Mike Gascoyne, said: “We’re very pleased with our starting position for our first ever Le Mans 24. In the face of our early setback, the team really upped the ante and worked phenomenally hard to give Alexander, Tom and Eric the best possible shot at securing a strong grid position.

“All three drivers put in some strong laps on Thursday and, while the race will not be without its challenges, I’m confident that this good pace from the team will translate into a strong race result on Sunday.

“We’re continuing to learn a great deal about the track and the car, which is vital, both in terms of final touches ahead of Saturday’s race, but also in terms of the knowledge and insight that we’re gaining with regard to the development of our own customer sports prototype chassis in future.”

The Le Mans 24 Hours marks Alexander Rossi’s first foray into international sportscar racing and the Caterham protégé was thrilled to get behind the wheel, having missed out on any competitive running thus far.

He said: “It was nice to finally drive this week. Practicing at night was good for me to get used to before the race. After losing out on the first practice day, there was a bit of pressure to find the time and be on pace as quickly as possible, but I think we did a good job and I believe we can be very pleased with today.

“The night driving is tricky, especially because the track was in transition from wet to dry so it was difficult to distinguish the damp parts. There is room for improvement but there's not much to complain about. Importantly, there were no issues with the car. The team did a great job last night, the balance was good so it gave me confidence to push straight out of the box.

“Now comes the next challenge for me with a 24-hour race. Tom has a lot experience at Le Mans and he's in great form. He has been helping a lot from day one and we're already able to work together and learn from each other. I think we're in a good position.”

This year’s Le Mans 24 Hours is the first time that the Caterham name has ever raced at the famous round-the-clock race, as the British marque looks to investigate the viability of producing a customer sports prototype chassis as part of its longer-term growth plans.

The race will begin at 1500 local time on Saturday, June 22.

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Caterham to make Le Mans 24 Hours debut

British sportscar manufacturer Caterham will make its debut at the Le Mans 24 Hours this year (June 22/23), as it looks to further elevate its position as a global authority in sportscar development ahead of the launch of its brand new model in 2016.

Racing under the Caterham Motorsport banner, the lightweight sportscar specialist’s participation in the 90^thrunning of the French classic will also allow Caterham Group to investigate the viability of producing a customer Sports Prorotype package in the future.

Caterham Motorsport will run the #41 Zytek Z11SN-Nissan in the LMP2 category, with Caterham F1 Team Reserve Driver and Caterham Racing GP2 driverAlexander Rossi joining double LMP2 class-winner, Tom Kimber-Smith and gentleman driver Eric Lux in the driving seat.

The move reflects Caterham’s growing status and ambition on the international stage. Caterham F1 Team is competing in its second season at the pinnacle of motorsport under the Caterham banner and, in November 2012, Caterham Cars announced a 50:50 Joint Venture partnership with Renault to develop and build its first new road model in 20 years.

The entry to Le Mans also builds on the launch, in 2010, of the Caterham SP/300.R, a supercharged, mini Le Mans-style sports prototype, which has received glowing reviews from both customers and media and garnered strong demand as an advanced trackday machine and race school car.

A crew of Caterham engineers, technicians and data analysts will be embedded with its partner team at Le Mans, the highly-successful Greaves Motorsport outfit, to ensure that Caterham’s legendary ability to deliver intuitive handling characteristics is applied to the set-up of the #41 car.

Caterham personnel will be led by Caterham Technology CEO Mike Gascoyne. He said: “Within Caterham Group, we have a great deal of experienced personnel with a wide range of technical expertise – from powertrain development to carbon composite design.

“While there won’t be any specification changes we can apply to the car for this year’s Le Mans 24 Hours, because the car is homologated for the whole season, we will be looking in more detail at how our various areas of expertise across both Caterham Technology & Innovation and Caterham Composites can be applied to a customer Sports Prototype programme in future.

“We have the tools, the talent and the heritage to do the job in a marketplace that is currently light on existing players so it makes sense for us to go and see first-hand how we might take advantage of business opportunity that fits with our capabilities.”

Caterham has a rich heritage in motorsport. Its iconic Seven was originally designed to be a race car for the road and its ‘ladder’ of highly-competitive one-make race championships is widely acknowledged as one of the finest in existence.

Meanwhile, the Caterham Academy has created almost 1,000 brand new racing drivers since its inception in 1995 and the Seven has become one of the most raced cars in the world. Caterham also plans to launch its own grassroots karting championship in 2014.

As well as marking Caterham’s first participation in the round-the-clock race, the Le Mans 24 Hours will also be the first foray into international sportscar racing for Alexander Rossi. Rossi’s involvement in the Le Mans programme will form part of his wider motorsport development under the guidance of Caterham.

Rossi said: “Straight after driving in FP1 for Caterham F1 Team in Montreal, I’ll be back in Europe to start my Le Mans work. I’m excited about the challenge ahead and honoured with the opportunity to represent Caterham and the US at one of the most prestigious motorsport events of the year.

“On a personal level, taking part in Le Mans has always been another goal of mine. F1 is my main target and I’m fully focused on that, but to run at Le Mans is important to me and for my CV. It’s a special race and to have the chance to compete with a team that’s already had success in endurance racing makes it all the better. In addition, I can help the guys at Caterham who I already know very well.

“Just as in F1, my goal for the first few days with the Le Mans team will be to learn as much I can, building up the performance levels needed for qualifying and the race itself. My immediate focus is still F1 and FP1 at the Canadian GP with Caterham F1 Team, but as soon as that’s done it’ll be all about Le Mans.”

The Caterham Motorsport #41 LM P2 car will make its on-track debut at the official ACO test at Le Mans on June 8/9, followed by the race itself on June 22/23.

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