The Caterham Seven CSR Twenty Is How Caterham Does A Luxury Car
âCaterhamâ and âluxuryâ are not words that tend to be seen together and this, the Caterham Seven CSR Twenty⊠doesnât do much to change that. It does, however, boast âthe most premium finish ever seen on a Seven,â according to its maker, so itâs the closest weâre going to get to an actual posh Caterham.
Itâs been built to celebrate 20 years of Caterhamâs more sophisticated CSR chassis, which features things like inboard front suspension and fully independent rear suspension. All of thatâs said to bring improvements in steering response, grip, comfort and ride quality.
Caterham Seven CSR Twenty – side
For the first time, that chassis is being paired with the engine found in the 420 versions of the Seven, a 2.0-litre naturally aspirated Ford Duratec four-pot making 210bhp. A revvy little unit, it maxes out at 7600rpm, and helps propel the 620kg car to 62mph in 3.9 seconds and on to a 136mph top speed.
Itâs sent through the five-speed manual âbox found on other Seven 420s, and uses ventilated front brake discs with four-pot callipers.
Caterham Seven CSR Twenty – interior
As for that quote-unquote premium finish, buyers will be getting a Momo steering wheel and transmission tunnel wrapped in leather, gear knob and handbrake gaiters finished in Alcantara, a dashboard in satin carbon and extra-thick black carpets. Theyâll also get black leather seats with Alcantara inserts, red stitching and some unique CSR Twenty logos.
Visual differentiators on the outside include a set of model-specific 15-inch âVulcanâ alloys, LED lights, red brake callipers and a grille with a Union Flag pattern. There are two colour choices, Kinetic Grey and Dynamic Silver.
Caterham Seven CSR Twenty – rear
Caterham CEO Bob Laishley said: âThis is without doubt the most premium Seven weâve ever built. The interior of the car is a level up from what weâve produced before thanks to an array of high-quality materials used throughout. When you combine this with the exhilarating and engaging handling of our CSR chassis, this really is a Caterham built for longer distance road trips.â
The first car set to be built at Caterhamâs new factory in Dartford, just outside London, the company will be building⊠well, it celebrates 20 years of the CSR chassis and is called the CSR Twenty, so you can probably guess, right?
Yep, itâs making 40. 20 of those are destined for the UK market, where itâll cost ÂŁ79,995, and the other 20 are heading for the US.
