CATERHAM SEVEN 420R CHAMPIONSHIP

Track-only model aims to showcase the Seven in its purest form

- RICHARD LANE

Black? Of course it’s black. The mere act of witnessing the most menacing new Caterham Seven on sale as it’s being disgorged from its trailer is an experience laced with excitement and trepidation. Any other colour wouldn’t look right.

The tiny warrior emerges backwards, revealing first its squared-off backside, then the rearmost struts of its very bright and very large roll-cage, followed by the oily sheen of an Avon slick’s fat sidewall. Next up is the rolling-pin exhaust silencer, then the windscreen – or lack thereof – before the exhaust tract splits into four and dives into the long, long nose of the aluminium body just ahead of the big number seven but behind the somehow still cute fenders. A few seconds later and here is it: the Caterham Seven 420R Championship, on show in all its unforgettable, unhinged glory.