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1998-2005 Caterham Super Seven

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It is the epitome of Colin Chapman's tried-and-true formula of less weight, more speed. Conceived in the late 50's as a Lotus and still in production today over 40 years later as a Caterham, the Super Seven was dominant on the track for the weekend tinkerer, and pure fun (and legal!) on the street for sports car connoisseur.

Likened to a motorcycle on 4 wheels, the Super Seven weighs in at around 1200 lbs. (or half the weight of a Miata!), resulting in an astounding power-to-weight ratio even with a fairly standard 4-cylinder engine. A fairly "tame" 1.6L Ford Crossflow-powered Caterham Super Seven (circa 2000) can achieve 34 mpg on the highway, yet accelerate from 0-60 mph in under 6 seconds. Hotter-tuned 4-bangers (e.g., 2.0L Ford Zetec) can achieve much more rapid acceleration in Super Sevens while achieving still-respectable gas mileage, but gas mileage here is almost besides the point: this is about as much fun as people can have with their pants on.

Of course, cars of Lotus-lineage not only are fast, but have unrivaled agility through the corners. In fact, perhaps the closest match to the Super Seven in both spirit and performance is Lotus' contemporary Elise. Just expect to have to do a little bit of tinkering now and then (most Caterhams started out as a kit) and forget about taking out the Seven in the rain. A prospective Super Seven owner is best advised to have another vehicle as his primary vehicle--but what a wonderful weekend warrior the Seven is!