Photo : Dave Davies - ACO - Nikon

British sportscar manufacturer Caterham unveiled it's first ever sports prototype at the Autosport International show (NEC Birmingham UK) last week.

One of the British sportscars most often seen on French roads driving to La Sarthe in the month of June is the Caterham '7' and it's derivatives. The company who have kept alive the spirit of the 'minimalist' Lotus 7 for more than 50 years, are now opening a new chapter in their history with the launch of the Caterham-Lola SP/300.R. The original Lotus Seven went out of production in 1972 but Caterham bought the rights to make the Series 3 Seven, though they have developed it to the point that no part of the current car is the same as on the original Lotus.

As the name suggests, the SP/300.R was developed in conjunction with Lola Cars who are no strangers to the 24 hours of Le Mans. Intended initially for a one-make race series in 2012, the feasibility of a road legal version is also being considered. Ansar Ali the managing director of Caterham cars explained, "it's been the life blood running through the character of our vehicles - race cars for the road".

The aerodynamic styling has been achieved using Lola's state of the art fluid dynamics technology and includes many design innovations seen in contemporary Le Mans prototypes. The engine will be a supercharged 2 litre Ford Duratec that will provide 300hp and take the car to an estimated 170mph (275km/h) top speed and 0-60 (0-100km/h) in roughly 2.5 seconds. Matched to the engine will be a Hewland semi-automatic FTR transmission.  Only 25 examples will be manufactured each year.

Will we one day see a Caterham prototype on the grid at the 24 hours of Le Mans? All we can say for now is that Caterham have taken a big first step into the arena of sports prototypes.

Dave Davies

Photo: Autosport International NEC Birmingham UK, 13th Jan 2011, Caterham-Lola SP/300.R