Caterham auctions famous Sevens

Feted racecars to go under the hammer

By PH Staff / Thursday, 9 February 2006 / Loading comments

R500 grabs air at the 'Ring

Caterham is to auction a selection of its most celebrated used Sevens. From 20-27 February, the company is taking the somewhat unusual step of putting some of its more exotic pre-owned models under the hammer, with the aim of making room for a flurry of part exchanges arriving in March.

Twelve unique examples will be sold off during the week-long auction. Highlights include the Superlight R500 that famously smashed the 0-100mph-0 world record in a time of 11.44 seconds (2002) and a special edition Autosport 50th Anniversary 133bhp Roadsport – one of only nine built.

However, pride of place for motorsport enthusiasts will surely go to the all-conquering Nürburgring Superlight R400 racecar from 2002.

The ultra-reliable lightweight sportscar left a litany of Italian, Japanese and German supercar muscle in its wake to not only win its class around the fearsome Nordschleife, but finish 11th overall from a list of 200 starters. So demonstrably quicker than its rivals, Caterham was subsequently banned from defending the title, being deemed ‘too fast to race’ by organisers.

Lining up alongside these performance legends is a wide selection of road and track Caterhams, plus one very special vehicle powered by gravity alone -- the soapbox derby car the firm entered into the famous 2003 Red Bull Soap Box Challenge.

In traditional auctioneering fashion, the company will host a preview day on Saturday 18 February at its Caterham showroom for interested parties to take a closer look at the assembled ‘lots’. Bidding, either by phone or email, starts in earnest on Monday 20 February, running for seven days.

For more information about the auction or to register to bid see: