What's this with 'extreme' Caterhams headline - isn't every Seven 'extreme'? Force 10 gales through the cockpit, your ears under constant assault, tail-out action waiting at every roundabout - all Caterhams deliver extremes as standard.
But the appearance of the most bonkers Seven of them all in the classifieds has me itching to blow a wad on what must be the fastest road car per pound in the world.
0-100mph in 4.5 seconds? Quick car!
Extreme is the only way to describe the utterly
mental Levante RST-V8
which the seller (Sevens & Classics) claims is 'the fastest Caterham ever made.' No argument there.
The Levante's Russell Savory-built RST-V8 2.4-litre supercharged engine kicks out - wait for this - 550hp. All that power funnels through a six-speed sequential Sadev gearbox, and you get launch control. Electronic limits mean you can't exceed 150mph but on the way there nothing else is going to touch you: 0-62mph in 2.6 seconds and, more to the point, 0-100mph in an astonishing 4.5 seconds.
Tasty bits of kit include inboard FreeStyle front suspension, Nitron three-way adjustable dampers, Hi-Spec discs and four-piston calipers all round, a brake bias adjuster, loads of carbon and a challengingly styled aero package. And the V8 sounds sensational through its BTB rear-exit exhausts.
This was made in 2009 but it's done just 500 miles since then. Only eight other Levantes were ever built, and when new these cars cost over £115,000. Makes the £59,995 asking price look not unreasonable...
620R almost looks normal next to Levante
Running the Levante a very close second in the bonkers stakes is Caterham's 620R. The familiar 2.0-litre Duratec engine is supercharged in the 620R so that it packs 310hp. Considering the Seven only weighs 500kg, the power-to-weight ratio of 620hp per tonne donates the car its name.
Like the Levante, the 620R has a six-speed Sadev sequential gearbox and its 0-62mph time of 2.79 seconds is almost as quick. But doesn't it look cute on its 13in alloys - what other performance car these days has 13s? Come to think of it, what other performance car has front tyres as skinny as 185/55? All part of magic that makes Caterhams so much fun.
This 2014 Riviera Blue example with just 400 miles on the clock is one of three very low-mileage 620Rs currently for sale at Caterham Cars HQ. All of them are north of £50K, but this one offers the best value at £50,995. Caterham gives you a free track day voucher with the car - you're going to need it.
Another 620R is SuperVettura's. Looking super-cool with its Gulf Oil paint scheme, it's a 2015 car that's barely run in (only 670 miles on the clock).
It may not be cheap at £52,950 but it does come with an interchangeable carbon wind deflector/heated windscreen, doors, weather gear and a colour-matched track day roll bar.
See, not all JPEs were yellow!
In this company, Caterham's Superlight R500 feels positively wimpy. 0-62mph in 3.5 seconds? Pah! But with its 263hp engine, sequential gearbox, limited-slip diff, carbon parts and Stack display, it's got the many of the same ingredients as a 620R - but it'll cost you a lot less money.
One very low-mileage R500 in the classifieds is this 2009 'Ballistic Orange' example. Offered by Caterham Cars South has a mere 695 miles on the clock and is up for £38,995.
And if you want to go old-school extreme, how about a Jonathan Palmer Evolution? Number 52 of only 53 ever made, this 1998 JPE has its original 250hp Swindon Racing Vauxhall 2.0 engine with throttle bodies. OK, it's not really delivery mileage but 5K is very low in anyone's book. At £46,994, it's pricey - but it's got 'investment' written all over it.
Short of an Ariel Atom, what else gives you this sort of performance for so little money?
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