Yesterday

Caterham (sort of) updates the Seven for 2026

The configurator was already one of the best for daydreaming - now there's even more to be distracted by 

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Many a happy afternoon has been spent daydreaming on the Caterham configurator. It details every element of the Seven spec process in fantastic detail, from wheels (obviously you want 13-inch) to weather protection (probably for the best). The process should be as simple as picking engine, colour and roll cage, yet the configurator is so comprehensive that you’ll soon find yourself umming and ahing over stripes, coloured nosebands, removable steering wheels, LED lights and more. For a car you’re not going to buy. When there are other things you were meant to be doing. Don’t say you weren’t warned if you haven’t looked before… 

Especially as, for 2026, there’s even more to choose from when it comes to Caterham configuration. Eight new colours are the big news, with two standard (i.e. free) paints - Poppy Red and Blacksmith - and three on the £1,000 Premium palette: Earl Grey, Viola Parsifae (which looks great) and Ice Forest Green, as seen on the Project V. In the £1,250 Exclusive range, Sevens can now be painted Chainmail Silver, Sunset Riot (another good one) and Heritage Sage. 

There are a few other cosmetic goodies included in the 2026 refresh, with all Caterhams from Super Seven 600 to 620 now getting clear lenses in body coloured headlight bowls, a body coloured roll bar as well, a leather tunnel top on both S and R models plus a new seat that’s standard on the former and optional on the latter. All included without any additional cost. Which is good news when it comes to Seven speccing, because it still isn’t a cheap sports car prospect: a 660cc car is from £32k factory built. 

Still, more choice sounds like good news for those able to take the plunge on a brand-new Caterham, or simply waste a bit more time on the configurator. For those that don’t want to wait (and can do without painted light bowls, or the purple) can find a host of nearly new Sevens in the classifieds: there’s the very first of the 25 Encore limited editions, 2.0-litre cars from 360 to 420 Cup via 420R, and even an unregistered CSR. In case the configurator wasn’t distracting enough…

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• Caterham Seven CSR Twenty | PH Review
• Behold the first Caterham Project V prototype

[Master Bean]

A 310R with lowered floors and the S3 chassis please.

[saknog]

A new Engine update is what I would like to see, like the horse engine in a road car hopefully without the bonnet bulging

[Scoobysaurus]

The antidote to all that is modern motoring, any self respecting petrolhead really should own one of these at some point

[biggbn]

I think that looks perfect

[Familymad]

I think it looks ace but 13” wheels will be a better compromise.

[mooseracer]

Scoobysaurus said:

The antidote to all that is modern motoring, any self respecting petrolhead really should own one of these at some point

Yup!

[cerb4.5lee]

mooseracer said:

Scoobysaurus said:

The antidote to all that is modern motoring, any self respecting petrolhead really should own one of these at some point

Yup!

I don't use mine enough really, but they're definitely fun to drive though for sure.

[5lab]

its a shame they all cost so much these days - but even westfield's new model is £50k so there's no good competition to make them want to bring prices down. The new engine seems like a disappointment too, pushing you to the more expensive models. I know its "progress", its just not quite what I want

[Familymad]

Buy a mid £20k used one and have zero depreciation fun.

[bcr5784]

Familymad said:

I think it looks ace but 13 wheels will be a better compromise.

That does seem a popular view. However I think with 13s there is too much clearance around them at the rear - the rear mudguards need to be bigger or lower.

How about 13" fronts and 15" rears from an aesthetic point of view? Can't comment on the handling that would result.

[BigChiefmuffinAgain]

I can't believe that here we are in 2026 and they are trying to sell a car without basic essentials like coffee cup holders and mood lighting.....

[BertBert]

5lab said:

its a shame they all cost so much these days - but even westfield's new model is £50k so there's no good competition to make them want to bring prices down. The new engine seems like a disappointment too, pushing you to the more expensive models. I know its "progress", its just not quite what I want

Do what?

[dxg]

Master Bean said:

A 310R with lowered floors and the S3 chassis please.

And LSD, but with the road kit rather than track...

[Debaser]

I hope it's got lane assist, driver distraction warnings and speed limit bongs.

Safety first!

[Firebobby]

Scoobysaurus said:

The antidote to all that is modern motoring, any self respecting petrolhead really should own one of these at some point

I concur, the problem is by the time you'd driven it back home on our "3rd world pot hole ridden cart track excuse for roads" the damn thing would be a pile of broken bits!

[BertBert]

The red 7 looks quite "neat", but Im struck how different the front looks with the new (ish) style nose and small body coloured lights compare to the older style nose arrangement pictured up thread.

Mind you, they must have got the office apprentice to fit the boot cover that day!

I'm far too tight to be splashing out the amount of cash for a new one when you can have exactly the same fun for 15k or less

[200Plus Club]

Just pop on toybox website there are some beautiful cars from £12k and up without breaking the bank for 100% of the fun.
I recently picked up a road legal Lotus 7 replica complete with trailer for even less from Ebay. Bargains galore in kit car World for driving fun.

[cerb4.5lee]

BigChiefmuffinAgain said:

I can't believe that here we are in 2026 and they are trying to sell a car without basic essentials like coffee cup holders and mood lighting.....

Debaser said:

I hope it's got lane assist, driver distraction warnings and speed limit bongs.

Safety first!

[justin220]

I hired this for a couple of days, and ended up liking it so much I bought it from the hire company. As someone mentioned above, at the bottom end of the market these make fantastic value, so much enjoyment for relatively little outlay (in comparison to car costs these days)

I think itwas probably one of the cheapest SV's with lowered floors in the UK, so I'm hoping when it comes to sell it I will get most of the cost back.

I run it with the Cayenne as the daily, and running costs are cheap as chips. I replaced all 4 tyres recently for exactly the same cost as one Cayenne tyre!

[cerb4.5lee]

justin220 said:

I hired this for a couple of days, and ended up liking it so much I bought it from the hire company. As someone mentioned above, at the bottom end of the market these make fantastic value, so much enjoyment for relatively little outlay (in comparison to car costs these days)

I think itwas probably one of the cheapest SV's with lowered floors in the UK, so I'm hoping when it comes to sell it I will get most of the cost back.

I run it with the Cayenne as the daily, and running costs are cheap as chips. I replaced all 4 tyres recently for exactly the same cost as one Cayenne tyre!

That shocked me when I put 4 new tyres on mine as well, 1 tyre on the M4 is more expensive than 4 on the Caterham as you say.

I really like your smaller black headlights , and the bigger chrome ones on mine make it look properly old fashioned in comparison I think.