Currently reading: Meet the V8 Caterhams
Caterham produces 1000bhp-per-tonne £115k Seven

This is the Caterham Levante. It uses a supercharged 2.4-litre V8 that produces 500bhp at 10,000rpm and 300lb ft of torque at 8500rpm.When the lightweight engine is mated to a Caterham Seven chassis and modified bodywork, you get a sports car that weighs 530kg and puts out over 1000bhp per tonne. It's not official, but it's claimed the Levante will hit 60mph in under 3sec and has a 150mph top speed. The Levante is a joint venture between Caterham and RS Performance – a company that has nothing to do with Ford and everything to do with motorbike racing and engineering, and even Formula One technology. It also developed the Yamaha bike engine that powered Gordon Murray's original Rocket car, and has a history with Caterham race cars. This much automotive lunacy doesn't come cheap. Each Caterham Levante is hand built, takes 12 weeks to complete and will set you back £115,000. Only seven will be produced, but there is hope if you want a V8 Caterham and can't afford the £115k Levante.RS Performance and Caterham will also produce a non-supercharged version of the V8 Seven, which will be available alongside the current Caterham range.It will produce 380bhp at 10,000rpm and 190lb ft of torque at 8500rpm, using the same Caterham SV chassis and six-speed gearbox as the Levante.No prices or performance figures are confirmed for the Caterham Seven RS, but we want one anyway.

Advertisement

Read our review

Car review

The Caterham Seven is a stripped-down sportscar offering one of the most pure driving experiences available. It is a true classic and available in nine iterations

Join the debate

Comments
2
Add a comment…
lilianna 4 April 2014

Jeez! And everyone was saying

Jeez! And everyone was saying the new Civic was expensive - at least that'll hold its value!
fast_eddie 3 March 2008

Re: Meet the V8 Caterhams

Wait a cotton pickin...Is this the same unit going in the Atom for much less dollar??