Photo: Caterham
It's not often a specialized sports car marque such as Caterham introduces a limited edition model. And that shows just by going over the stats of the all-new Japan-exclusive Caterham Seven Kamui Kobayashi Limited Edition.
Developed with the professional racing driver's input from Caterham F1 Team's Kamui Kobayashi, the single seater track-focused machine is based of the Seven 250 R.
Only 10 units will be manufactured, all of them powered by a Ford Sigma 1.6-liter gasoline engine, mated to a six-speed manual gearbox. Of course, the rear axle will benefit from the aid of a limited-slip differential. Mind you, it would be pretty hard to put 125 horsepower down to ground without it.
Due to its very low dry weight, 0 to 62 mph (100 km/h) is achievable in a mere 5.9 seconds. It doesn't sound like much, but trust us – sitting that low in a topless track-focused car without any soundproofing and with semi-slick tires slightly bigger than the rubber seen on mountain bikes is a pretty engaging experience from the driver's point of view.
On the aesthetics front, the limited edition Caterham Seven is painted in a high-gloss black color, with matte black go-faster stripes on top. Carbon fiber wing protectors are finished in a deep green lacquer, not the run-of-the-mill British Racing Green. The stripped out racer wears a #10 badge on its nose and there's no room for a passenger cause the left-hand side of the cabin is covered by an aluminum tonneau.
In terms of safety features, there's only one worth mentioning – a rollover hoop fixed to the rear bulkead. Exterior design is completed by a set of 13-inch diamond cut lightweight alloy wheels painted in black and a shiny chrome exhaust tip sticking at the rear. On the inside, the dash is also made out of carbon fiber.
The only seat fitted to the vehicle is constructed from the aforementioned material and sports a green 4-point harness detailed with Takata. An anodized green shifter knob and key, as well as Kamui gauge inlays are other custom cabin features.
"For me, the Caterham Seven is a pure car; when you drive a Seven it feels like you are driving, not like the car is driving you," said the Japanese F1 driver about the Seven named after him. "In my Caterham F1 car, I have electronics that control everything but to drive the Seven is to truly understand the car and to truly understand the enjoyment of driving. I hope my styling of the Seven adds something special to a car that is already awesome to drive."
However, he didn't say a thing about not scoring a single drivers' chamionship point since the 2014 Formula 1 season commenced because you know, reasons and stuff... If you wonder what's this baby's sticker price, the answer is ¥6 million per unit, which translates to circa £35,000, $59,000 or €43,200 including Japanese taxes.
Only 10 units will be manufactured, all of them powered by a Ford Sigma 1.6-liter gasoline engine, mated to a six-speed manual gearbox. Of course, the rear axle will benefit from the aid of a limited-slip differential. Mind you, it would be pretty hard to put 125 horsepower down to ground without it.
Due to its very low dry weight, 0 to 62 mph (100 km/h) is achievable in a mere 5.9 seconds. It doesn't sound like much, but trust us – sitting that low in a topless track-focused car without any soundproofing and with semi-slick tires slightly bigger than the rubber seen on mountain bikes is a pretty engaging experience from the driver's point of view.
On the aesthetics front, the limited edition Caterham Seven is painted in a high-gloss black color, with matte black go-faster stripes on top. Carbon fiber wing protectors are finished in a deep green lacquer, not the run-of-the-mill British Racing Green. The stripped out racer wears a #10 badge on its nose and there's no room for a passenger cause the left-hand side of the cabin is covered by an aluminum tonneau.
In terms of safety features, there's only one worth mentioning – a rollover hoop fixed to the rear bulkead. Exterior design is completed by a set of 13-inch diamond cut lightweight alloy wheels painted in black and a shiny chrome exhaust tip sticking at the rear. On the inside, the dash is also made out of carbon fiber.
The only seat fitted to the vehicle is constructed from the aforementioned material and sports a green 4-point harness detailed with Takata. An anodized green shifter knob and key, as well as Kamui gauge inlays are other custom cabin features.
"For me, the Caterham Seven is a pure car; when you drive a Seven it feels like you are driving, not like the car is driving you," said the Japanese F1 driver about the Seven named after him. "In my Caterham F1 car, I have electronics that control everything but to drive the Seven is to truly understand the car and to truly understand the enjoyment of driving. I hope my styling of the Seven adds something special to a car that is already awesome to drive."
However, he didn't say a thing about not scoring a single drivers' chamionship point since the 2014 Formula 1 season commenced because you know, reasons and stuff... If you wonder what's this baby's sticker price, the answer is ¥6 million per unit, which translates to circa £35,000, $59,000 or €43,200 including Japanese taxes.
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