Caterham 170S review

That makes it the lightest Caterham to date and the first under the new ownership. The price is £22,990 which sounds a lot – try not to think about the £14,995 the 160 cost in 2013 – especially when you consider all that buys you is a bare, unbuilt car. The figure passes £25,000 if you’d like Caterham to build it for you. Fully built and with quite a lot of leather, the press car I drove retailed for over £32,000. Caterhams are not cheap cars, if ever they were.

But it’s still great fun. Do not, for instance, rule it out because you presume that with such modest power it will feel slow. It doesn’t. I was genuinely surprised by how rapid it felt, which I put down to its weight, torque and low gearing. It’s still rapid enough to be held up by everything else you’re likely to meet. And don’t dismiss it on handling grounds because of its skinny tyres and live axle. It handles superbly.

And yet I’d not have one. The turbo engine lacks the sound and throttle response I want, the live axle the long distance ride quality I need. It’s a lot more money, but I’d find or finance the extra to buy the hitherto bade model 270 with its 1.6-litre atmo four-pot and De Dion rear end, put it on Jenvey throttle bodies and live in Caterham heaven forever after. If I had the 170, I’d spend too much time thinking not about what I had, but what I was missing.

Caterham Seven 170S

Engine: 660cc, 3-cyl, turbo
Transmission: 5-speed manual, RWD
Power: 84bhp @ 6500rpm
Torque: 85lb ft @ 4500rpm
Weight: 465kg

Power-to-weight: 180bhp/tonne
0-62mph: 6.9 seconds
Top speed: 105mph
Price: £22,990 (kit), £25,385 (fully built)

Ti rating: 7/10