Car Sight

Spitfire

From inside it sounds like a Spitfire with the whine of the gearbox, a resonance through the uncarpeted cockpit and stones rattling like bullets off the underside (and on more than one occasion my forehead). From outside it sounds more like a big capacity sports bike and it starts up with that same muted explosion as the engine sucks in a massive gobbet of fuel and spits it out through the beautiful 4-2-1 exhaust. This, combined with a different air-intake help liberate 140bhp and 124lb-ft from the 1.8 X-Power K-series but it never sounded like this in a Rover and the rev counter certainly never flicked round the dial as quickly. It translates into a 0-60 dash in 4.7 seconds, over half a second quicker than a Roadsport with the same X-Power motor. The 130mph speed is largely academic and possibly rather conservative of Caterham (but that's just a guess, honestly officer).

Through town the car grumbles to itself, revs rising and falling from 1,250 to 1,750rpm at traffic lights and the clutch assaulting your nose with its own protest. But it's difficult to resist the occasional blip of the throttle when passing a bunch of schoolkids, making them stop and stare open mouthed. That engine reveals a great deal of flexibility, it's possible to stick it in top around town, smoothing out the power delivery and making it easier to pootle along at urban speed limits.