Answer the call of the wild by going topless OPEN ROADSTER
Aficionados of convertible sports cars (and bobble hats) eschew a roof as winter closes in. Alex Goy argues that such behaviour – along with a Caterham 420R – will stir the soul
Driving in winter can be a pain, yet not all of it has to be stressful. In fact, it doesn’t have to be stressful at all. You just need the right car. And by “right car”, I mean you obviously need something ludicrous.
Despite the UK’s propensity for gloomy weather, it has traditionally excelled at producing small, light, open sports cars. Think about all the lithe MGs, Triumphs and Lotuses – and many more – that used to hare around the countryside. Most had a fabric hood, a small-capacity engine and rear-wheel drive. They were pure, exciting and intoxicating.
Sadly, one day the era of the affordable, abundant British sports car ended and survivors from the heyday became specialists. Now the British sports car is a more hardcore affair, which means extreme perfor- mance, few compromises, along with a “that’s how we’ve always done it” mentality.
Hence Lotus keeps its cars light, Morgan continues to build them entirely by hand, Aston Martin is all about luxury and Caterham… well, Caterham continues to build the same car it’s always built: the Seven. Based (loosely) on the Lotus Seven from the Fifties, Caterham’s Seven has been in production since the early Seventies and sticks to the same set of rules that Lotus founder Colin Chapman applied to the original.
As such, it weighs very little, packs a small engine and its power is fired to the rear wheels. Caterham’s current line-up is a mass of big numbers and increasing silliness. The rangetopping 620 develops 310bhp and has a supercar-humbling 0-62mph time of 2.79 seconds; even the entrylevel 270 version is quick enough to make a grownup giggle like a child.
The 420 we have here delivers 210bhp from a 2.0-litre naturally aspirated engine, which seems enough for most people. Like the rest of the lineup, its fabric roof is attached to the body with poppers and straps. It has a prominent, racing-style battery cut-off switch. It’s already extreme enough for the majority, but those who wish to make their Seven experience even more focused can opt for the “R” pack.
Throw an “R” at the 420 and you get sports suspension, four-point racing harnesses in place of conventional inertia reel seat belts, uprated brakes, 15in alloy wheels with sticky Avon tyres and much more. Naturally, being a small British car manufacturer, there are plenty of optional extras: a wider chassis, removable steering wheel, carpeting, a heater and different seats are just a few of the things on offer.
Some people may think that driving a 585kg opentop sports car in the winter is an act of insanity. Aficionados gleefully announce: “Roof down unless the storm has a name.” These people have big coats, many fleeces and as many bobble hats as there are days between autumn and spring.
For while winter driving can be utterly miserable, in the right car at the right time it can be joyous. The countryside glows, the open road may be chilly – but that’s not a problem with the correct clothing. In theory, then, a Caterham 420R will be the perfect car to navigate the UK’s winter roads.
Theories are there to be disproved, though; the 420R appears keen to disprove this one. For starters, the “R” pack’s extra sporting pretensions and barely treaded tyres make wet roads a challenge to respect rather than relish. The throttle response is immediate, but that means overeagerness is rewarded with wheelspin if the road is remotely damp. Its ride is hard to the point of unpleasantness on all but the smoothest surfaces. Its four-point harnesses are a faff to put on as well.
Visibility in any direction other than forward is a challenge with the roof up. For one, the Seven’s wing mirrors are attached to the optional doors, and whenever you open the door it folds all the way around to the windscreen and lands on the mirror, knocking it out of alignment. And, if your roof is up you can’t lean out and adjust them yourself, so you inevitably make do with bending your neck to see whether or not you’re about to clatter any traffic on an overtake.
So it’s twitchy, noisy, uncomfortable, and hard to see out of. Hardly a dream. Well… almost. Something like a Caterham is a one per cent car – 99 per cent of the time, on a public road, it’s not doing what it was designed to do. Driving a Caterham on a motorway isn’t going to be fun. Driving in rush hour is miserable in anything, let alone a car developed for hill-climbing in the Fifties.
Find that one per cent road, though; search high and low for it. You’ll know when you’ve found it. The Caterham will be a blast. Its ultra-responsive steering is an utter delight. The 420R’s five-speed manual gearbox comes with a short throw and a pleasingly weighted clutch, making each shift a joyous experience – one that you’ll find yourself finding excuses to repeat.
And the speed is something else. It’ll manage a (comparatively) meagre 136mph top speed, according to Caterham, but it’s not the number that matters – it’s how quickly it gets there. Weighing next to nothing means that 210bhp will fire you to 62mph in fewer than four seconds – and do so savagely. Find your groove with it and the 420R, for that moment, will be the best car in the whole world.
Nothing in this life is perfect. Finding moments of joy is important for the soul, and making the winter gloom a little brighter with something exciting is essential. British sports cars, for those so inclined, are perfect things in which to do so. Such machines are built for the right conditions on the right road on the right day, and nothing more.
A car such as the Caterham is designed to delight you, to encourage you, to make you feel like something of a hero (even if you’re a ham-fisted fool).
The Caterham 420R may be a little too “specialised” for most, but for a soul-stirring blast on a winter’s day there’s nothing to touch it.
The UK during winter is beautiful, so why would you want to see it through the double-glazed windows of a Range Rover?