77R500

Makes sense My experience agrees with Gert's observation. After playing around with various Caterham options, I've found that the combination of half-doors, the full-width aero-screen (i.e., no windshield), and tonneau over the passenger compartment drastically cuts wind buffeting. I don't even think about it any more. I also have the lowered floor and shell bucket seats, which help because I'm over 6' tall.

Its a funny comparison. My S1 Elise with the top on is harder to get into than my Caterham, so hard that I don't see how Lotus can sell them in the US and I'm skinny, but once inside the Elise is roomier all around than the Seven. Anyone used to a seven considering an Elise should look at the S1 Motorsport variants that Lotus USA imported back when. Setup is important, but the driving experience will probably be more satisfying than the fed Elise.

Its helpful to distinguish between car marketing vs. club functions. Particular car ownership shouldn't be a requirement for a club intended to provide for social interaction among Lotus 7 fans. And there's no need to describe any car, beyond saying its the Lotus 7 Fan Club. On the other hand, ownership of a particular car is important in a club intended to provide mutual technical assistance among its members. So a club intending, for example, to foster Lotus 7 technical support needs Lotus 7 owners as members. But here again, there's no need to describe anything beyond saying its the Lotus 7 Owners Club. Trying to describe cars in a way that links them to a recognized legend like the Lotus 7 is just car marketing. And why does a club want to bother with that?

Very true, a Caterham is not a Lotus, its a Caterham. The name Rotus is obviously a play on Lotus, but that says nothing about the car itself. The reality is that there are many, many, many front-mid-engined sports/racing car designs in the world, but very, very few, perhaps only four counting Lotus, that directly mimic the Lotus 7. Others that claim linkage to the 7 claim that they've come up with a better way to do it. Nothing wrong with that, but its not the same. Don't think that's being "uber-purist", just accurate.

Funny thing is that Caterham is not Lotus 7 or a car inspired by Lotus 7. Nearn bought the Lotus 7 tooling, parts, and the design rights from Chapman, and continued making, and evolving, the same car. And really the only cars truely inspired by Lotus 7 are Birkin and Westfield, and they have the legal bills to prove it.