Caterham Seven 360 2023 Review | Goodwood Test

When it comes to deliberating on the ultimate driver’s car, in my mind I’m looking for something that’s going to make every journey feel special, at the same time making me feel intrinsically involved in the process of getting from A to B. Of everything I’ve driven so far in 2023, too many cars to count at this point, there is nothing quite like Caterham Seven for its limitless charm and enthralling driving experience.

Coming in towards the lower middle of the Seven range, we have the Caterham Seven 360. The cheapest Caterham available with the larger and more powerful 2.0-litre Ford engine, it represents the entry level into the more hardcore performance compared to what you get with the tamer, but no less entertaining 660cc three-cylinder.

The 360 also offers a far wider range of specification. You can choose from two base packs, the 360S or the 360R, and from there the possibilities are broad as to how you shape your toy for the road. Whether you’re geared more towards comfort and general road use, or you’d rather cut the nonsense and maximise track performance, you can configure the car to match your intentions.

When it comes to outright performance, the 360 is far from the most powerful Caterham you can buy, but as I’ve discovered with these cars in the past, the thrill is not necessarily in the speed. So how does this compare?

If you’ve seen a Caterham before, you’ve seen this car too. If you haven’t seen one before, then by seeing this one, you’ve pretty much seen them all. What you have is a diminutive open cockpit, open wheel sportscar from the 1950s, ‘60s and '70s that has been immortalised by Caterham for the best part of 50 years.

It was originally based on the Lotus Seven, but when Lotus Cars decided it wanted to focus on its racing and high-end sportscars the rights to this lightweight kit car were sold to Caterham in 1973. Since then, the car has remained virtually unchanged, aside from the occasional upgrade to the chassis, namely the introduction of the more accommodating SV body in 2000.

You can see why Caterham has opted not to mess with the style of the Seven. It’s timeless, utterly beautiful, and now more than ever completely unique. There is nothing else like this that you can buy brand new on the road today, it’s a testament to Caterham that such a niche car continues to sell in viable volumes.

It’s not just in the looks at the Caterham Seven stands out from the rest of its contemporaries in the market today. There’s nothing else around right now that offers the same feel from the driving seat either.

And it is all about feel here. The sensation of sitting so low inside a sportscar that connects you to the road via wonderfully mechanical steering and suspension is addictive, to the point where my list of excuses for driving the car went from implausible to downright suspicious.

The Caterham Seven presents a multi-sensory experience. Alongside the sensations of G-force as you drive, you can see the suspension working, you can hear the gears disengage and then re-engage as you shift up and down the box, you can smell the heat from the engine.

In the case of the 360, that engine is the 2.0-litre naturally aspirated four-cylinder Ford Duratec found elsewhere in the Caterham range. It’s just as loud and guttural here as it is in the likes of the Super Seven 2000, producing 183PS (136kW) for a top speed of 130mph. All of that power is hidden away right at the top of the rev range however, which means only one thing, you have to wring its neck at all times if you want to make the most of it. Fortunately, in a car that weighs little more than half a tonne, it’s a simple exercise to get this car into its favoured 6,000rpm-plus.

The roar of the engine is substantial. That blast from the exhaust never really gets old, particularly when you put the pedal to the floor. It makes powering away from a standstill from a standstill utterly addictive, although the noise can get a little tiresome at cruising speeds, that exhaust is incredibly close to your right ear.

You’ll want to be stretching the legs of this engine, because the more you hit the red line, the more you’ll need to change gears with that sumptuous five-speed manual gearbox. It’s slick and snappy, and pops satisfyingly into gear without any fuss. The clutch is wafer thin, but the feel through the pedal is so good you can get to grips with it very quickly, and when you do, the whole experience of driving this car hits a new level of fun.

The main difference between the 360 in S or R spec is in the suspension. Opting for the R pack opens the door for you to fit stiffer track or race suspension. We tried out the track suspension on our R model, and the chassis became noticeably less compliant, teeth chatteringly so as it crashed over bumps and generally struggled to deal with standard road conditions. You might consider a jagged ride fair compromise for cornering that is certainly far more direct, and bound to offer substantial performance improvements if you venture onto the track.

For day-to-day use, there is no better choice than to stick with the sports suspension, which we tested as an optional addition on our S spec car, and it was certainly far better suited to driving on the road, while the Caterham’s inherent cornering ability was far from scuppered in return for a less jarring ride.

In my eyes, a car that’s this enjoyable to drive needs little more than three pedals, a steering wheel, and an arrow to tell you how fast you’re going. With that in mind, Caterham’s somewhat limited interior is pretty much perfect.

It’s inside the car that most of the differences between the S and R packs show themselves as well. However, you needn’t get too caught up in which pack offers what, because in the majority of cases everything you can find on one car is available as an option on the other. The main differences are in the standard specs.

In S guise, the 360 comes fitted with extremely comfortable leather seats, while the R comes with tight fitting composite race seats. I actually found the increased support from the lighter race seats to be the better choice, because while the leather alternatives are softer on the old derrière, you are prone to being chucked around a little more when cornering.

The leather in the S extends onto the transmission tunnel and dashboard, whereas the R is swathed in carbon-fibre and Caterham’s distinct ‘carbon leather’. You also get the four-point race harness, standard in the R, optional in the S, which is cool but also a little unwarranted if your only intention with this car is to enjoy a blast to the pub over the weekend.

Among the ‘features’ I found, particularly in the stiffer R model, the rev counter gets stuck every now and again, presumably when you hit a particularly harsh bump, so there were times when the sound of the engine was the only indicator as to when to change gear, talk about immersive.

Aside from the sticky rev needle, technology on the Caterham 360 is limited to mechanical engineering rather than electronics. Firstly, there’s the option of a quick-release steering wheel available as a £200 option in both S and R packs, unlike the race harness, which is a little time consuming to strap yourself in and out of, the removable wheel is an enjoyable party trick that frankly never gets old.

There are two substantial reasons why you would opt for the R pack over the S, and that’s the availability of a limited-slip differential and a lightweight flywheel. Having driven both setups, the outcome of these additions is noticeable, to the point where I had to ask whether there was actually any performance difference between the two. There isn’t, but the response from the engine, and the inputs through a corner feel far more direct. It feels like a quicker car, and the driving experience becomes that little bit more tangible.

You can also adjust the look of the Caterham through a host of carbon-fibre options, the front and rear wheel arches and nosecone can all be finished in carbon, while there is also the option of sticking a rather obnoxious looking roll cage on the top for that extra racy appearance, which may actually be preferable if you’re planning on hammering round the track on the regular.