Goodwood Test: Caterham Super Seven 600 2023 Review

Caterham is a pretty unique brand within the motoring industry. In 2023 it celebrates 50 years of production, but the car it builds and sells today is largely indistinguishable from where the company started in 1973.

The Caterham Seven has long been celebrated as a driver’s car, stripped down to the bare bones and engineered specifically to bring feel and engagement to the one behind the wheel. For half a century, this great British brand has held down a special place in the hearts of many a car enthusiast.

But that’s not to say that Caterham has stood still on its laurels and cashed in on a formula that has proven itself timeless. Oh no. With each passing year, those clever souls come up with a new formula to tingle our senses, and this time it’s the Caterham Super Seven 600, a car that has very quickly become my new favourite toy.

With a substantial nod towards the heritage of the Seven, the new Super Sevens hark back to the originals in look and feel, and in this 600 form, it delivers spectacularly.

Little else on the road is so instantly recognisable as a Caterham. You don’t see them around often, but there's no mistaking those classic aesthetics and diminutive dimensions. It’s a pretty thing, with beauty born of its simplicity.

The entire car is made up of a single oblong shape that stretches ahead of the cockpit, with a pair of flared wheel arches sweeping back under the windscreen. In an age of motoring so often lambasted for a lack of variety, this Caterham sticks out as a truly unique and special piece of design.

There’s an artistry to engineering, so to have the front suspension fully visible is a treat, as is the glint of that tubular exhaust bolted onto the side to complete that glorious classic racer look.

Exclusive to the Super Seven range is a selection of colours you won’t find elsewhere in the Caterham line-up. They’re all geared towards a more vintage vibe, so you have a lovely deep brown, a green, a deep blue and ‘Fawn’, which is a kind of creamy beige.

Where to start? If you’ve ever professed to enjoy driving, you haven’t experienced the true thrill of getting behind the wheel until you’ve had a go in one of these. Climbing into the tiny standard chassis is something of a shock. Once you’ve managed to lower yourself down into the driving seat you realise it’s not just the seat that’s tight. The pedal box is also minuscule, to the point where you’ll need to spend some time getting a feel for where you need to put your feet because it can be a little awkward trying to squeeze your left foot onto the clutch without kicking your other foot off the brake pedal.

But once you do get the hang of it, those pedals are utterly joyous. The fact they are so small and so cramped makes them incredibly tight, with complete feel through the throttle, brakes and clutch. There’s absolutely zero play, if you apply pressure to either pedal, you will get a response. The brakes feel solid, like a racing car, it hardly moves, which makes for a wonderful feel as you increase pressure. It’s also a perfect setup for heel and toe, which is something nobody can ever complain about.

Then there’s a steering wheel. Which is tiny, to go with the rest of the car, and again just feels like it’s been wound up tight. It’s horribly heavy at a near standstill when you’re trying to park and the like, but at speed, it lightens up perfectly. Lock to lock takes fewer than two turns of the wheel, and the responsiveness is akin to driving with your mind. Think about turning, and those front wheels will reach for the apex.

It’s all so well connected; you feel like an integral cog in the machine. There’s nothing going on in the 600 apart from the inputs you’re making. There is the occasional moment, though, where this incredibly lightweight machine does get coerced by the road surface, especially some of the broken-up disaster areas we have here in post-winter Britain, the larger bumps can cause the car to become quite unsettled if you’re mid-corner, it tends to skitter and rebalance itself rather than throw you into an unsavable slide.

It's the engine, however, which is the true party piece of this Super Seven 600. It’s a 660cc turbocharged Suzuki three-cylinder, and it’s the perfect choice for this car. The sound of the three-pot hits a note that matches the enthusiasm of the car’s performance, especially as it thrums through 6,500rpm. It’s smooth, hearty and with 85PS (63kW) actually plenty powerful enough for a car that weighs only 460kg. Launching from 0-62mph takes 6.9 seconds, which is quicker than a Mazda MX-5, and in a car that puts you so close to the road, it feels far from sluggish.

It’s easy to make the most of it, too, and because it revs so keenly, and delivers its power so smoothly, you’re constantly reaching for the gear lever, which is yet another big, big tick for the 600. It’s connected to a five-speed gearbox, which has one of the shortest throws I’ve ever experienced on a road car. It’s less of a throw and more a flick, as you rattle up and the down the gears. And while it’s slick and snappy, it’s also wonderfully mechanical. You can feel and hear all of the elements as they click into place, which is just another level of engagement that engulfs you every metre of the way.

Beyond all of that, though, it’s the turbo that truly seals the deal on the Super Seven 600. Sure, you may have driven turbocharged cars before, they’re everywhere now, to be honest, but it’s rare that a car delivers a soundtrack that could compare with the very best comedians for laughs per minute. For a start, the turbo is tucked right in behind the bulkhead, so the sound of the air rushing through it fills the cabin whenever you apply some throttle. The blow-off when changing gear is remarkable, and turbo flutter is on demand whenever you fancy another smile. For such a tiny car, there is more enjoyment to be had here than there is in so many other more complicated, expensive and sought-after cars.

Sticking with the theme of simplicity and heritage, the interior of the Caterham is as minimalist as it comes, and in the best possible way. Considering how small this space is, it’s been laid out extremely efficiently. It is a tight squeeze, but when you’re in it feels like it’s been built for you. The transmission tunnel doubles up as an armrest, but you will find yourself tucking those elbows in when you’re pushing on.

The cabin consists of two leather seats and a leather steering wheel as standard fixtures, while the leather-lined cockpit and dashboard are well worth ticking on the options list. It’s basic and devoid of tech, but it’s by no means a horrid place to be.

The windscreen, and those incredibly quirky but surprisingly useful wipers, still look as though they’re the same as they were 50 years ago, which is no bad thing. The leather side screens don’t feel particularly sturdy, but with the addition of the armrests that pop into place on either side of the tub, they do at least have a comfort function. The wing mirrors that are bolted onto those side screens are ultimately useless, while you can see colours in them, the vibrations make it pretty difficult to actually see what’s behind you.

It's a suitable reflection of the ethos Caterham is working with – an experience focused on the driving. While some of the edges may have smoothed since the original Sevens of the ‘70s, the look and feel of these cars has not changed a bit.

If there was to be one area of complaint with this car, it would be the heat that builds up in the cabin. There’s insulation from the engine, and much of the hot air that builds is blown straight into your face. Much of it is focused towards the centre between you and your passenger, which is considerate, but can also lead to the gearstick becoming almost unusable as it heats up to an alarming temperature. This can become somewhat unbearable if you’re driving for much more than half an hour with the roof up.

That being said, this car is still surprisingly comfy. Sure it’s low and stiff and set up to corner with ultimate precision, but the tight cabin works to hold you tightly in place, so much so that the bumps somehow feel less jarring than they might in a larger sportscar. If you’re planning to spend a fair few Sunday afternoons cruising through countryside villages, this Super Seven 600 is a complete delight.

That stark lack of technology is unsurprising but enormously refreshing. There are no imposing screens or computers here, no glaring digital dashboards or obnoxious lane-keeping assist. All you have to look at is a simple row of tactile switches and gauges that all click and flick with a satisfying snap.

From left to right, you have a hazard light switch, fog lights, a fuel gauge, windscreen demister, heater fan, temperature and oil pressure gauges, switches for screen wash, windscreen wipers and indicators. There’s also a starter button, rev counter and speedometer, with switches for headlights, full beam and the horn behind the steering wheel.

There’s no denying the Super Seven 600 is best experienced with the roof down, this car was built to be an open cockpit machine, but with the addition of the soft top roof, this is a genuinely useable car in all conditions. Getting the roof on and off is far from a slick process, with a fair amount of effort required to stretch the material over the top of the roll hoop, and we imagine that the finger pain of having to secure the industrial strength poppers will ease over time as you get used to it.

If there is a lifestyle available that can accommodate the use of a Caterham Super Seven 600 as a daily driver, I want it. But realistically this little toy is going to sit alongside a more practical car. If you’re in a position to make a purchase on a second car, though, then this is one that you should definitely consider.

There are few other driving experiences on offer that engage quite like this. There are faster cars, more technologically advanced cars, and better-sounding engines, but there are very few alternatives that come together in such a perfect package.

Driving something as lightweight as this is a unique feeling only really comparable to a kart. With those tiny pedals, the snappy gearshift, and relentless turbo flutter, this car will very quickly steal your heart, and imagining life without it doesn’t bear thinking about.