The One-Off Caterham CSR GT – Developed By A Former Sauber F1 Designer

This is the Caterham CSR GT, it’s the only one that was ever built, and it was developed by a former Sauber F1 Team designer as a 21st century version of the iconic Caterham 7 sports car.

The Caterham 7 is a car that needs no introduction, it offers one of the purest driving experiences in the world and it’s been in constant production since 1957, when it started out as the Lotus Seven.

Fast Facts – The Caterham CSR GT

• The Caterham CSR GT is a one-of-a-kind car designed on the Caterham CSR 200 platform. It was developed as a futuristic take on the core Caterham/Lotus 7 design, with a hardtop coupe body style making it ideal for use as a GT car.
• The Caterham CSR 200 underpinnings remain largely unchanged, which is a good thing as the CSR was a significantly updated 7 design with an improved chassis, suspension, braking, and engine options.
• The CSR 200 is capable of a 3.7 second 0-60 mph time, power is provided by a 2.3 Ford Cosworth engine that sends power to the rear wheels via a 6-speed gearbox.
• The Caterham CSR GT is currently for sale in a live online auction, it has just 8,365 kms on the odometer, and it’s being sold out of Zurich, Switzerland.

The Caterham CSR 200

When the Caterham CSR 200 and its sister car, the CSR 260, were released in 2005 they represented the single biggest re-engineering of the 7 platform in its then almost 50 year history.

The Caterham CSR GT was designed as a futuristic take on the timeless styling of the Caterham 7, with a fixed hardtop for year-round motoring.

The CSRs had a newly designed chassis with uprated suspension, uprated brakes, an improved interior, and a drivetrain based around the high-performance dry sump Cosworth-tuned Duratec 2.3 liter inline-four cylinder engine.

Power is sent back through a 6-speed manual gearbox to the independently suspended rear wheels, and the car can manage the 0-60 mph dash in just 3.7 seconds.

Due to its low curb weight of just 575 kgs (1,268 lbs) and its high power-to-weight ratio, the CSR 200 is more than capable of trouncing many supercars on the road and on the track – despite the fact that it costs significantly less.

The Caterham CSR GT

The project to build the Caterham CSR GT started when the then-current Sauber F1 Team designer in Switzerland saw the new CSR 200 and decided to give it a modern exterior, to better suit its modern underpinnings.

The interior has cosy seating for two with alcantara upholstery, it’s left hand drive and it has a close-ratio 6-speed gearbox.

He sketched out a futuristic design with a hardtop coupe body style, integrated front and rear fenders, and fixed headlights that are integrated into the hood/bonnet.

The design doesn’t look like a Caterham 7/Lotus Seven type car when you first see it, though when you learn that it’s based on the 7 chassis the design begins to make a little more sense.

The interior is tastefully finished in blue with black alcantara, it’s left hand drive, and it has unusual scissor doors that open up and forwards.

Once the original design was completed the car was built in Switzerland by the H.M.C. Helvetic Motor Company, and the project was completed in 2013. The car now has just 8,365 kms on the odometer.

If you’d like to read more about this unusual Caterham or register to bid you can visit the listing here.

The auction is due to start soon (at the time of writing), and the price estimate is €25,000 – €70,000 which works out to approximately $26,800 – 75,000 USD.

The 3.3 liter Cosworth-tuned Duratec engine produces 200 bhp gibing the car an excellent power-to-weigh ratio given the low curb weight of just 575 kgs (1,268 lbs).

Images courtesy of The Market by Bonhams

Ben has had his work featured on CNN, Popular Mechanics, Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, and many more.

Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with millions of readers around the world and many hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.