Caterham Superlight R300

Caterham is the first port of call for keen drivers who don't just want to blow the cobwebs away, but will vacuum them up and then redecorate, too. And the firm's latest offering is one of the most extreme ever.

The Superlight R300 might sound like a cigarette brand, but it's actually a slightly tamed version of the ultimate in Caterham Sevens, the fire-breathing ί¿½36,200 R500. The number in the names stands for the power-to-weight ratio, so the R300 weighs only 500kg and has the MG TF's 1.8-litre K-Series engine developing 160bhp.

This might prove they are not very good at maths in Surrey, but they do know the formula for making a fast car. Caterham claims the R300 will cover 0-60mph in 4.9 seconds, but when you are sitting just centimetres from the road, with a seriously anti-social exhaust barking away, it feels far faster. And the way the car zips around corners, steers and stops, reminds you why this most simple of sports car formulas remains so sought after today. But this particular model is aimed at track-day fans rather than anyone who wants to use their car for road use. The R300's engine is only happy when given full throttle, and any attempt to drive at low revs, such as when following another vehicle in traffic, makes the car kangaroo and lurch as though it's running out of petrol. Unless the road ahead is clear, driving requires delicate clutch work to prevent stalling. We suspect all but the most hardened buyers would sacrifice a few horsepower in favour of a retuned engine which is driveable at speeds below 40mph.

Yet once you do get to that circuit day, there's only one car which is likely to to catch you. And that'll be the R500.....