Caterham SP/300R

Whether you intend to use the SP/300R as a toy or in Caterham’s one-make series, it will provide a challenge for even the most extreme track day fans. It’s a physical car to drive, but one that’s not nearly as intimidating as it looks – especially when you up the pace and let the aero package do its job. This is Caterham doing what it does best.

Caterham has always been a small-scale company, but lately it’s gained some clout. It now has a Formula One team named after it, and this is its first all-new model for nearly 20 years.

The SP/300R is aimed at track day enthusiasts who want to take their hobby more seriously. It weighs just 600kg and behind the driver is a 300bhp supercharged 2.0-litre Ford engine – giving the new car a power to weight ratio in Bugatti Veyron territory.

Slide into the reclined driving seat, fasten the six-point harness, flick a toggle switch upwards and the engine rumbles into life. You use the clutch to pull away jerkily in first, but from then on it’s like driving any other paddleshift car.

The first things to hit you are the violent acceleration and brutal gearshifts. The steering is heavy, too, so you need every ounce of strength to muscle the SP/300R around corners.

But the faster you go, the more friendly it becomes. Gearshifts happen in a blink, the steering gains delicacy and the full aero package (which delivers 450kg of downforce at 155mph) squeezes you into the tarmac. The brakes are sensational, too, hauling off the speed lap after lap with no sign of fade.

Yes, the SP/300R is a costly toy, but look at it this way: for the price of a Porsche 911 GT3 RS for road and track use, you could buy one of these and then pick up something more comfortable to get from A to B.