U.K.-based Caterham has lifted the veil off of the Superlight R600 sports car. Billed as the fastest Seven-based model the small automaker has ever built, it is also the first of its Seven-derived cars to feature forced induction.
The Superlight R600 was designed to be used exclusively on the race track so Caterham did not bother to equip it with features such as headlights, a windshield and turn signals. Instead, the car comes standard with a welded roll cage and a racing harness.
Under the R600's long hood lies a Ford-sourced 2.0-liter Duratec four-cylinder engine which is fed by a supercharger. Linked to a six-speed sequential gearbox, it sends 279 horsepower and 200 lb-ft. of torque to the rear wheels via a limited slip differential.
Caterham did not release any performance statistics but the car's 1,135-pound weight speaks volumes. It is expected to outgun even the Superlight R500, which sprinted from zero to 60 mph in a Ferrari-like 2.9 seconds and went on to an electronically-limited top speed of 150 mph.
Designed for track use only, the Superlight R600 will carry a base price of £44,995 (about $73,800) when it goes on sale in the U.K. Caterham will kick off a model-specific race series next year and expects about 15 cars to line up at the starting grid. Â
At the time of writing it is not clear whether or not the R600 will spawn a street-legal model.
