CATERHAM Seven 160 - 2014

Caterham Seven 160 (2014–2017) arrived as the cheekiest way into Caterham ownership in a generation. Announced in late 2013 with UK deliveries from 2014, it took the Seven recipe right back to first principles: very little power, even less weight and masses of feel. The number in its name reflected Caterham’s familiar metric of power‑to‑weight; at roughly 490 kg and around 80 bhp, the 160 landed close to 160 bhp per tonne.

The masterstroke was its heart: Suzuki’s 660 cc turbocharged three‑cylinder (R06A), a kei‑car engine repurposed for British B‑roads. With an intercooler, a five‑speed Suzuki gearbox and a short final drive, it made a modest 80 bhp but a usefully chunky 107 Nm, so it spooled eagerly and whistled delightfully. In a break from recent Caterham practice, the 160 reintroduced a live rear axle (with trailing arms and a Panhard rod) to keep costs and mass down. Skinny 155‑section tyres on 14‑inch steel wheels unlocked old‑school slip angles at road speeds. Claimed numbers—0–60 mph in about 6.5 seconds and a 100 mph top end—hardly told the story of how alive it felt at 30.

Positioned as the entry Seven—sold as a self‑assembly kit from about £14,995 or factory‑built from roughly £17,995 at launch—the 160 broadened the brand’s reach just as emissions and budgets were tightening. For continental Europe there was the closely related, EU‑type‑approved Seven 165, with near‑identical outputs but different calibration to meet regulations. Period road tests from Autocar, evo and TopGear.com all praised the 160 for being huge fun at legal speeds, its gentle breakaway on those narrow tyres, and the way it re‑centred Caterham’s ethos of interaction over outright numbers.

Competition on paper included base‑spec Mazda MX‑5s and entry‑level Westfields, but few rivals matched the Caterham’s blend of featherweight agility and everyday mechanical simplicity. The 160 also had a cultural moment: enthusiasts loved that its engine came from the world of Japanese kei cars, and its turbine‑whistle/three‑cylinder thrum became a talking point across forums and YouTube reviews. Curiously, the live axle—long abandoned by most sports cars—was celebrated here for its honesty and the way it kept the chassis playful.

Production ran to 2017 for the UK‑market 160, with discontinuation driven by tightening emissions rules and supply realities. Its spirit lived on: in 2021 Caterham launched the Seven 170, again with a Suzuki 660 turbo, even lighter and cleaner, effectively picking up the baton. In brand terms the 160 was a strategic success—an accessible, characterful gateway that reminded a new generation that the smallest numbers can deliver the biggest grins.