The special edition Caterham Seven by Lambretta features a special Union Jack paint scheme, matched inside on the dashboard, carpets and leather seats. A classic Moto-Lita steering wheel and the requisite special Lambretta logos complete the package, motivated by a 125-horsepower 1.6-liter four sourced from Ford and mated to a five-speed gearbox. The special edition is available to British customers for £26,995, or about $42k in equivalent American funds.
Naturally it was very, very fast. One magazine recoded a 0 to 60 mph (96 km/h) time just 3.4 seconds, while another managed a 0 to 100 mph (0 to 160 km/h) run in just 12 seconds, three seconds faster than a Ferrari F40. Although docile at lower speeds, the 150 mph (240 km/h) JPE was no car for the novice. Buyers under 25 years of age had to take a high performance driving course before they could take delivery.
The JPE was the ultimate Lotus Seven. Stripped of all unnecessary weight, it was designed to give the sensation of Formula One driving on the road. For once, cost irrelevant, giving Caterham’s engineers a chance to use the best of everything in the name of ultimate performance. At the car’s heart was a $13,000 Group two Touring Car specification Vauxhall 2 liter engine delivering 250 bhp, which meant a power to weight ratio of 472 bhp per ton. Power went through a Quaife straight out close ratio gearbox. To keep the weight down, carbon fiber and Kevlar were widely used in the construction and it even without such nice ties as widescreen wipers and a widescreen. Fine tuning of the design was completed by ex Formula One Driver Jonathan Palmer, hence the name JE (Jonathan Palmer Evolution) and with its wild fluorescent color scheme, the car got a lot of attention in the press. It has awesome four cylinder with 2000cc engine. Steel space frame chassis and Disc brakes make this excellent ride fully controllable.