As far as driver's cars are concerned, it rarely gets better than a well-sorted Caterham. The pictured Seven isn't your usual Seven, though, for it's a truly one-off spec built in collaboration with the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force to raise money for injured servicemen and women.
To be auctioned by the folks at Collecting Cars between August 15 and September 12, this fellow is unique for its aeronautical theme. For starters, the paint job is a tribute to the Puma HC2, a medium support helicopter that's capable of carrying 2 tons of stuff, 12 equipped troops, or 16 passengers. This variant of the Aerospatiale SA 330 Puma can also be fitted with stretchers (up to six) for medical or casualty evacuation.
Officially dubbed Puma HC.Mk 2 by the RAF, said version took to the skies for operational trials in 2013. Following the Mk 2 upgrade, it returned to full operational service in 2015. Based at RAF Benson, the Puma HC2 is operated by 230 Squadron, 28 Squadron, and 33 Squadron.
To be displayed at the British Grand Prix this weekend, the one-of-a-kind sports car uses exterior and interior components from XW232. Said heli entered service back in 1972, and the reason why the RAF accepted to donate parts to Caterham is rather obvious. Naturally, it reached the end of its service life with the RAF.
What kind of components did Caterham use for this four-wheeled thriller? The list starts with the aluminum doors, tail boom, and internal rear bulkhead. The aircraft's quilted soundproofing material was repurposed for the door panels of the Seven 360R, as well as the transmission tunnel top and to pad the carbon-fiber seats.
Photo: Caterham
Cooler still, the heli's evacuation instructions are stitched into the lining of said carbon seats. Under the hood, you'll find a 12-volt battery housed within an ammunition box. The regular dashboard of the Seven 360R also suffered a few military-themed changes, with Caterham repurposing the navigation clock as the centerpiece of the satin-black dashboard.
The three-stage ignition sequence is a nod to the Puma as well. Assembled by Caterham with help from serving personnel from RAF Benson, the Seven 360R proudly wears the names of those involved in the project on the hood. "It has been an honor to be a part of the Caterham project," said Corporal McCreadie. "As an aircraft technician, I volunteered my time to remove the decommissioned materials from the Puma."
It's nigh-on impossible to estimate how much this exact car will fetch at auction, but we do know that a bone-stock Seven 360 is £38,490 from the outset. £1,000 is the retail price of the R package, resulting in £39,490 or just around $50,540 at current exchange rates. Of course, this vehicle's track suspension and other go-faster goodies add a few more pounds sterling to the final price.
The beating heart of this lightweight sports car is the 2.0-liter Duratec from Dearborn's favorite son, tuned to 180 ps and 194 Nm in this application. Weighing in at 565 kilos or 1,246 pounds if you prefer the imperial system, that's 307 ps per ton or 303 hp per ton. Pictured on Toyo R888R performance rubber wrapped around 13-inch black alloy wheels, the manual-equipped 360R needs 4.8 seconds to reach 60 mph (97 kph), onto a top speed of 130 mph (210 kph).
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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