Lotus Seven

The Lotus Seven is a sports car produced by the British manufacturer Lotus Cars (initially called Lotus Engineering) between 1957 and 1973. The Seven is an open-wheel car with two seats and an open top. It was designed by Lotus founder Colin Chapman and has been considered the embodiment of the Lotus philosophy of performance through low weight and simplicity. The original model was highly successful with more than 2,500 cars sold, due to its attraction as a road legal car that could be used for clubman racing. After Lotus ended production of the Seven in 1973, Caterham bought the rights and today Caterham makes both kits and fully assembled cars based on the original design known as the Caterham 7. The Lotus Seven design has spawned a host of imitations on the kit car market, generally called Sevens or Sevenesque roadsters.