I went to Caterham Cars’ annual open day at their Crawley, West Sussex showroom recently along with about 450 souls, either Seven owners, would-be owners or general enthusiasts.

The company enjoyed their best ever year in 2016 with sales of 650 units and have the ground running in 2017, with over 200 Sevens sold thus far.

As a result of their burgeoning order book waiting lists have expanded accordingly with factory built cars not available until late March 2018 (if you order now) and a six-month wait for kit-form Sevens.

This is all good news for the Seven, which celebrates its SIXTIETH ANNIVERSARY in 2017 although it did surprise me to discover that the best-selling model in the range isn’t the entry-level Classic 160 rather it’s the top-of-the-range 620S, a Seven that commands a price-tag of at least £55,000 before options…

Meanwhile, the company’s hierarchy remains tight-lipped about celebration plans to mark the big birthday but I think it safe to say we can expect something suitably special to be unveiled at this year’s Goodwood Revival – maybe more than one!

The current UK range consists of 160 (Suzuki engine), 270 310 (both Ford Sigma) 360, 420 and 620 (all Ford Duratec-powered) with most available in kit form, wide body and ‘S’ or ‘R’ variants…incidentally, the determine the horsepower of each model just halve the number. Therefore the ‘160’ has 80bhp and the ‘620’ has 310bhp. Simples…

More from www.caterhamcars.com or 01293 312 300 ENDS.