Caterham R500 'Top Gear's Car of the Year

CATERHAM, United Kingdom, December 16, 2008: Top Gear has named the Caterham Superlight R500 its 2008 ‘Car of the Year’.

The most extreme version of the legendary Seven appeared on the popular BBC show for the first time at the beginning of December, instantly leaving a lasting impression on presenters Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May.

In the hands of Top Gear’s mystery test driver, The Stig, the R500 put in one of the most visually spectacular laps around their benchmark test circuit, Dunsfold. Free of any driver aids, the Seven slipped and slid to a lap time that disgraced cars costing over ten times as much.

Despite incredibly cold conditions, the £37K Seven was less than a second slower than the absolute record around the ‘Top Gear lap’ and rapid enough to steal the overall fifth fastest time, previously held by the £1million Bugatti Veyron.