2022 Caterham Seven 170 revealed as world’s lightest production car

The 2022 Caterham Seven 170 has broken cover as the world’s lightest contemporary car, tipping the scales at just 440kg.

While several low-volume vehicles from the 20th century – including the Peel P50, and Gordon Murray’s 370kg LCC Rocket – were lighter, no modern production vehicle has weighed less (though the electric Renault Twizy comes close, at 450kg).

A 660cc turbocharged straight-three Suzuki petrol engine sends a modest 62kW/116Nm to the rear wheels via a five-speed manual transmission.

While that may seem underwhelming for a sports car, the low-capacity Kei car powertrain is instrumental in keeping the total weight down, giving the car a power-to-weight ratio comparable to that of the 3.0-litre straight-six 2021 BMW Z4 M40i.

This allows the 0-100km/h sprint to be completed in a claimed 6.9 seconds, on the way to a top speed “in excess” of 160km/h.

The 170 – which is Caterham’s first model introduced under its new Japanese owners, albeit with an underlying design dating back to the late 1950s – will be available as either a kit car or built-at-the-factory ‘turn key’ model.

Two variants are on offer: a road-ready ‘170S,’ and a stripped-back, track-focused ‘170R’.

The former is fitted with a full windscreen, canvas roof, side screens, and black leather seats, while the latter picks up a sport suspension pack, composite race seats, four-point harnesses, a limited-slip differential, and a carbon-fibre dashboard.

Four paint colours are on offer as no-cost options: red, blue, gold, and green.

In kit form, the 170S will start from £22,990 ($AU45,000) in the UK. Drive has reached out to the Australian distributor for Caterham, to find if a local launch is planned. This story will be updated when more information becomes available.