This limited edition Caterham Seven CSR Twenty costs… £80k

In celebration of Caterham’s hardly-talked-about-anymore CSR chassis - which first appeared on a Seven in 2005 and is therefore approaching its 20th birthday - the company has revealed this limited edition CSR Twenty.

What makes it unique is that the chassis (which Caterham calls its ‘most compliant’ - read pointy) is offered together with the 420’s 2.0-litre Ford Duratec engine for the first time.

That four-pot is Caterham’s most popular, you see, producing 210bhp and redlining at 7,600rpm. 0-62mph takes but 3.9 seconds and the top speed is stamped at 136mph.

The CSR Twenty also features inboard front and independent rear suspension to make the steering as direct as possible and the rear end as grippy as possible. And combined with the willing-but-not-620R-levels-of-rapidness? We like. The gearbox is a five-speed manual, of course, with ventilated front brakes and quad-piston calipers.

It’s also “without doubt the most premium Seven we’ve ever built”, reckons Caterham boss Bob Laishley.  To that end the dashboard gets a satin carbon finish, a leather tunnel top, and Alcantara on the gearstick, handbrake and gaiters.

Meanwhile the seats are fitted with ‘premium’ leather, boasting yet more Alcantara, red stitching and of course CSR Twenty logos. You also get a numbered plaque for your one-of-twenty Twenty, plush black carpets (you lucky thing) and a leather Momo steering wheel.

Outside, the CSR Twenty gets a nose cone in the style of a 620, there are LED lights front and rear and those 15in alloys are exclusive to this edition of the Seven. Hmm. An acquired taste, perhaps?

Two colour choices are offered: Kinetic Grey and Dynamic Silver. What, no Movement Maroon?

The price is… punchy. Very punchy. It costs £79,995, which is a lot when you think a base 420 starts from £42,000. And your one-of-20 Twenty is actually a one-of-40 Twenty, as 20 cars have also been earmarked for the US.

“When you combine this with the exhilarating and engaging handling of our CSR chassis, this really is a Caterham built for longer distance road trips,” says Laishley.

“It’s a vehicle that truly celebrates 20 years of our CSR chassis and I’m proud to see it being hand built here in our new Dartford factory.”