Lucky Lotus 7

Check out this cute little Lotus 7 I spotted parked along Washington in the North Loop today.  The 7 is a prime example of what Lotus automobiles are about: speed and agility through lightness.   This was accomplished though the small size of the vehicle, a lack of gadgets and doo-dads that would add weight, and the use of aluminum for the body panels, which weighs considerably less than an identical panel done in steel.    As production cars go, a Lotus is probably the closest to feeling, performing, and handling like a go cart. 

The Lotus 7 was sold from 1957-1972, and even after Lotus stopped making them, one could still acquire a 7 through a company that bought the rights and the leftover parts for the 7.  That company is called Caterham, and to this day, they can sell you a 7 as a kit car or fully assembled.  That’s appropriate though, because Lotus originally operated as a kind of unassembled kit car company in order to avoid some British tax surcharges.

  Originally, the 7 featured a 1,172 cc or approximately 1.2L I4 engine that whipped up only 40 HP.  With a car this small and light, though, 40 HP is not a bad start.  There were, of course upgrades along the way to accommodate racing needs.  The kits you can buy nowadays, both from Caterham and a host of other replica companies can offer a vehicle that you can supply with more power and performance via newer engines like a Honda Vtec I4, or any of a wide array of available 4 cylinders.  I bet it would be a real rocket with one of Ford’s Ecoboost engines under the hood -and it wouldn’t be too much of a sacrilege to do so considering the original Lotus 7 power plant came from Ford in the first place.  Ford even has a 1.0L 3 cylinder engine that can zing 123 HP.  I bet if Lotus had been able to plant such a powerful little monster into its original 7’s back in the day, they would have been all over that.  But, if we want to keep in the spirit of 4 cylinders, there’s always the 2.0L Ecoboost that graces the engine compartment of the Focus ST and provides 247 HP to zip around with. 

I looked around a bit, and it seems that one can buy an example of an original Lotus 7 for between $35,000 and $40,000, based on the Hemmings ads I‘ve managed to scrounge up.  Remember, that gets you something vintage and precious with anything from 40 HP on up depending on how it’s configured.  If it’s faster fun you’re looking for, then I’d suggest a kit version.  Caterham, which is licensed to use the Lotus name and badging, can hook you up with a rolling chassis 7 kit for $29,580 and you supply the engine and transmission… oh yeah, and you put it together, too.  That sure seems like its getting awfully close to what you’d pay for an original, doesn’t it?  There’s another outfit in the game as well that offers similar authenticity to Caterham.  It’s a company called Birkin.  They managed to get their hands on the original tooling for the 7, and their kits are very close to the original 7 as well.  Pricing seems to be about the same, and you can pay a company in Texas to do the assembly work for you if you don’t feel like getting your hands dirty.  There are a bunch of other kit car companies that offer versions of the Lotus 7, sans licensed emblems and such, of course, and the prices will vary a bit.

I don’t know if the 7 I saw today was original or a Caterham kit, but either way, it called out to me like a bright little beacon from its parking spot along  Washington.  This isn’t some Pontiac Fiero that’s been decked out to look like a Ferrari.  There’s no shame in having a Lotus 7 kit car, because the kit element is part of this car’s heritage.  Personally, I’d love to try assembling one.  How awesome would that be to own and drive a car that you know down to the nuts and bolts because you built it with your own two hands?  What a fantastic (albeit, expensive) learning experience it would be!