The Lotus 7 has long been a living legend in the sports car world. Since its debut in 1957, Colin Chapman's diminutive roadster has been one of the gold-standards by which automotive agility and sheer driving pleasure is judged against. By 1973, Lotus sold off the rights to manufacture the design to their primary distributor, Caterham. They continued the manufacture and sale of the 7 (in the most desirable form of the Series 3) with only minor changes and improvements. In 1994, however, Caterham decided to embark on a new project - the 21. The 21 was based around the chassis and drive-train of the 7, but it featured a new, curvaceous, fully enclosed body.
The shape was penned by Iain Robertson and designed to use existing lights and other miscellaneous parts where possible. The headlights were from a Suzuki Cappuccino, the taillights from a Ford Mondeo, the steering column from a Vauxhall and door handles from an Opel. Much of the design work was done using a full-scale foam mock-up to ensure a fluid design around these bits. Inside the car featured leather seats and a sculpted dash, though still quite austire in terms of ammenities.
The first prototype hit the car show circuit clothed in a polished aluminum body. Initially, Caterham planned to offer the car in both alloy or fiberglass, though only fiberglass models saw production.
The car was powered by either the venerable 1.6L Rover K-series engine or the 1.8 Vauxhall unit, both of which could be found in the 7 model. The transmission was also, predictably, the same Ford sourced 5-speed as the 7. Despite the extra bodywork, the 21 still weighed less than 1,500 lbs.
Unfortunately, the 21 wasn't as well received as enthusiastically as it was conceived. Only 48 were built before the plug was pulled on the project. It was still considered expensive, and despite the effort, perhaps it just lacked the character of its Lotus designed predecessor.
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