What's the news?
Caterham has revealed the Kamui Kobayashi special edition Seven, designed by the company's Japanese Formula 1 driver. Ten examples will be built, exclusively for Kobayashi's home country, with a unique single-seat layout and a variety of other performance and cosmetic enhancements. The price is six million Yen, or roughly €43,000 (before VRT would be applied) at current exchange rates.
Exterior
Caterhams don't have much bodywork, but on the limited edition it is painted gloss black, with matt black stripes. The front wings and rear wing protectors are carbon fibre infused with a green lacquer. An aluminium tonneau cover is fitted over the empty passenger seat area and a single-sided rollover hoop is fixed to the rear bulkhead. Other details include a number 10 badge - Kamui's racing number - on the nose, a polished chrome exhaust and 13-inch diamond cut black wheels.
Interior
The sports seat is made of carbon fibre with 'Kamui' embroidered in green stitching on the padded head rest. A four-point racing harness, also in green, is fitted and the composite dashboard uses the same green lacquer as the wings. Each car will be personally signed on the dashboard by Kobayashi and the instruments also carry the F1 driver's name.
Mechanicals
Based on the Japanese-market 250 R (roughly equivalent to the Roadsport 125) the Kamui Kobayashi edition comes with a six-speed gearbox and limited-slip differential as standard. Caterham claims a 0-100km/h time of 5.9 seconds with a top speed of 196km/h.
Anything else?
Earlier this year Kamui drove a Caterham Seven for the first time. Commenting on his limited edition he said: "For me, the Caterham Seven is a pure car; when you drive a Seven it feels like you are driving, not like the car is driving you. In my Caterham F1 car, I have electronics that control everything but to drive the Seven is to truly understand the car and to truly understand the enjoyment of driving. I hope my styling of the Seven adds something special to a car that is already awesome to drive."