Lotus 7 Twin Cam SS Replica

Putting 125bhp in a little over half a ton of very controllable space frame chassis - and not much else - which sits on four fat and quite well-connected little tyres, cannot help being very entertaining for anyone who likes to drive fast. To drive this vehicle on lonely, open road is to be reminded most firmly that the genuine and the best "fun car" is still a pure sports car. And that, without any possibility of argument, is exactly what this Lotus is.

With competition in mind, fitness for purpose is apparent from the moment the driver inserts himself in the cockpit. If the hood is up, this is a manoevre requiring agility and practice, but in open form the car is not hard to enter in spite of the lack of doors. Low sides which keep out only a proportion of the weather leave plenty of elbow room for steering. Visibility is excellent to a degree known only to single seat racing car drivers, for cycle type front wings meet the requirement of law without concealing the wheels from the drivers sight. The steering wheel and gear lever are well placed, and the pedals convenient.

In plain cornering power the recently adopted wishbone front suspension and the coil-sprung rigid rear axle produce extraordinarily good results for so light a car. Soft springs and firm dampers keep the wheels firmly on the groud without giving an unpleasantly harsh ride, and when the rear end is finally provoked into sliding it does so controlably. Roll, of course, is virtually non-existant.

Performance, roadholding, steering and braking more or less cover the aspects of the car which will most interest the competition minded motorist. A heavy coat and gloves are no novelty to the occupants of sports cars, and are especially valuable to the driver whose right arm tends to be more outside the car than in it.

The Lotus is a practically and legally fitted out sports car. Its uses are limited and its market is specialised.

 

What the press had to say...

LOTUS SEVEN (REPLICA)

"Few cars more functional than the Lotus Super Seven have come our way for test, and few have proved as exhilarating to drive. Priorities were clearly established for its design - performance, simplicity, low price - and they have been observed; acceleration and speed are outstanding by an standards, and the handling is provided to match them. Only the bare essentials of a roadable car are provided and the price in component form for final assembly by the owner is £599."

"In fairness to both the Super Seven in one sense, and to other sports cars in another, it is right to think in terms of a racing car made useable on the ordinary roads. There is just the minimum of equipment, trim and passenger comforts, the suspension is hard and the exhaust note somewhat shattering at the middle and higher r.p.m. range. Only the young and lithe can slide into the driving seat with ease and decorum. Despite these qualifications, the Super Seven cannot fail to please the enthusiast.

Autocar - December 1961.

"The Twincam Super 7 is the finest sort of thinly-disguised racing car."

"But on the test. The first thing the car did was wreak havoc on the test form. The procedure for determining driver comfort is to measure the door size and opening angle, the distance from steering wheel and pedals with the seat at its extremes of travel, etc. The Seven has no doors, and the seats don't adjust. For a person of average size and agility, this is not the problem you might suppose. One clambers over the side and inserts feet, rather like putting on a bag of golf clubs. Once inside, the small, leather-covered steering wheel is an arm's length away, the pedals fall readily to foot. The shift knob just barely clears the lower edge of the instrument panel, but it's the proper sort of short, quick gear change. There are two eccentricities: the starter solenoid is a push button bolted to the firewall, and the hand brake is horizontal, pivoting from the left side of the cowl across the transmission tunnel. The starter can be coped with, the handbrake is best forgotten."

Top speed 180 kph, standing quarter mile 15.7 seconds.

Road and Track - October 1970