Caterham's birthday beast outgrunts Veyron

Alas, they're not officially sold here, but Caterhams are renowned in the UK for offering giant-killing performance without killing your bank balance in the process.

Caterham's offerings are a direct evolution of the classic Series 3 Lotus Seven designed by Colin Chapman, and the minimalist sports cars dispense with absolutely everything that doesn't help them go faster.

As such, pretty much anything wearing a Caterham badge serves up eye-watering performance, but the niche carmaker is celebrating its 50th anniversary by creating its most potent projectile to date, and it has the credentials -- at least on paper -- to embarrass a Bugatti Veyron.

Say hello to the ballistic Caterham X330 -- a one-off supercharged model boasting a mind-boggling power-to-weight ratio of 448kW per tonne.

Compare this figure with the quotients of the Bugatti Veyron (389kW per tonne) and the McLaren F1 (417kW per tonne), and you'll get some idea of the electrifying performance the Caterham promises.

The stealthy, matt black concept is based around the current range-topping CSR Superlight (more here), but the addition of a supercharger to the four-cylinder 2.3-litre Ford Duratec engine increases power from 194 to 246kW.

In case you're wondering why it's called the X330, the answer lies in the power output expressed in brake horsepower -- a not insubstantial 330 neddies.

The near 35 per cent power hike is achieved by a Rotrex C30-94 supercharger, which provides a boost characteristic that "rises linearly with engine speed".

Caterham says that although the X330's punch is greater at higher revs and speed, low-speed driveability isn't compromised, thanks to a table-flat torque curve with over 300Nm on tap from 5500 to 7500rpm -- 27Nm more than the already rapid CSR260.

The official line from Caterham for now is that the X330 is an engineering test bed, but the company says some of the car's technology will make its way to production.

To begin with, the X330 will spearhead the British firm's R& D into bioethanol power in the coming months as it seeks to assess the viability of alternative fuel sources in road and race applications.

In keeping with the Seven ethos of "adding lightness", the X330's focus isn't merely on the powertrain.

"Lighter gauge steel is used in the trellis-style chassis and the use of new lightweight wheels together with an abundant use of carbonfibre for the bodywork all adds to the stealth appearance of this perfect 50th birthday present," boasts Caterham.

Well, we have to admit, the X330 would make a rather good 50th birthday pressie…pity we're not quite that old yet.

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