Caterham R500 Superlight

Picture the scene: the temperature’s hovering around 20°C, the sun's now shining and there's a perfect cooling summer breeze. The roads are dry, the clouds are clearing and it's a good job too, because I wouldn't quite relish the thought of driving this car on anything other than a warm June day.

Okay, so it's not quite as spartan as the Morgan Three Wheeler I was lucky enough to drive a few weeks ago, but it's still pretty compromised. The beauty of a Caterham creation is, like the aforementioned Malvern-based car, its simplicity. There's nothing too complicated, nothing too extravagant. They offer pure, raw and undiluted driving thrills and cars just don't get any better than this. So they do offer similar things, but whereas the Three Wheeler had a modest power output, this one’s got more than three times more…

It's my first experience of a Caterham. I've read about them for years and yearned for a go in one and now the time's come. Many variants are available to buy, but none come as extreme as this one. When the invite popped into my inbox I pictured a lovely entry-level car. Never once did I think it'd be the most fearsome road-going car the marque's ever made, the fabled R500 Superlight.

You're in awe of it when you first clasp eyes on it, and not just because of its bright green paint. It's such a revered car, this one. The little carbon details aren't particularly well finished but they nod to its weight-saving measures and it's such a cool thing. It's so small parked up next to ordinary family hatchbacks and you just know it's going to be an absolute riot to drive even when it's stationary.

Its name immediately stirs up thoughts of brutal speed. Superlight means exactly what it says: it weighs just 506kg. That weight figure's astonishing on its own and would make 80bhp feel fast, but this R500 has 263bhp. Gulp. The 2.0-litre that powers it is a highly-fettled bit of kit. The K-series engine is now long gone and in its place is a Ford Duratec unit - thought to be more robust and better to tune - which gives the featherweight car a power-to-weight ratio of 528bhp per ton, 7bhp more than a Bugatti Veyron...

So it's a formidable thing, then. Added to its already extensive armoury is its gearbox, for it's got a trick sequential one. This car was the first Caterham to feature this as a £2,950 optional extra and it just adds to the whole appeal of a car of this ilk. Let's face it, this is tailored for the wealthy enthusiast at a shade under £40,000 and is never going to be used as a day-to-day commuter, so why not go all out and spec it as the ultimate?

Clamber in - again, a very unsophisticated process - and it almost moulds around you. Everything's in reach given its size and although it does get cramped with two full-sized adults in, it just feels brilliant. The seat's never going to rival a Rolls Royce in the comfort stakes but the driving position's to die for: the tiny, suede-covered Momo steering wheel's just where you'd want it and it honestly feels like you're a centimetre above the tarmac. You're staggeringly low but it just feels fantastic. Before you even start up the R500 your excitement levels are at an all-time high.

Perform that duty by pushing its starter button and your ears pick up the sound of a typically tuned engine note as the noisy side exhaust clatters. The idle's bumpy and it's certainly not happy being cold. It's a raucous noise which signals the R500's intent. Fasten the harness, wiggle in the carbon-backed seat to get a little settled and breathe it in. The bare carbon dash is lovely, if a little shiny when the sun catches it, the view out's as good as any car I've ever driven and it just feels so very right. The louvered bonnet gives a tantalising glimpse at what's making the noise; you feel immediately at home in the R500.

There is trepidation, though. You'd be a fool to mess with a notoriously tail-happy rear-driver with over 260bhp and take it lightly, so you're wary of its capabilities. I don't take much sought-after solace when Richard Barraclough, this car's guardian for today - who's crammed in next to me - reminds me of the Caterham's neck-jarring turn of speed by mentioning its tendency to follow ruts in the road when under hard acceleration...

Thoughts of a gloriously smooth empty track springs dreamily into my mind but unfortunately we won't get to experience the R500 there, although Richard has ventured out onto the track in this particular example.

"It's exactly how you'd expect: fast, furious and completely fun," he said. "The handling balance is lovely and although it can be a handful if you want, it's actually quite forgiving."

We're in a leafy part of Huddersfield in a small village called Almondbury and although we've only covered a handful of miles on the R500's track-biased Toyo R888s, it's already leaving an impression. The steering's beautiful. The weight of it is perfect and every surface change is given to you straight away. There's no vagueness, just immediate response. By far and away it's the best steering I've ever come across and the size of its steering wheel just makes everything better. Your hands dwarf it but the go-kart-like feel adds to the drama.

Next up to shine is the gearbox. Given the fact that we've barely broken 30mph and have only gone to fourth gear it's already showing its worth. The whine and mechanical clatter of the Quaife-developed 'box makes you a little giddy. It adds to the racer feel and you can never tire of the way it shifts. Okay, semi-auto paddles are now retiring traditional manuals in most forms of car but this sequential's a breath of fresh air and is absolutely great. Pull the protruding aluminium lever towards you and it clunks into first. Its clutch is weighty - as you'd expect - but the 2.0-litre is rich in torque so even if your shaking left leg's hesitant on the power, it's actually quite difficult to stall. This is my first time using a sequential gearbox so of course I'm sat there, harnessed up with a wide-eyed child-like grin plastered across my face. This is great to use and although its action is very crude, the short-throw, rifle-like response of it is a magnificent thing to control.

The roads are getting a little narrower, I'm unfamiliar with their direction changes but there's a sign ahead which has a diagonal black line across a white background, no cars are in sight and we're primed in second gear. Richard knows what's coming and I duly bury the throttle. What happens next will stay with me for the rest of my life: a wiggle, a spin of the rear tyres, a momentary loss of traction and then a huge dose of power. The tiny steering wheel wriggles about but I hold it tight and keep committed, way past 8,000rpm until the last red shift light appears. The noise builds and builds and it all happens so quickly - 30mph to three figures is ludicrously fast. Engage another gear by pulling the lever back and again, there's instant momentum. What a car. Even accelerating on a straight road is brutally intense.

You don't even have to worry about the clutch on upshifts. Full-throttle changes can be executed without the need to use your left foot and so you can just concentrate fully on the road ahead and the blurriness of everything that you're passing.

Slow down and you're alive with adrenaline, but a little gobsmacked at what you've just witnessed. Nothing I've ever driven felt as brutal as that full-on second gear power. The brakes, thankfully, are equally up to the job and as there's no ABS on the R500, you never get that grainy, disconcerting pedal feel when you're relying on them to stop you after yet another run through second and third. When the roads get bumpy and rutted, the lack of ABS is worth its weight in gold.

Hugely powerful cars often come with weight and size, but again the little Caterham does not. Even on the tightest, twistiest road it feels narrow, so although that intimidating rush of power's only a brush of the throttle away, its width is never daunting.

Richard directs us up high above Huddersfield, which is sat in the valley-like setting below us. The wind's stronger up here but he's promised his favourite bit of local tarmac and claims nothing could get near the R500 up here. I nod, knowing that his big claim's most definitely true. Think about that: this is a winding country lane, with well-sighted bends and third gear straights. You could have a Bugatti Veyron behind and still the plucky Brit would be gone, with a wiggle of its rear Toyos and a 263bhp hit.

Richard mentions the car's launch control and urges me to try it out. At first I think it's a little geeky, a bit of a gimmick in a car that's built on simple foundations. However, my curiosity is still there so I am quite keen to try it, having witnessed the brutal, no drama acceleration of a Nissan GT-R with its launch mode engaged. It was a £350 option on the R500, Richard tells me. Caterham claim it can deliver a 2.8 second sprint to 60mph...

It's quite straight forward. Depress the clutch, pull back for first gear and hold a small button on the carbon fibre dash. Floor the throttle now and the revs are automatically held at 4,500rpm. It feels wrong to put the engine through this much duress but the revs stay there without protest, urging you to drop the clutch. Do that, and the rears momentarily spin but just as you think you've found out the gimmick, it miraculously digs in and leaps off the line. Glance down and the digital speedo misses out many numbers are rockets past 60 in the blink of an eye. First, second, third. They're all gone and the brutal power just does not seem to diminish even into fourth. 

I'd hate for you to think that it's a one-dimensional car which does nothing but thrill and scare its occupants, though. Although its insane turn of speed is hugely memorable, the R500's party piece is its handling. Now, I'm not going to claim that I balanced its rear on the throttle in a Chris Harris-style slide but there's a lovely way in which it attacks a road. Sure, the rear can be lively if you're heavy footed, but most of the time the R500 can be coaxed into fast progress without you having to react to its wayward back end. In some powerful rear-wheel drive cars you're aware of corners and in some cases, you fear it letting go when you're attacking the turn. While there's always a vast amount of respect for the R500, I found it a great tool to dissect a road and utterly beguiling to drive quickly. That brutal power, the ABS-free brakes, its hugely responsive steering and the massive amounts of grip the R888s generate makes it one of the fastest point-to-point cars that's ever been made. 

Richard points out that his favourite bit of local road's coming up and shouts above the wind. "It's a fast left-hander, do not back off," he implores. That's the thing with the R500: back off mid-corner and that's when you're vulnerable. Stay committed and it stays true, diving in and gripping tenaciously. I pick out the corner in the distance and we're bounding down the straight part, rapidly approaching. A dab of brakes, turn in and you can feel the staggering tyres clawing the tarmac. The steering wheel tugs as it finds a rut but the body stays in check and I'm concentrating more than ever before. Stay committed, feed in the power without being daft and the R500 guides you round. The road straightens and the throttle's soon buried and the road-side foliage is a green, hazy blur. The road soon veers right, the Caterham's in third with 4,000rpm showing and again, the throttle's soon planted. The car stays faithful, mesmerising me with its precision, responses and blinding pace. 

It's all too easy to fall into a hypnotising, licence-losing rhythm with the R500. The way it goes about its business alters your perception of how fast a road car can be. Respect it, drive accordingly and the car's faithful. Jump in in a Clarkson-like manner and it'll bite - it will end up sideways. The cornering ability, the torque-rich low-down grunt and the ballistic delivery past 5,000rpm. I could drive it all day and never once lose interest.

We're on the way back now and it's a sad feeling. The R500 has left a longing impression and it's a shame that I've driven it in a way as no other car that I'll drive will be as fast, rewarding and as great as this little one. Even trundling along behind smoking diesels is an occasion, and as we pull into its resting place it's with regret that I have to get out. I clamber out and I’m buzzing with adrenaline.

"It's good, isn't it?" Richard questions.

"The best," I answer.

Thanks for the memory, R500 Superlight. You're the best car I've ever driven.