Caterham Seven HWM Edition Celebrates 1951 Race Heritage

Caterham just dropped something pretty cool: a retro-styled Seven that celebrates the 75th birthday of the 1951 HWM Alta single-seater.

It’s a mix of classic looks with today’s performance tech.

This new Seven, the HWM Edition, is all about paying respect to Hersham and Walton Motors.

They were a small team based in Surrey that was into racing and even building their own cars back in the late ’40s and early ’50s.

Their 1951 Alta car did pretty well, racking up seven wins, seven second-place spots, and ten third-place finishes in races all over the place.

Even a young Stirling Moss drove for them! Caterham really nailed the look with the HWM Green paint job and some old-school touches.

You’ll see a special front grille, vents on the side panels, a shiny chrome gas cap in the middle, and some sweet 13-inch alloy wheels. The bad news? Only 19 of these are coming to the UK.

Each one is based on the 420 model.

Underneath that vintage style is a 2.0-litre Duratec engine with four cylinders.

It puts out 210 bhp, which is enough to get this lightweight car from 0 to 62 mph in just 3.8 seconds.

Inside, the retro theme continues. There’s a hand-turned aluminum dashboard, Smiths chrome gauges, a cool chrome master cut-off switch, a Moto-Lita wooden steering wheel, and chrome details on the gear and handbrake levers.

You can pick between carbon fiber racing seats or leather and tartan ones.

Either way, they’re way comfier than what the drivers in the original Alta had to deal with back in the day, whose drivers sat with a leg on either side of the gearbox.

According to HWM boss Guy Jenner, they are really happy to celebrate HWM’s history as a racing team and car builder, and he added their gratitude to Caterham for their craftsmanship.

If you’re a car fan in the UK, the Seven HWM Edition is a rare thing. It’s a blend of history and modern fun, a collector’s piece that offers both quickness and amazing attention to the old-school details.