British sports car maker Caterham announced they are developing a new version of the iconic Caterham Seven, and it is equipped with the most powerful engine they’ve ever fitted to one of these cars in Europe. It will be more powerful than the 1.6-litre and 2.0-litre engined Roadsport 120, CSR 175 and the Superlight R300.

The new model will be getting an updated version of the Duratec engine Caterham uses for the UK versions. It is currently being re-developed for EUV type approval. It needs to meet EU noise and emissions regulation before being green-lighted. Once that is done, the car gets prepared for a spring launch, with first deliveries anticipated by Summer.

Caterham is also said to be looking into Renault’s engines bin to find something suitable for the next generation of the Seven sports car. Before that, though, they probably want to milk the Duratec unit they posses for all it’s worth.

Caterham Cars’ CEO, Graham Macdonald, said: “We’ve long wished to bring our pan-European Seven offering in line with the more powerful cars available in the UK. With the addition to the Caterham family of CTI, we now have additional in-house capability to design and develop products that can do that. “The new car will be a real boost for all our customers across Europe who like what they see in the R300 but hanker after even more performance. Our motorsport activities in France and Germany, particularly, remain extremely strong so we know that appetite is out there and, for what will be a very competitive price tag, I expect the order book to fill up fast.”