British speed machine.

BRITISH sports car specialist Caterham has developed a car for the roads that would scare a Formula One racer on the track.

Powered by a tweaked engine from the humble Ford Focus, the Caterham Seven Superlight R500 scorches from standstill to 60mph in just over 2.5 seconds.

The car is so quick off the mark it comes with optional launch control to get the massive amount of power through the rear wheels and on to the tarmac.

Key to the car's extraordinary performance prowess is its power to weight ratio, which is a whopping 520bhp per tonne.

This results from a combination of the engine's upgraded power output of 263bhp and the car's weight of just 506kg, which is half that of a Nissan Micra.

Previously powered by a Rover engine, the switch to Ford's two-litre unit results in a 0-60mph acceleration time of just 2.8 seconds.

To shed 9kg more from the featherlight chassis, there is more carbon and Kevlar, thinner body panels and aluminium rear light housings.

Prices for the factory-built car start at pounds 36,995. The sequential Gearbox is pounds 2,950, launch control pounds 350, a carbon induction airbox pounds 450 and a suspension package consisting of Eibach springs and dampers derived from the C400 race series adds a further pounds 1,250.

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HOT: The CaterhamR500 hits 60mph in 2.8 seconds