I have a caterham 7 classic, 1.6 ford crossflow engine. It was kit build but bought second hand from the Caterham dealer in Caterham. Because I didnt fit the 'customer profile' (i learned later from the secretary of the 7 club), I am Chinese and very looking for my age, the service was dismissive untill I gave them my credit card.
Having read the reviews as a kid i have always wanted one. Performance and handling is superb (for the engine size) and driving on country lanes in summer is close to heaven. However it is not suited for long journeys or motorway trips; hence most Caterhams have very low milage.
Caterhams come in many engine variants and I have the Ford crossflow simply because it is the cheapest. After having paid an extortionate amount for the 10,000 mile service I went to evening classes to learn motor servicing. The crossflow engine is very simple and reliable and very easy to service yourself. The only negative point about this car (and a very big one),is because it has a twin carburetter it is very fuel inefficient, typically 15-20 miles a gallon. In heavy traffic you can actually see the needle on the fuel gauge drop.
It is an excellent car to pose in; people chat to me when I fill up; even after 7 years there is a permanent grin on my face when I drive it and when i drive past busses everyone turns their heads.
It is cheap to insure under specialist insurers. However it is only a fine weather car and how many do we have in England. Hence most of the time it is under cover in the garage. I should have spent an extra couple of grand and bought the Rover K-series engine instead.