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The Caterham 21 is a two-seat roadster designed and hand built by Caterham Cars in the 1990s. It was based on the mechanicals of the Caterham 7 and was intended to be a more practical version of that car with more conventional sports car styling.
Being almost mechanically identical to the Caterham 7, the 21 was set apart by the design of the body. Inspiration was drawn from the design of the Lotus Eleven, and the result was a curved, low-slung shape. The styling was universally well-received. The car did not have wind-up windows and its door sills were high and wide, which drew some criticism from contemporary reviewers regarding the car's practicality. Because of extra strengthening in the sills and at the front end, the chassis was 150% as rigid as that in the 7. Adjustments to the suspension gave a better ride as well.
Some components were taken from mainstream models (such as the rear light clusters from the Ford Mondeo saloon, door mirrors from the Rover 200, front indicators from the Suzuki Cappuccino, etc.) in addition to the Seven-based mechanical underpinnings.
The original car was produced for the 1994 British Motor Show to celebrate 21 years of Caterham Cars manufacture of the Lotus Seven. Styled by Iain Robertson and developed by a team under Jez Coates, the aim was to have a car that offered "the chance to experience Caterham motoring in a more practical format". The 21 was offered with a range of four-cylinder engines from 1.6 to 2.0 L, with 115 to 230 hp. Caterham originally intended to produce 200 cars per year, but fewer than 50 were actually made before production ceased. Several variations were created to participate in racing events.
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