That's how I ended up in my brother's garage building a car from a kit. And not just any car, either; an early Lotus, one designed by the car maker's founder, Colin Chapman, in 1957. He hoped to create basic transportation that was sexy and responsive as well as cheap--and boy, did he succeed! In the early 1970's Chapman decided to devote himself to motor-racing, his first love, and thus to discontinue the Seven. British sports-car enthusiasts were aghast--above all Graham Nearn, a Lotus dealer who sold more Sevens than anyone. He bought the manufacturing rights to the car, and has been selling them ever since (longer, in other words, than Lotus itself). Caterham now sells something like 500 Sevens every year worldwide--and far more in Japan, strangely, than in the U.S., where sales rarely exceeded more than a score.
Other kit cars are available, of course, many much cheaper than the Caterham, but the Seven
had one matchless
characteristic--its starring role
in Patrick McGoohan's trail-blazing cult 1960's television show, "The Prisoner." (Perhaps you
remember the opening theme? I've got the sound clip somewhere...)
The ex-spy played by McGoohan is held at a dystopian "resort"
called The Village, and his one goal, throughout the series'
seventeen episodes, is to escape and return to England. A latter-day
Robinson Crusoe, he drives a car he built--as he
proclaims at one point--"with my own hands."
With his own hands: it was an inspiring idea, to me at least. I had the time, the inclination, the cash: how could I resist? Especially when it would give me a chance to explore a culture--the Car Guy world--I knew little about, despite its vast influence on the world. I could explore my personal ignorance, expand my professional horizons, while having some unparalled, unusual fun. And it came to pass--though the road, of course, was much bumpier, and more disturbing, than I expected.
Click 
for a Roadster excerpt and a blow-up photo (81KB) of my Caterham.
