02 Apr 07
The quiet open Lincolnshire roads feel as if they're made for the Caterham. Corners are wide and open, and there aren't any roadside hedgerows hampering visibility, which makes for easy overtaking.
And overtaking is what you do in the Caterham: other cars look as if they're standing still as I barrel past them with the exhaust blaring. A quick check of the speedo reveals an impressive lick of pace - but, as I said earlier, 20mph in a Caterham feels infinitely faster. And when you reach the upper ends of the speed range, everything is a fantastic blur.
I roll into corners with more speed than I would in any other car, but the Caterham just pushes through without hesitation. Grip is something which the Sigma isn't short of and, because of the limited power, the accelerator doesn't feel like a trigger ready to shoot you into the scenery. I can use the full extension of the pedal without worry, with even a standing start controlled. And as a boon, when I eventually reach the inevitable static traffic, the Sigma doesn't become a jerky nightmare.
The five-speed box also inspires more confidence, as you don't have to be millimetre-perfect to select the correct cog. Perhaps best of all, with a windscreen in place you can enjoy all the extra elemental aspects without the pain: where a helmet muffles the experience, a windscreen only amplifies it.
