CATERHAM has unveiled the first addition to its iconic Seven range in two years.

The Supersport, which will cost £22,995 - or £3,000 less in component form for enthusiasts wanting to build the car themselves - is one of the purest versions yet of the famous British sports car.

Derived directly from the racer that competes in the Caterham Supersport championship, the road-going edition borrows all of the track version's performance strengths as well as being fine-tuned for the road.

A Caterham Motorsport-tuned 1.6-litre Sigma engine, five-speed ‘sprint' ratio gearing, lightweight flywheel and race-prepared suspension with CR500 Avon tyres on 13-inch wheels  promise a raw driving experience.

Weighing just 520kg, the Ford powerplant will fire the Supersport from 0-60mph in 4.9 seconds and on to a top speed of 120mph.

Equipped with a limited-slip-differential and gearing with sports driving in mind, the Supersport also features uprated springs and dampers borrowed directly from its race car cousin, stiffer anti-roll bars, track biased dash with integrated change up lights and an aero screen.

Composite race seats and a four-point race harness instead of standard seat belt complete the track-inspired experience.

The Supersport is unveiled just over two months after Caterham launched its extreme new sports racer, the SP/300.R at the Autosport International Show.

Caterham Cars engineering director Mark Edwards said: "The SP/300.R was our first brand new model for 15 years. But the Supersport is all about our roots.

 "We've built faster and more powerfully accelerating cars before, but the Supersport's character, value and low running costs have generated a machine that will excite sports car fans, including those on a budget."