The World of Minimalist Sports Cars: A Video Review

As we embarked on our journey to review five minimalist sports cars, I must say that the initial assessment seemed quite straightforward. We were going to hit the road at five o'clock, with only a few hours' worth of driving planned before closing up shop for the day. However, as it often does, reality had other plans. The sun shone brightly on our little gathering, casting a warm glow over the cars and setting the stage for what promised to be an exciting comparison.

At first glance, our fleet of minimalist sports cars seemed like a veritable zoo of eccentricities. There was the Caterham 7, an old favorite with an hour-long history that still managed to look brilliant despite being somewhat harmful. Next to it sat the Brook, a relatively new arrival boasting a 260 horsepower Cosworth Ford engine that seemed almost tame compared to its more exotic counterparts. Across from us, an "Elin" (as I'll refer to this odd-looking Australian car) sat proudly with its 5.7-liter Chevy V8 rumble, while nearby, the Ariel Atom looked like it had been plucked straight from a minimalist's dream: hardly any sides, no doors, and not much else. Last but certainly not least, we had the Lotus 211, a stripped-out beauty that looked both fantastic and terrifying at the same time.

As we set off on our little road trip, one thing became immediately apparent: these cars were fast. Like, really fast. So fast that it's almost unfair to compare them directly. But for the sake of argument, let's say that the Lotus 211 takes a slight edge in terms of sheer speed and agility. Steve, our resident driving expert, couldn't help but praise this particular car, saying that "this phenomenon is neighs...so fast and working" (yes, that's actually how he phrased it). But what really set these cars apart was their handling – or rather, the lack thereof. The Ariel Atom, for example, seemed to be more of a thrill ride than a genuine driving experience, while the Brook's steering left much to be desired.

One thing that did strike me as interesting about our little group was the varying degrees of complexity. On one hand, you had the relatively straightforward Caterham 7 and its hour-long history – a true icon in the world of minimalist sports cars. Then there was the Elin, which seemed like it could have been plucked straight from a sci-fi movie (though I suspect that's not entirely accurate). The Lotus 211, meanwhile, struck a fascinating balance between simplicity and raw power. And finally, we had the Brook, which sat somewhere in the middle – solidly built, but not exactly setting the world on fire with its performance.

As we made our way around the various cars, I couldn't help but feel that this little gathering was going to be anything more than a straightforward comparison of speed and handling. There were so many nuances at play here – the relative simplicity or complexity of each car, their various quirks and idiosyncrasies, and, of course, the ever-present issue of reliability.

In the end, it was Steve who summed up our little excursion best when he declared that there wasn't exactly a clear winner among the five cars. "Last place is dead easy," he quipped. "Second loss is dead easy." And indeed, third place – or rather, the humble Caterham 7 – seemed to be the only one that didn't get entirely thrashed in our little review.

In conclusion, this little excursion into the world of minimalist sports cars taught me a thing or two about the complexities and nuances of these often-overlooked vehicles. It also reminded me that sometimes, it's not necessarily about which car is the fastest or the most agile – but rather which one speaks to your soul (or at least, your driving enthusiast's sensibilities).

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enbrief was pretty simple five o'clock start fit closed five cars no roofs no doors no proper heaters it's going to be a bit of a tough day but as you can see they were wrong it's gloriously sunny road to phone Crime five minimalist sports cars the feeblest of all five has got 360 bhp per ton all of them can do not 60 in under five seconds the slowest one does it in four seconds here we have an old favorite Caterham 7 this one's an hour four hundred fifty year old idea still brilliant still be harmful be over here we have the brook which is a relative newcomer this has got a 260 horsepower Cosworth Ford engine in the back another engine that's used by Caterham looks a bit like the old light car company rocket except you sit next to the driver instead of behind him which shirt should be slightly less frightening over here all the way from Australia it's called an elfin under here is a 5.7 liter Chevy v8 odd-looking thing but should be pretty quick with over 350 boys here we have the Ariel Atom it doesn't get a lot more minimalist than this hardly any sides no doors no windscreen what it has is a 300 horsepower honda vtec engine with a supercharger you can drive over speed bumps in this car and 6th gear and it'll still pull away unbelievable performance and a pretty wild screaming supercharged whistle behind you crazy car not that this one's particularly sensible it's the Lotus 211 the basis of it is anneliese but it's pretty stripped out looks fantastic also supercharged also got well over 350 bhp per ton should be absolutely awesome around the track looks the business whether you're inning following it or looking at it in your rear-view mirror like a racing car and test it just a sort of thing later should be building right we've been driving all day Steve clear winner we're gonna have to discuss this all night service area outside Cardiff no we're not gonna discuss my in a service that area outside Cardiff and there isn't a clear winner so those are these guys actually this is closed yeah when it's between these two at the front here lotus in the Atem very close actually I think it's the slightly horses for courses I mean look I'm margin above her latest yeah for the Lotus spillage sorted out the atom with the new dampers they put on this one and they are to handle as much better basically than 1 i've driven before much more predictable and the powers lovely this phenomenon is neighs it's so fast and working but yeah I think you're right like I think the license is no one okay that's that decided what about third spot last place on the podium well last place is dead easy second loss is dead easy and third is the Caterham participation neither people why is it why is it better than the brook because it's more of a proper real car right you agree with something yeah yeah just about tell me the gross Brooks great it's very quick quick spray that you could use the data centers yeah lo the time looks better too okay first it's getting easier all the time rook versus elfin sorry no contest the bread yeah there's one there for very good cars here and there's one not very good car here and what's wrong with the elephant can you just scan over there and film that car right of it and that's where it starts what do you expect it's one of the worst sports car driven a mrs. mrs. in almost every area it's terrible for the steering is terrible yeah the steering's Breslau the brakes probably should be server assisted there's no fields that at all I think this should be attached to the wiggles I salute the brakes yeah yeah it's quite frightful so many engines good but then it's pretty easy to buy a Chevrolet VA anyone can do that but I've never I've never driven anything that's the work a worse application of that engine the top do you agree the other switch yeah sure I'd have it any day and in a key fight I'd go for it as well so that's it then unanimous Lotus wins it over the Ariel Atom decided in mcgaw services of the m4 youbrief was pretty simple five o'clock start fit closed five cars no roofs no doors no proper heaters it's going to be a bit of a tough day but as you can see they were wrong it's gloriously sunny road to phone Crime five minimalist sports cars the feeblest of all five has got 360 bhp per ton all of them can do not 60 in under five seconds the slowest one does it in four seconds here we have an old favorite Caterham 7 this one's an hour four hundred fifty year old idea still brilliant still be harmful be over here we have the brook which is a relative newcomer this has got a 260 horsepower Cosworth Ford engine in the back another engine that's used by Caterham looks a bit like the old light car company rocket except you sit next to the driver instead of behind him which shirt should be slightly less frightening over here all the way from Australia it's called an elfin under here is a 5.7 liter Chevy v8 odd-looking thing but should be pretty quick with over 350 boys here we have the Ariel Atom it doesn't get a lot more minimalist than this hardly any sides no doors no windscreen what it has is a 300 horsepower honda vtec engine with a supercharger you can drive over speed bumps in this car and 6th gear and it'll still pull away unbelievable performance and a pretty wild screaming supercharged whistle behind you crazy car not that this one's particularly sensible it's the Lotus 211 the basis of it is anneliese but it's pretty stripped out looks fantastic also supercharged also got well over 350 bhp per ton should be absolutely awesome around the track looks the business whether you're inning following it or looking at it in your rear-view mirror like a racing car and test it just a sort of thing later should be building right we've been driving all day Steve clear winner we're gonna have to discuss this all night service area outside Cardiff no we're not gonna discuss my in a service that area outside Cardiff and there isn't a clear winner so those are these guys actually this is closed yeah when it's between these two at the front here lotus in the Atem very close actually I think it's the slightly horses for courses I mean look I'm margin above her latest yeah for the Lotus spillage sorted out the atom with the new dampers they put on this one and they are to handle as much better basically than 1 i've driven before much more predictable and the powers lovely this phenomenon is neighs it's so fast and working but yeah I think you're right like I think the license is no one okay that's that decided what about third spot last place on the podium well last place is dead easy second loss is dead easy and third is the Caterham participation neither people why is it why is it better than the brook because it's more of a proper real car right you agree with something yeah yeah just about tell me the gross Brooks great it's very quick quick spray that you could use the data centers yeah lo the time looks better too okay first it's getting easier all the time rook versus elfin sorry no contest the bread yeah there's one there for very good cars here and there's one not very good car here and what's wrong with the elephant can you just scan over there and film that car right of it and that's where it starts what do you expect it's one of the worst sports car driven a mrs. mrs. in almost every area it's terrible for the steering is terrible yeah the steering's Breslau the brakes probably should be server assisted there's no fields that at all I think this should be attached to the wiggles I salute the brakes yeah yeah it's quite frightful so many engines good but then it's pretty easy to buy a Chevrolet VA anyone can do that but I've never I've never driven anything that's the work a worse application of that engine the top do you agree the other switch yeah sure I'd have it any day and in a key fight I'd go for it as well so that's it then unanimous Lotus wins it over the Ariel Atom decided in mcgaw services of the m4 you\n"