Introduced in 1992, the Caterham Super Seven JPE (standing for Jonathan Palmer Evolution) is one of the highest performing Caterhams built to date (2004). Named after the former Grand Prix driver (and qualified Doctor) Jonathan Palmer, who had a hand in it's development, the JPE is powered by a highly tuned version of the Vauxhall 2 litre 16 valve four cylinder engine, which produces 250bhp. Additionally, Caterham went to great lengths to lighten what is already a very light car. There is no windscreen (hence a helmet is essential for comfortable driving in this car), no doors with tiny sidescreens only, and certain parts of the structure are made of carbon fibre. The total weight is only 500kg, giving the JPE an incredible power to weight ratio.
The idea behind the JPE was to demonstrate the ultimate performance capability of the Seven, and indeed the car was used to set a new world record 0-60mph acceleration time for a production car. Since bettered I believe, the JPE managed to sprint from rest to 60mph in an incredible 3.5 seconds.
Kyosho make this model of the JPE and it is a good quality 1:18th. The yellow paintwork looks good and the engine bay in particular looks very nice. In addition to the Vauxhall engine, the steering box, battery, exhaust manifolds and the gearbox are all visible. Weakest area on the model is the brakes. There is an ok front brake disc, with a calliper (molded as a one piece unit) but the model does not appear to have any rear brakes. The interior is pretty ordinary, but then again the real car has a basic no-frills interior.
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