Spike Tennyson

My prostate cancer journey

Author: Spike Tennyson

  • And it was all yellow

    Caterham naming conventions have varied over the years. With a weight of around 500kg, the name sometimes reflects the horsepower per tonne; sometime it’s just the horsepower.

    The car we had rented in 2017 was a 270; which had 135bhp. I decided I needed at least that to engender a similar level of giggly excitement. I also decided I needed a wider chassis; known as the SV; in order to make the experience more tolerable for my wife (this proved to be a waste of time, a tolerable experience for my wife turned out to be for her not to be anywhere near the car).

    Callum had a candidate, it was a Roadsport 150, although it was advertised as Roadsport 158 because the previous owner had stuck it on a rolling road and that was the power is was producing. It was also yellow.

    If it wasn’t yellow it was black. I had carbon bits everywhere. Callum took me out in it to show me what it could do. It did many things very quickly. I was smitten. I bought it.

  • A Turn 7 of events

    We moved to the UK in 2020. I was excited to be back in the land of interesting cars; but a glance at Caterham prices confirmed they were out of my financial reach.

    Instead I acquired an MX-5. A perfectly serviceable sports car. Refined, reliable, fun to dive; with a folding roof, aircon and all creature comforts. I liked it, but I didn’t love it.

    One day I saw a 7 in a car park and deliberately parked next to it; hoping the owners would come back to their car and beg to swap. They didn’t.

    In 2025 we took at trip to the south of England to see family and friends. On the way home we stayed overnight in Knaresborough which, entirely coincidentally (cough) was near Turn 7; and guess what they sell?

    I suggested to my wife we just pop in for a look. So we popped, met the owner, Callum (who is far too decent a person to be a car salesman), and browsed the cars.

    The prices were eye watering; but Callum explained that Caterhams don’t really depreciate. They cost a shitload of money; but you can sell them for the same shitload of money when you are done. Suddenly this made complete economic sense…

    I looked at my wife with that pleading look I bring out on special occasions.

    “If you want one, you should do it, before you are too old.”

    So I did.

  • A flame rekindled

    Not your average hire car

    In 2017 I had been living in Thailand for almost twenty years and it seemed a good idea to return to the mother country for a holiday, to visit my son and daughter in law and to play at being tourists.

    My son had spent his formative years being exposed to sports and racing cars, was aware of my 7 fixation and was agreeable to the idea of renting one for a few days. So we did.

    But it was no longer a Lotus 7, it was a Caterham 7.

    In 1973, Lotus became bored with selling the 7. It didn’t reflect the upmarket image they were trying to portray, and changes to tax laws meant that selling it as a kit was no longer financially advantageous.

    Lotus dealer Caterham cars bought the rights to the 7. More than fifty years on they have produced more than 22,000 Sevens, the design has remained essentially unchanged, and although other companies such as Westfield produce Severn lookalikes, only a Caterham has the Lotus DNA.

    So we presented ourselves at the Caterham headquarters where I was told I was almost too old to hire one (thanks), but we were given the keys and I drove it to my son’s house.

    Memories came flooding back. The long bonnet, the headlights, the absence of any driving aids or comfort, the fucking awful noise. Bliss.

    I only had a day in it before flying out. I remember getting up at 0530, whizzing down country lanes and laughing like a fool. I remember taking my wife out for a drive and she screamed; but not in a good way. I loved it; but knew I could never own one, nor could I ever rent one again due to my age.

    I flew back to Thailand, a little sad, a little satisfied.