Seitz had been in the business of selling
Lotus parts. In 1977 they approached
Caterham and were appointed agents. In
1978 Kaplan & Seitz formed DSK Cars Inc.,
to specialize on the Seven. The partners
set about improving the Caterham chassis,
which was essentially the S3 Seven.
assistance of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Carroll Smith.
diagonals were welded in to triangulate the suspension bay. Longitudinal floor rails run underneath the prop
shaft tunnel, which incorporates a tubular gearbox mount. The cockpit received particular attention, with the
addition of diagonals under the seats, the roll-over bar that encircles the inside chassis and a dash hoop that is
triangulated and structural. The chassis sides have new braces and the rear suspension diagonals were
reversed to accommodate a revised suspension system. The mods were designed to handle a turbo charged
X-flow that put out 180hp.
37. The works based the project on the upcoming Series 4. The front suspension was by double wishbones
with a separate antiroll bar. Wheels were eight inches wide in front and ten inches wide at the rear. IRS was
used with an Elan diff and double U-jointed half-shafts. Rear uprights were Lotus 61 FF and were located by
top links and lower wishbones. Outer trailing links, similar to the standard Series 2 and 3 cars, fixed the uprights
longitudinally. Disc brakes were fitted outboard at each wheel. The engine was a X-flow that put out 140hp and
was mated to an Elan close-ratio gearbox. Goss took the 1970 Clubman championship in the car.
Series 4 chassis was to be a customer version of Goss' 7X. It sported the Type 41 F3 car's front suspension
and alluminum body panels rather than the fiberglass of the road car. It did not have the 7X's IRS, but the tried
and true DeDion. Chapman's decision to get out of the race car business to concentrate on the F1 effort and
the sales of road cars ended this effort.
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