The 7/Seven vs elan argument is an old one. Like Rohan says .time and place , its situational. I will say though the new Caterhams are very evolved and at this point distant relatives to the original 7 in the suspension and engine departments. -

The elan, when compared to its contemporaries is a amazing car - it excels in a lot of areas. It was designed as a road car ( first lotus with windows that went up and down) as opposed to the seven that was designed as a clubmans car.

Both are a blast to drive.

The seven as the ultimate ? that's debatable - in period ( late 50's-early 60's) the lola Mk1 was the bomb (Mallock end up ruling clubmans) - later on the Ginetta G4 and G4R with better front suspensions and aero dynamics will out gun a seven on most tracks , the G12's are also quicker still and ended the winning streak / fun for the elan in the 60's - both being made now and available with modern power, so maybe these get placed onto the short list of what else can you buy that is as fun as a Caterham Seven-

my 7 does everything my elan does ----the elan just does it with more panache ---- the difference between a ballet dancer and a morris dancer --but the best is the europa ---that would make the 7 and the elan a carving knife and the europa a scalpel----ed

Prefer my S1 Esprit to a Europa ( at least a standard Europa) goes better , handles betters and you can actually get second gear in a hurry when going into a corner.

Consider it a sharper scalpel with a more comfortable handle

cheers
Rohan

Rohan ---second gear ??? NEVER---3rd with the ratio and torque and later brake point will pull you through all corners unless its a dead stop hair pin -- -ed