We are back with this week’s installment of AutoGuide’s newest, interactive weekly feature ‘Commute, Toy or Destroy’.

Once again, we present to you, our faithful readers, a choice of three vehicles. We are asking you to decide which one you would make your daily driver, which one would be used to rip up the drag strip and which one would you not even give your mother-in-law to drive.

Remember, that commuter car you must live with every day. The toy would be only available to you for occasional use on weekends and the final car would be the one you’d leave out in the hot Nevada sun to rot away.

This week we present three vehicles that could be the most argued and debated in America. Yes we are talking about Pony cars. So, which one of these V8, rear-wheel drive monsters will find a home as your daily driver, which one is going to become a weekend toy and which one will we left out in cold? And remember, no cheating and showing brand loyalty by picking one vehicle twice; all three must be selected.

Chevrolet Camaro

After returning in 2010 from a short hiatus, Chevrolet eased the Camaro back into show room floors with only regular (V6) and SS (V8) models available. But recently GM has shown it is serious with this Camaro and unleashed various asphalt annihilating monsters like the handling focused 426 hp 1LE, the 580 hp supercharged ZL1 and the upcoming racetrack ready Z/28 featuring a 7.0 L V8 with at least 500 hp.

Dodge Challenger

Although it may lack the one-off performance specials that the Mustang and Camaro offer, there is no denying that the Challenger is one seriously good looking car that has a road presence not match by many vehicles. Plus, the HEMI powered 470 hp Challenger SRT8 392 is a monster in its own right, and makes some glorious V8 music.

Ford Mustang

The Pony car that started it all is still on top of its game as it reaches a half century in production. The V8 Mustang GT rings in with 420 hp and the track ready BOSS 302 increases power to a healthy 444 hp. If that isn’t enough, you could always step up to the current king of the horsepower wars; the Shelby GT500. It produces a ludicrous 662 hp and backs it up with sinister looks.

Thanks to new owner Tony Fernandes and a joint venture with Renault, Caterham is set to expand its operations and add additional models to its lineup including conventional sedans and coupes.

The British automaker specializes in racing and technology, but hopes to build tens of thousands of new cars by 2020 according to its CEO, Mike Gascoyne. Currently Caterham and Renault are working on a new sports car which will share nearly identical bodies but each will create its own design for styling. According to Gascoyne, the new sports car will draw inspiration from the current Seven model and will be designed using in-house designers along with a “well known U.K. design house.”

SEE ALSO: Caterham Considering Supercar, Eyes Asian Market

More importantly though, the automaker is already looking ahead to the future and plans to add several models to its lineup over the next decade. Some of these will not be sports cars, but rather conventional automobiles (including SUVs) to help expand its portfolio and capture additional market share. Caterham’s ultimate goal is to build a profitable model that can help fund its F1 team.

“We’re not fools,” Gascoyne said. “Anyone can see that a company making nothing but two-seaters can’t hope to be very successful at present. Our cars will have other body styles. Our plan is to use Tony Fernandes’ contacts in Asia to sell cars into a specialist market that is expanding fast.”

[Source: Autocar UK]

Now that Caterham has joined forces with Renault, the British automaker is looking positively towards the future with production models that will firmly target the Asia market.

Head of Caterham, Tony Fernandes, has an ambitious goal for his brand: To become Asia’s Porsche in the long term. That means more mainstream models thanks to its collaboration with Renault and the hopes of developing a supercar once the brand has a respectable lineup on the market.

SEE ALSO: Renault and Caterham Joining Forces on New Sports Cars

With all the knowledge and experience Caterham has building race cars, the automaker is confident that it has the know-how to produce a formidable supercar for the road. Currently, engineering and design work on the Caterham/Alpine sports car is well underway and a concept is expected to be unveiled next year.

“Caterham has the motorsport know-how, the carbonfibre know-how, the dynamics and aerodynamic know-how to make it happen,” said Mike Gascoyne, former F1 technical director and current head of Caterham Technologies. “My job is to essentially commercialise our motorsport involvement. Having a halo car that demonstrates our expertise would be one, very appealing way of doing that.”

[Source: Autocar]

Caterham, the company that makes crazy open-wheel sports cars, just announced a new car that will be even more powerful: the Supersport R. 

“The Supersport’s formula has struck a chord with driving enthusiasts and we are confident that, by extending the range to include an R model, we will be able to build on the original’s success,” CEO Graham Macdonald said.

While maintaining the track-ready spirit of its lesser Supersport sibling, the company’s newest car gets a significant boost thanks to a larger 2.0-liter Ford-sourced engine that makes 180 hp and 143 lb-ft of torque. That might seem sheepish next to similarly priced cars with more than double the power, but this car is no joke.

SEE ALSO: Caterham Seven Could Use Renault Engines

It’ll reach 60 mph in 4.8 seconds and gets a five-speed transmission which Caterham says will boost performance significantly. There’s also an available six-speed transmission, although only as an option.

But the biggest question has a delightfully small answer. How much does it weigh? Fans will be pleased to know that it tips the scales at a tight-waisted 1180 lbs. In the U.K., it costs £24,995 as a kit or £27,995 fully assembled.

GALLERY: Caterham Seven Supersport R

With the recent announcement that Caterham and Renault have joined forces, Caterham is considering powering its Seven model with powerplants supplied by Renault.

According to Caterham’s chief technical officer Mike Gascoyne, future Seven models could use Renault engines instead of the current Ford powerplants. Gascoyne also hinted that future Caterham models could be developed in collaboration with Renault.

This is all in line with Caterham owner Tony Fernandes’ hopes to transform the automaker into a more mainstream brand. The switch to Renault engines hasn’t been confirmed yet, but is being considered by the automaker.

“At the moment we’re committed to the Sigma and Duratec engines,” said Graham Macdonald of Caterham Cars. “They have a lifetime in our product plans and they deliver what we want in terms of characteristics and keeping the costs where we want them. But they do have a finite life and who knows after that? If Renault can do that then clearly the relationship is there.”

[Source: Autocar UK]

Caterham has unveiled its first forced induced Seven model ever, the Superlight R600. Powered by a supercharged, 2.0-liter Ford Duratec engine, the Superlight R600 packs 275-hp and will cost around $73,000 (£44,995).

Caterham is already expecting a 16-car field for the debut in the Superlight R600 Championship Series in 2013. The dedicated series builds on Caterham Motorsport’s ladder, that is currently topped by the highly successful R300 series.

The R600 is backed with 200 lb-ft of torque and represents a 13-percent increase over the current top-range Superlight R500. The supercharged Ford powerplant is mated to a six-speed, sequential gearbox. In addition, the R600 features a Titan limited-slip differential and Avon slicks or wets, for increased traction and lap times.

“As the fastest Seven we’ve ever built, this will provide our existing R300 racers with a real step up and a new and exciting challenge, even for experienced drivers,” said Simon Lambert, Caterham’s Chief Motorsport and Technical Officer. “The R600 represents an increase in aggressiveness, although the linear power delivery of the supercharged engine makes it superbly driveable, much like the R300.”

Current R300 owners can upgrade to an R600, though pricing has not yet been determined.

GALLERY: Caterham Superlight R600

Caterham is know for building no-frills sports cars that offer an unadulterated driving experience, but that’s going to change in the future according to new brand boss Graham MacDonald.

Don’t expect any Mercedes E-Class rivals from the company, though. It will still be building machines for driving purists, though the new model will be a more upmarket two-seater slotted above its current “Seven” model lineup. One of the key features in that new car will be a hardtop, and a more comfortable cabin to go along with it.

MacDonald expects it to cost around £40,000, or about $62,500, and will still use a Ford four-cylinder engine, though it will benefit from a supercharger for extra power. A six-cylinder model is also beign considered, but isn’t likely to make it past the chopping block.

The new model is also supposed to be built with global appeal in mind to allow the company’s sales to expand in both Asia and the U.S.

[Source: Whatcar]

With the British Grand Prix kicking off this weekend, Caterham Formula One drivers Heikki Kovalainen and Vitaly Petrov decided to flex their driving skills in conjunction with the Queen Park Rangers (QPR) football team.

And by football, we mean soccer – since we’re the only country that refers to it as such. Kovalainen and Petrov took Clint Hill, QPR’s player of the year for the 2011-2012 season, and Djibril Cisse in a Caterham 7 sports car to show off what it can do with Formula One drivers behind the wheel. To tie it all together, the driver performed a stunt that involved sliding the rear end of the 7 to send a soccer ball into the back of a net.

The event was part of the Caterham Drive Experience, which hosts events all around the UK, allowing anyone with a driver’s license to learn how to perform stunts such as drifting and doing donuts in one of the British automaker’s sports cars.

“Wow, what an experience. You see these guys throwing an F1 car around on the TV but it’s only when you’re sitting next to them that it becomes real. They have unbelievable control behind the wheel and the ability both Heikki and Vitaly had to flip the front end to send the ball into the net was just incredible,” said Hill.

Watch the video after the break.

Get the Flash Player to see this player.

Dyson Racing, reigning American Le Mans Series (ALMS) LMP1 champion team, will take possession of the first production Caterham SP/300.R over a year after it was revealed in partnership with Lola Racing.

Final assembly of the SP/300.R will take place at Dyson Racing’s facility in New York, where they are also the official U.S. distributor for Caterham Cars. The first production model will be used as the company’s demonstration cars with several more production models heading to America in a few weeks.

Dyson Racing played a pivotal role in developing the SP/300.R race car, sending former Le Mans 24 hour winner Guy Smith and its technical director, Peter Weston, out to Caterham’s test sessions during product development. The goal of the Caterham race car is to mirror the technology and appearance of the Lola Le Mans prototype, but in a more affordable fashionable.

“Like many of our customers, we can’t wait to get our hands on the SP/300.R. As in the UK, the popularity of track day driving is rocketing and the new vehicle is ideal for anybody who wants a reliable and cost-effective vehicle with very serious but accessible performance,” said Chris Dyson, Dyson Racing Team Vice President and Sporting Director.

Check out two videos on the Caterham SP/300.R after the break.

Get the Flash Player to see this player.

Get the Flash Player to see this player.

Caterham boss Anser Ali recently confirmed during an interview with Car Magazine that the company has plans for an affordable sports car to go on sale by 2015 that will have at least three models, including a racing variant.

Ali confirmed to Car Magazine that they have financial backing to bring a second Caterham to market which will sit alongside the iconic Seven. The new model will feature fixed doors and a roof. They plan to offer at least a coupe and convertible variants with hopes of a third model choice.

The new model will be built from the ground up. “We’re starting from scratch in terms of the platform technology and powertrain,”Ali said. “We’re not trying to take the Seven and make it slightly bigger, slightly higher, slightly wider.”

Caterham is hoping this new model will help the automaker expand sales beyond 500 units per year. Ali hopes to achieve five times their current sales by appealing to customers in new markets. The U.S. in the cross hairs, but Caterham is counting mostly on Chinese consumers to boost their numbers.

Even though very few details about this new model were revealed, Caterham did say that it hopes the new model weighs less than 2,200 lbs. Engine details remain scarce, but Ford may be a candidate considering their engines are used in the Seven.

[Source: CAR Magazine]

Fans of Formula 1 racing and Lotus must have spent this year feeling a bit confused regarding who they should support, since there were two teams going by the name Lotus.

There was Team Lotus, a private team founded by Tony Fernandes (who also owns Caterham Cars), and then there was Group Lotus which was run by Lotus (the guys who make the cars) and their parent company Proton.

The two teams fought over the naming rights. Group Lotus said that the name Lotus belongs to them, while Team Lotus said that their name has always operated in motorsports as a separate entity to the road car business.

Who gets what naming rights was up to the courts to decide, and the verdict is in. Group Lotus is to keep the rights to the Lotus name in motorsports, which means they now own the rights to the Team Lotus name also.

In what is being described as a amicable settlement between the two parties, the former Team Lotus, which is also owned by 1 Malaysia Racing Team, will rename themselves as the Caterham F1 Team for the 2012 season.

Group Lotus CEO Dany Bahar said at the announcement that, “On behalf of Group Lotus and Proton, I would like to express how pleased we are that this matter is finally closed and we can now focus on looking forward to the future.”

The new deal will also lead to a working relationship between the two parties over future automotive projects.

Caterham, a company that started out life as a Lotus dealer, who got the manufacturing rights to the Lotus 7 and has been producing the car for over 30 years now, will now be its own force in Formula 1. Recognition of the Caterham brand will thus grow on a global scale.

There used to be a time when China was an “export-only” nation. But with China all the rage, foreign companies are making their way into this burgeoning market, and Caterham Cars is the latest entrant.

Caterham Cars has just signed an exclusive deal with Courtenay Trading International (CTI) as its exclusive importer. CTI will appoint six dealers in China, in some of its key provinces, and hopes to sell between 30 and 50 cars in its first year.

All of the current line of Caterham Seven’s will be offered, including the rapid Superlight R300 and the CSR 175. Models like the SP/300 R might be introduced at a later date.

On this occasion, Caterham Cars’ International Business Manager, David Ridley, said: “We are engaged in one of the most exciting new chapters in the Caterham Cars story and our entry into the Chinese market is another tangible sign of how Caterham is striving to become a truly global brand.”

While Caterham has been present in the Far East, namely Japan for quite a long time, this is the first time customers in China will be able to park one on their driveway. The first Sevens are scheduled to arrive in China in January 2012.