We've seen manufacturers smash several speed records lately, from record breaking Nurburgring lap times, to incredible top speed runs approaching 300 mph. Then there's Caterham, which has set a more unconventional new car record. To celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Seven sports car, Caterham invited Olympic legend Sir Chris Hoy to participate in a unique challenge at Donginton Park, where he was tasked with performing as many tire-smoking donuts in a minute using its most powerful model, the Seven 620R.

In total, Hoy successfully completed 19 donuts in one minute, setting a new world record in the process. "Everyone knows I spend a lot of time in cars these days but I've never had much practice donuting," said Hoy. "But when someone tells me there's a record up for grabs that certainly focuses my mind. During the attempt I just kept going, putting everything I'd learnt into practice."

You lose sense of time when you're in a spin, so I was shocked when I was told I'd completed 19 in 60 seconds – it was more than I expected." Powered by a supercharged 2.0 liter Ford Duratec engine with limited slip differential, the Seven 620R proved to be an ideal car for the challenge. To complete the challenge, Caterham equipped the 620R with a set of ultra-high performance Avon ZZS tires which are more commonly used on the racetrack in the Caterham Motorsport championships, despite being road legal. Caterham recently kicked off celebrations for the Seven's 60th birthday with the retro-inspired Seven SuperSprint, which sold out in just seven hours.

"When we entered the Seven's 60th anniversary celebrations we knew we wanted it to be a milestone year," said Caterham's CEO Graham Macdonald. "However, we didn't realise it would be a record breaking year on so many different counts. Topping off the year, after such a strong sales performance, with a record from an Olympic icon is quite a way to round it all off."