Apr .27 ( Team Lotus) Team Lotus Enterprise
today announces that it has purchased
British sportscar maker Caterham Cars .
The acquisition by Tony Fernandes,
Kamarudin Meranun and SM Nasarudin,
the men behind the Team Lotus Formula 1
squad, from the shareholder consortium
led by Corven Ventures , will see the
legendary lightweight sportscar
manufacturer expand its brand profile and
product family .
The acquisition of Caterham Cars by
Team Lotus Enterprise will not only
signal the continued development of
the legendary Seven, but will
provide Caterham with the platform
to apply its philosophy of ‘ adding
lightness’ to exciting new models for
the 21 st Century.
This exciting new era for Caterham
will be led by the company ’ s
existing management team , headed
up by Caterham Cars Managing
Director Ansar Ali .
Ansar’ s direction has been
responsible for energising
Caterham ’ s export prowess during the last
five years, creating the iconic Superlight
R500 – Top Gear’ s Car of the Year for 2008
– and Caterham ’ s first brand new model in
15 years, the stunning SP / 300 .R sports
prototype racer.
As custodians of Colin Chapman ’ s two-
seater Seven since 1973, Caterham has
been responsible for the evolution of a car
originally conceived as a ‘ fit for purpose ’
race- car for the road in 1957.
Today , the Seven is arguably the
benchmark for the perfect balance between
power and intuitive , user - friendly handling,
and in spite of its years remains one of the
most raced cars in the world. It has also
been the inspiration for the recently-
launched Caterham - Lola SP / 300 .R for the
race and track day community .
Tony Fernandes said: “ Caterham has a
unique place at the heart of the motoring
world. As well as being proudly and
staunchly British, it has an enviable and
uniquely unblemished reputation within the
industry for performance, handling and
engineering excellence.
“Caterham Cars has remained wholly
faithful to Colin Chapman ’ s philosophy of
‘ less is more’ , and the DNA of the original
Seven can still be traced to the newest
additions to Caterham ’ s product offering.
“It is already a successful business with
sales across Europe, Japan , Australia and
the Middle East, and under the guidance of
the existing management team , we now
have all the ingredients and the launch pad
to further evolve that spirit and take
Caterham to new exciting horizons with
innovative products and greater global
brand exposure.”
Caterham Cars , Managing Director , Ansar
Ali , added : “ This is yet another exciting
chapter in the Caterham story . Until now,
the resources Caterham has had at its
disposal have, naturally, limited the
exposure of the Caterham experience and
the legendary Seven has had to rely almost
entirely on its remarkable reputation and
legacy.
“We will remain entirely true to the
philosophy that we , as custodians of one
man’ s motoring concept , have protected
for nearly 40 years.
“However, the acquisition of the company
by Team Lotus Enterprise will allow our
existing management team to take
Caterham ’ s core spirit of pure driving
enjoyment to a hitherto un-served
audience .
“While the Seven will now have the global
springboard it deserves and will continue to
be evolved yet further , we also have the
opportunity to expand the Caterham family
beyond the Seven and SP / 300 .R and
breathe new life into our uniquely
respected brand and mature it into a truly
global business.” |
