4:09 am, April 28, 2011
CONFIRMING rumours circulating last week, Team Lotus Enterprise has bought the sportscar firm Caterham.
Tony Fernandes, Kamarudin Meranun and SM Nasarudin – the men behind the Team Lotus Formula One squad – has bought the firm from the shareholder consortium led by Corven Ventures.
The acquisition of Caterham Cars by Team Lotus Enterprise will see the iconic Seven developed along with the brand’s profile, and will hopefully see new models being produced.
Caterham will be now be led by the company’s existing management team, headed up by Caterham Cars managing director, Ansar Ali – who oversaw the introduction of the Superlight R500 and the SP/300. R racer.
Fernandes said: ‘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.’
To mark today’s announcement, Caterham is building a limited run of Team Lotus Special Edition Sevens.
Just 25 of the Team Lotus upgrade packages, which can be applied to any variant up to the top-of-the-range 263bhp, 150mph Superlight R500, will be built in the UK, with the same number allocated to the company’s export markets.
For an additional £3k over the normal asking price, the car has a unique livery, a special plaque signed by Team Lotus F1 drivers, a Seven history book signed by chief designer, Mike Gascoyne, and owners will have a ‘customised tour’ of the Team Lotus F1 factory in Hingham, Norfolk.
