Full details of a tie up between Tony Fernandes’ Formula One racing team and the British Sports Car company hit the press today. The official announcement can be found here.
Caterham have been producing lightweight sports cars based on Colin Chapman’s 1957 2 seater design (known as the Seven) for almost 40 years. The Seven is a car that can either be bought as a kit or factory built. Variants of this platform tailor all levels of performance cars, right up to the Superlight RS500 which has a greater bhp/ton than a Bugatti Veyron and can also comfortably outpace it around a track.
This announcement comes ahead of a court ruling to decide the fate of the Lotus Racing name which is being used by the F1 outfit. The dispute with the company that own Lotus Cars is thought to have influenced the purchase of Caterham.
The price paid by Team Lotus Enterprise is undisclosed but the benefits to both parties are clear. Team Lotus can be rebranded as a variation of Caterham F1, which can end the bitter court battle over the Lotus Racing name. The Caterham brand will become synonymous with F1, the flagship motorsport which is renowned across the globe.
Another revelation that came alongside this is a limited run of Team Lotus themed Caterham’s to celebrate. The optional theme will be available across the Caterham Seven range for £3k, and not only includes the paintwork, but also a numbered plaque signed by the current F1 driver lineup, a Team Lotus book and a tour of the Team Lotus F1 Factory.
A Team Lotus themed Seven is heavily featured in the video they released alongside the announcement.