Team Lotus buys Caterham Cars - and a Team Lotus Special Edition Seven to celebrate
Team Lotus – in the guise of Tony Fernandes – has snapped up Caterham cars, bringing the link to Colin Chapman’s Lotus full circle.
Team Lotus – that’s the ‘Lotus’ F1 run by Tony Fernandes, not the Hethel mob run by Dany Bahar – has bought Caterham Cars from Corven Ventures for an undisclosed sum.
Which is all very apposite, what with Caterham being the spiritual home of Colin Chapman’s Lotus Seven and keeper of the Chapman ethos of lighter is better. To tie Caterham back in to the Lotus name could work wonders for sales.
Caterham may not have been Tony Fernandes’ first target – Lotus Cars was the aim – but Team Lotus seem pretty chuffed to have acquired the Caterham brand nevertheless.
Plans include sticking Caterham all over the Team Lotus F1 cars, which should put Caterham under the noses of a much bigger audience than they currently reach, and keeping the current team – with Ansar Ali in charge – where they are in Dartford and Caterham.
To celebrate, Caterham are building 25 Team Lotus Special Edition Sevens which are basically the Caterham R500 with Lotus colour scheme and a whole wodge of Lotus goodies, including a plaque in the cockpit signed by Team Lotus F1 drivers, Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen, and a visit to the Team Lotus F1 factory in Hingham.
It all sounds peachy and rosy. Let’s hope it stays that way.
ElliottHawkins says
Lets hope this is the start of British automotive dominance.
percy says
Lotus Cars has got lost with the silly plans of the new management at Hethel.
Perhaps Team Lotus and Caterham should try to get the rights to the Elise and Exige now Lotus Cars seem keen to forget their roots.
CarsUK says
Now that is a plan. They could even keep selling the chassis to Tesla as well. But somehow we doubt Lotus Cars would play ball.