Here’s the first piece of news from Caterham, since Tan Sri Tony Fernandes and his Team Lotus comrades Kamarudin Meranun and SM Nasarudin bought over the maker of the Seven in April. Caterham will be setting up a standalone engineering business called Caterham Technology and Innovation Limited (CTI).
The new arm will be responsible for the development of an all new line of accessible and affordable sportscars inspired by the lightweight, minimalist philosophy of the Seven and drawing on the advanced technologies and materials from Team Lotus Formula 1 and Caterham Team AirAsia GP2. This includes unique vehicle architectures, high performance engines, advanced materials and manufacturing technologies.
Besides creating next gen Caterhams, CTI, which will be based in Norfolk near the Group’s motorsports operations, will also undertake projects for external companies from the automotive and aerospace sectors.
“The new shareholders are committed to investing in an exciting range of global products over the next 10 years. Tony Fernandes has been very clear from the start that Caterham needed a sustainable research and development business model in order to meet the plans the management have for the road car business. By establishing unique operating principles for CTI, we have managed to attract a world-class team of niche vehicle engineers eager to build on the ethos of Caterham and the DNA of the Seven,” said Mark Edwards, CTI’s CEO.
One of those will be Tony Shute, joining as Head of Road Cars. Shute is an avid motorsport competitor and is credited with bringing the ground-breaking Series 1 Lotus Elise to market. The S1 Elise is still considered by fans to be a purer drive than subsequent versions. “When the opportunity to be involved with creating the next iconic Caterham arose, I couldn’t turn it down,” says Shute.
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It would be nice to see some Caterham cars being sold here in Malaysia… Are they road worthy??
asking to sell in malaysia but then ask if they road worthy….confuse
Selling for track usage also can mah… if not road worthy…. still confused?
The car one in this picture is maybe the road worthy version. Its got lights, winshield, wiper, single rearview mirror, and wings. JPJ may want left and right mirrors (booo!!!). Then its masses of drawings and documentation.
But then would the driver be worthy of the car? It’s like only quarter of a ton and you could easily fit a 200bhp Duratec. The only sound system is an exhaust pipe. Not to mention its a snap happy puppy. If it broke a ball joint, would the driver do his own repairs? Coz 90% of their current owners do. Are Malaysians worthy of that?
There are a few caterhams in Malaysia. Some are racing them at Sepang. In Damansara Perdana someone was planning to open a caterham dealership. Still.. they’re kit car manufacturers. It means you buy CKD and assemble it yourself here. I don’t consider them genuine car makers. More like something for ppl who want some fun on weekends. I guess what Tony is trying to do is to move them away from that and turn it into a genuine manufacturer
Caterham is a good track day car, but might (im using might) not be a good road car in Malaysia based on a review i watched on Fifth Gear..
now everyone can drive sportscar
it’s a little more than half a ton
that said, a 250kg sports car would be insane =)
“When the opportunity to be involved with creating the next iconic Caterham arose, I couldn’t turn it down,” says Shute.
Hopefully he’s not expecting the next generation of Caterham would be based on LOTUS car again… If he is.. he’ll be dissappointed…