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Caterham F1 unveils 2012 car – the Renault powered CT01

January 27, 2012 at 10:42 am By Danny Tan Filed Under Caterham, Formula 1, Motorsports

Caterham F1 Team, the rebranded Team Lotus owned by Tony Fernandes, has unveiled its 2012 challenger. The CT01, as it is called, comes with a “platypus-style” nose, which is unusual, but expected to find its way to many other 2012 cars due to new regulations. The team retains its green and yellow theme from the Lotus Racing days.

From these enhanced images, the CT01 appears to be more advanced aerodynamically than its predecessors. Expert F1 eyes also picked out tight-sculpted, low rear bodywork and slim and short sidepods, the latter maximises the low drag effect in that area.

“The regulations have changed to limit the height of the nosebox to try to ensure that noses don’t get too high. Our challenge is that you always want to get the chassis as high as possible to allow clean air flow to the underside of the car, and what you see on the CT01 is our solution to that,” explains tech chief Mike Gascoyne.

“As we’re the first car out it is obviously stirring up a lot of debate, but because of the 2012 regulations I think you’ll probably be seeing this type of nose on most of the cars this year,” the Brit added.

Unlike before, this car isn’t burdened with lofty targets from the start. “I think we need to see the car on track first and get feedback from the first tests. Until we run the car, we only have numbers and simulation data to work with. But every team wants to move up the grid and we’re no different. We finished 10th in the last two years, which has been our target, but now I think it’s time we moved forward again. Let’s see what happens we get out on track,” said Gascoyne.

Moving forward from just being the “best of the new teams” is to be a solid midfield team, and that should be a realistic target for 2012. The CT01 will hit the track at Jerez next month for testing.

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Tony Fernandes’ Caterham F1 Team unveils new logo

December 16, 2011 at 11:21 am By Danny Tan Filed Under Caterham, Formula 1, Motorsports

You would have known by now that the Lotus vs Lotus naming row is over, and in 2012 Lotus Renault GP will race as ‘Lotus’ while Tony Fernandes’ Team Lotus has changed its name to Caterham F1 Team. The AirAsia boss and friends bought over British sportscar maker Caterham back in April.

Caterham F1 Team has unveiled its new logo for the 2012 F1 season, which uses a familiar green background with yellow accents. Tony Fernandes explains that the name change makes perfect sense for him.

“With Team Lotus, I would have battled to the end if I felt it was the right thing to do, but when you take a dispassionate look at where we were it made absolute sense to start with a clean sheet, and Caterham has given us that chance,” he told the team’s magazine.

“It’s the best possible solution for where we want to go – partly because it gives us complete control over everything we do and, obviously, because there’s simply no point racing to promote a road car company I don’t own. The road car business has always been a sector I’ve wanted to explore and so here we are.

“But I can’t stress enough; this is a serious business venture for us. If I just needed a new name, I could have called it anything, but the synergy with Caterham works better – and it’s what I do – take a small business with the correct core values and purpose and expand it and grow it into the global marketplace.”

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Caterham Group announced – parent company to handle everything Caterham, including the F1 team

November 29, 2011 at 11:57 am By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, Caterham, International News

In line with the rebranding of Team Lotus to Caterham F1 Team next season, the creation of a newly-formed business called Caterham Group has officially been announced. The Group is the parent company name for the range of automotive, motor racing, technology and innovation companies that will sit within a single business under the stewardship of Group CEO, Riad Asmat.

At launch, Caterham Group consists of four main areas, these being Caterham Cars, Caterham F1 Team, Caterham Technology & Innovation (CTI) and Caterham Composites. The announcement was made by chairman Tony Fernandes at the Brazil Grand Prix in Sao Paulo.

“We have been talking for some time now about our plans for Caterham in all its guises, from the road car company to Formula 1 and GP2, and in the technology, design and innovation fields. Now, with the announcement about the rebranding in Formula One to Caterham F1 Team for 2012 and beyond, we are in a position to give a much more in-depth explanation of how the Caterham Group is taking shape,” Fernandes said.

The Caterham F1 Team, which includes Caterham Racing as the new name for the Group’s GP2 outfit, will act as a focal point for a development programme that encompasses 700 plus Caterham Seven racers around the world and various motor racing formulae from karting, GP3, World Series by Renault and up to F1.

Meanwhile, Caterham Technology & Innovation (CTI), which was launched in September, will assist Caterham Cars on the development of the next generation of accessible and affordable sportscars as well as undertake advanced projects for external companies operating within the automotive and aerospace sectors, including a radical new in-flight entertainment system.

Elsewhere, Caterham Cars, which is readying the SP/300.R sports prototype for 2012, will continue laying the foundations for a completely new product range that will see the first all-new Caterham road car due out in 2014, and Caterham Composites will work on projects across the aerospace, nautical, motorsport and automotive industries.

“With those four arms in place, and more to be announced in due course, we have a dynamic group of businesses already working together that gives a clear vision of what our long-term strategy is in their respective fields, and as one entity under Caterham Group,” Fernandes added.

“This range of business interests provides us a very strong foothold in a number of growth sectors, staffed with teams of people with a strong mix of experience, youth, creativity and passion. In short, we have all the right ingredients in place to do some incredibly exciting things in markets that are ripe for innovation and new ideas.”

“With those plans now complete, we have the foundations in place for long-term growth and success, and now we are in complete control of our own destiny. We have a very exciting future ahead of us and are all looking forward to seeing the rewards of our hard work pay off for many years to come,” Fernandes said.

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Caterham’s new engineering arm to produce affordable sports cars, inspired by original Seven and F1 tech

September 28, 2011 at 11:41 am By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Caterham, International News

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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Caterham to enter Chinese market

July 21, 2011 at 10:55 am By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, Caterham, International News

British sportscar maker Caterham Cars is expanding its presence globally – it’s now set to enter into the Chinese market, with the entire range of Sevens making their way in.

The company has signed an exclusive deal with a new importer, Courtenay Trading International; the latter is looking to appoint six retailers in key provinces of China over the next year and is targeting initial sales of between 30 and 50 Sevens in its first year of operation.

All of Caterham’s current EU5-compliant cars will be sold – the Roadsport 120, Superlight 120, Roadsport 175, Superlight R300 and CSR 175 – with the first Sevens scheduled to arrive in China in January 2012.

Although Caterham has had a long-standing presence in the Far East, notably in Japan, the move into China represents the next big step into new growth markets. Looks like the purchase by Team Lotus Enterprise in April is taking the brand places!

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Caterham and GE branding on Team Lotus T128 revealed!

July 6, 2011 at 9:30 am By Danny Tan Filed Under Caterham, Formula 1, Motorsports


Click to enlarge

In our post yesterday, Team Lotus boss Tony Fernandes revealed that his team’s green/yellow cars will sport two new logos for this weekend’s British GP. They are GE and Caterham.

The American giant joined Team Lotus as sponsor last month, while British maker of the Seven, Caterham, was bought over by Tan Sri Tony, Kamarudin Meranun and SM Nasarudin back in April, before they were allowed by the courts to legally use the “Team Lotus” name. The purchase of Caterham has already seen a rebranding of the Caterham Team AirAsia GP2 team.

Here are some photos of the T128 with the revised livery. Caterham is prominently plastered on the race car’s sidepod while the famous GE logo is found on the front, middle and tail sections of the car, in various sizes. Do you like the new look?


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“This is a monumental occasion for Caterham Cars. We are a niche low-volume sportscar manufacturer and yet we are now a key partner for a Formula One team with an extremely bright future. The purchase of Caterham signalled an exciting new era for the company in terms of the continued development of the legendary Seven,” Caterham Cars MD Ansar Ali said.

“But in terms of global visibility for the Caterham brand, you don’t get much better than Formula One. Caterham has a long and distinguished history in grassroots motorsport but this puts the firm in front of a truly global audience to sit alongside major car brands including Ferrari, McLaren and Mercedes Benz,” Ali added.

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Tony Fernandes: No decision on Team Lotus rebranding yet, but Caterham name will be stuck on GP2 Team AirAsia

April 28, 2011 at 5:52 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Caterham, Formula 1, International News, Motorsports

Yesterday was a big day for Team Lotus, when it bought over British carmaker Caterham, which defining model Seven started life as a Lotus. Some see this move as a “Plan B” if Tony Fernandes and friends lose the Lotus name battle to Group Lotus.

Domain names with Caterham in it have been booked, along with a possible title sponsor, which strengthens this idea.

But Team Lotus boss Tony Fernandes isn’t committing to anything yet. “I don’t know yet, to be honest. I am waiting to see what happens with the case, and all these sort of things. But an ideal scenario would be a marriage of the two. The ideal world is both,” he told Autosport.

“People have said that Lotus has its own F1 team, but so what? There is Manchester United and Manchester City. People will come to understand what each brand stands for, and say – we want this, or we want that. It is no different to me, and I really hope we can keep both,” he added.

On the failed relationship between him and Group Lotus, he has no regrets. “Obviously we thought Group Lotus was an unpolished diamonds in many ways, and with an F1 team we could have done many things together. That didn’t transpire but it is funny how in life if you go down one road, it gets blocked heavily, and so you switch to another road. But then, in fact, the other road looks a lot nicer.

“I believe that if you are doing things well, you give it the right attention and you have the right people, luck will find a way for you. And certainly, fortune favoured the brave here – and if I was to redo things, I would have much rather gone down this route to be honest.

“It is a simpler, easier one. It is a profitable business, it doesn’t require lots and lots of capital and the F1 teams adds a lot to it to grow the business. Without sounding like a cliche, it is a marriage made in heaven in many shapes and forms,” he said. We’re not sure if the “profitable business” bit is a dig at Proton and Lotus, though.

So there’s no Caterham F1 team, yet, but there will be a Caterham GP2 team if it’s allowed. “I can confirm pretty clearly that there will be a Caterham GP2 Team. I have to check with the regulations, rename the team ‘Caterham’ and AirAsia will become a sponsor. So AirAsia Caterham… but when we do it and how we do it, I don’t know yet,” he revealed.

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Caterham launches a Team Lotus Special Edition Seven

April 27, 2011 at 8:16 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, Caterham, International News


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Oh my, it looks like there’s an absolute flurry of activity today with Caterham Cars, which isn’t surprising, of course. This one centres around a product – to celebrate its new ownership, having being acquired by Team Lotus Enterprise, the Brit sportscar marque has announced that it will build a limited run of Team Lotus Special Edition Sevens.

Twenty five units with Team Lotus upgrade packages – which can be applied to any variant up to the range-topping 263 hp Superlight R500 – will be built for the UK, with the same number allocated to export markets.

For an additional £3,000 over the price of a chosen model, the SE Seven will be specially-liveried in the famous green and yellow colours of Lotus and will come with a raft of bespoke Team Lotus additions; included in the package is an invitation to a customised tour of the Team Lotus F1 factory in Hingham, Norfolk.

In the cockpit, each SE will bear a plaque carrying the signatures of Team Lotus F1 drivers, Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen, and owners will also receive a Seven history book, signed by chief designer Mike Gascoyne. And so, the marketing begins!

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Team Lotus Enterprise to take Caterham to new heights

April 27, 2011 at 7:29 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, Caterham, International News, Motorsports

Team Lotus Enterprise’s purchase of British sportscar maker Caterham Cars was announced earlier today, bringing its number of businesses to four, joining the Team Lotus Formula One squad, EQ8 energy drink and Team Lotus merchandise and licensing already in the TLE portfolio.

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 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 in the future.

Caterham, custodians of Colin Chapman’s two-seater Seven since 1973, will continue to be led by the company’s existing management team, headed its managing director, Ansar Ali.

“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,” he said.

“We will remain entirely true to the philosophy that we, as custodians of one man’s motoring concept, have protected for nearly 40 years,” Ali added. “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.

“The Seven will now have the global springboard it deserves and will continue to be evolved yet further, and 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,” he stated.

Meanwhile, Fernandes said that the plan was to take the brand to new, exciting horizons and greater exposure globally.

“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,” Tony 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,” Fernandes added. Sounds like they’re gearing up for a big push, then!

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VIDEO: It’s official, Team Lotus and Caterham join hands!

April 27, 2011 at 2:00 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Caterham, Formula 1, International News, Motorsports

UPDATE: And it’s back on again. The video clip that was happily running for a few hours on myteamlotus’s Channel on YouTube prior to the official announcement, and was then made “private,” is back on line.

Last week, we told you about Team Lotus’ event at The Imperial War Museum in Duxford, UK, and that it would feature “an incredibly exciting announcement about the future of our team”. The British press sniffed out Caterham as the brand that would be taken over by Tony Fernandes and friends, the latest twist in this Lotus drama. Caterham’s defining model, the Seven, was originally a Lotus.

The event doesn’t start until later today, but Team Lotus has released a video featuring both the T128 and the Caterham Seven in matching colours. In it, the Kent based carmaker’s MD Ansar Ali (a former Group Lotus employee) talks about his company and its F1 linked future.


Who’s who at Caterham, as shown on companiesintheuk.co.uk

“Caterham has a unique place at the heart of the motoring world, and we’re bringing them into Formula 1. It will be the first step in our journey of producing a commercial arm for the Formula 1 team, Team Lotus.

“We will in due course be announcing the full branding and platform of how we’ll bring Caterham into Team Lotus, which I think will excite all the staff at Caterham, and all the fans of Caterham cars,” Ali said.

“We’re building for success on track, and now, with the new future of Caterham cars we’ll be taking our dream to the road as well,” he added. Sounds to us like a range expansion to include “proper road cars” with the spirit of the Seven! Could this be a bid to take on Group Lotus on all fronts?

Stay tuned for more!

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