Paul Tan's Automotive News » Caterham

Caterham F1 unveils 2012 car – the Renault powered CT01

Danny Tan — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 02:42:09 +0000

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.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Tue, 14 Feb 12 08:26:32 +0000.

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Tony Fernandes’ Caterham F1 Team unveils new logo

Danny Tan — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 03:21:47 +0000

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.”

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Tue, 14 Feb 12 08:26:32 +0000.

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

Anthony Lim — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 03:57:26 +0000

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.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Tue, 14 Feb 12 08:26:32 +0000.

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

Danny Tan — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 03:41:24 +0000

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.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Tue, 14 Feb 12 08:26:32 +0000.

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Caterham to enter Chinese market

Anthony Lim — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 02:55:49 +0000

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!

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Tue, 14 Feb 12 08:26:32 +0000.

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Caterham and GE branding on Team Lotus T128 revealed!

Danny Tan — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 01:30:34 +0000

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?

Click to enlarge

“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.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Tue, 14 Feb 12 08:26:32 +0000.

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

Danny Tan — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 09:52:28 +0000

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.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Tue, 14 Feb 12 08:26:32 +0000.

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Caterham launches a Team Lotus Special Edition Seven

Anthony Lim — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 12:16:40 +0000

Click to enlarge

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!

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Tue, 14 Feb 12 08:26:32 +0000.

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Team Lotus Enterprise to take Caterham to new heights

Anthony Lim — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 11:29:30 +0000

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!

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Tue, 14 Feb 12 08:26:32 +0000.

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

Danny Tan — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 06:00:51 +0000

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!

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Tue, 14 Feb 12 08:26:32 +0000.

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Team Lotus to takeover Caterham? We’ll know next week!

Danny Tan — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 06:24:27 +0000

Now here’s a piece of interesting news. We received an invite by Team Lotus for an event that’s to be held at The Imperial War Museum in Duxford, UK.

With the headline “Team Lotus Powers Ahead”, the 10:30 am April 27 event is all about two things – the T128 doing a “straightline aero test” and “an incredibly exciting announcement about the future of our team”.

What’s this you ask. Well, we were scratching our heads too, but reports from the UK are saying that this big announcement is likely to be of Tony Fernandes’ Team Lotus buying over Caterham, famous as the maker of the Seven. Yes, you read right, they’re saying that Team Lotus is going to buy a carmaker, one whose defining model started life as a Lotus!

Autosport’s sources points out that this possible takeover of Caterham would provide marketing and technical opportunities between the F1 operation and the road car business. Autocar says that the Kent-based company, owned by private equity firm Corven Ventures and run by former Lotus exec Ansar Ali, will net fresh investment and ambitious product plans with this deal, which Team Lotus has not commented on.

Another interesting view is that by having Caterham on board, Team Lotus will have a car brand to fall back on if it loses in the Lotus name battle with Group Lotus.

The naming rights case is currently being played in British courts, with a verdict not likely to be out till next month.

How’s this for a twist? Stay tuned for updates!

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Tue, 14 Feb 12 08:26:32 +0000.

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Caterham Supersports – the purest road-going Seven

Anthony Lim — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 00:58:10 +0000

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Just over two months after it debuted its new sports racer, the SP/300.R, to great success, Caterham Cars has unveiled another offering, the first new addition to its world-renowned Seven range in two years. The car is called the Supersport, and the company says it’s one of the purest versions yet of the iconic British sportscar.

Derived directly from the race car that competes in the highly-successful Caterham Supersport championship, the road-going Supersport borrows all of the track version’s performance essentials, but is fine-tuned for the road, making it arguably the purest street-legal Seven.

Click to enlarge

The 140 hp vehicle carries the DNA of Colin Chapman’s 1950s concept of ‘less is more,’ and remains true to the legend’s philosophy of lightweight, minimalist machines that place outstanding handling characteristics and the thrill of driving at their core.

It’s powered by a Caterham Motorsport-tuned 1.6 litre Ford Sigma engine, mated to a five-speed manual transmission with ‘sprint’ ratio gearing. Features include a lightweight flywheel, uprated springs and dampers borrowed directly from its race car cousin, stiffer anti-roll bars, track biased dash with integrated change up lights and an aero screen.

Click to enlarge

Equipped with CR500 Avon tyres sitting on 13-inch wheels, the car comes with composite race seats and a four-point race harness instead of standard seat belts, which of course completes the track-inspired experience for the owner.

Weighing just 520 kg, the Ford lump gets the Supersport from 0-100 kph in just 4.9 seconds and takes the car to a top speed of 193 kph. As is the case, buyers can choose to get the Seven Supersport as a factory-built vehicle or in component build-it-yourself form, which brings down the cost of ownership.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Tue, 14 Feb 12 08:26:32 +0000.

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Caterham-Lola SP/300.R selling like hot cakes

Anthony Lim — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 09:23:30 +0000

Yup, that’s right. The Caterham-Lola SP/300.R racing car is selling out fast, with more than half of the yearly allocation sold since the vehicle made its debut in January at the Autosport International Show in Birmingham.

Of course, more than half in this case is 14, since only 25 of these 300 hp lightweight racers are made each year. The low volume is so nothing is compromised in terms of build quality and customer service.

Besides well-heeled individuals, several teams have placed deposits for the car, with Fauldsport, the reigning Caterham Superlight R300 Teams Champion, booking three vehicles.

“We are delighted with the way the car was received at the Autosport show. It’s the first new model Caterham has built for 15 years but, even so, we were bowled over by the reaction and the interest, which led to several deposits being placed almost immediately,” Caterham Cars managing director Ansar Ali said.

“There are many more people who have registered their interest in buying the remaining 11 cars, so I’d anticipate that our order book will be filled quite soon.” Well, yes, lovely.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Tue, 14 Feb 12 08:26:32 +0000.

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Caterham-Lola SP/300.R: Sub 600 kg, 0-100 km/h in 2.5s

Danny Tan — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 03:37:44 +0000

Described as an “exciting new chapter in its history”, Caterham – the British carmaker famous for the Seven – has unveiled the SP/300.R sports prototype racer at the Autosport International Show in Birmingham, UK. Created in partnership with British engineering brand, Lola Cars, the “aesthetically-sensitive” prototype will feature Caterham Motorsport’s new supercharged version of the Ford Duratec engine, expected to produce around 300 hp.

That’s enough to propel the sub-600 kg car from rest to 60 mph (0-96 km/h) in around 2.5 seconds. The gearing of the car has been selected to reach maximum rpm in top gear at the end of Spa-Francorchamps circuit’s Kemmel Straight, one of the more frequently-visited trackday venues. Top speed will be around 270 km/h.

Lola led the downforce development and aerodynamic styling using CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics). The basic chassis is an aluminium tub with a longitudinally mid-mounted engine, coupled to a stress-bearing rear transaxle. A forward splitter and large rear wing reduce lift, while a flat underbody maximises ground effect benefits. There’s also an F1-style raised nose section and sectioned panels, which will help reduce repair costs, ease maintenance and allow single-handed removal of body panels on track.

The SP/300.R gets full race suspension – front and rear dual wishbones with pushrod dampers plus adjustable ride height. The rear suspension architecture is derived from Lola’s Formula 3 cars. The tyres are bespoke items by Cooper Avon fitted to 13-inch race rims.

Only 25 SP/300.Rs will be manufactured each year. Caterham is planning a one-make series in which the SP/300.R will star, but details are yet to be finalised.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Tue, 14 Feb 12 08:26:32 +0000.

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Caterham heading to Tokyo with 3 latest models

Harvinder Sidhu — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 00:40:58 +0000

UK-based Caterham Cars will be present at the Tokyo Motor Show in Japan with three of its latest models. The Superlight R300 EU4 will make its Japanese premier while the CSR 175 EU4 will make its world premier. The sports car maker will also showcase the Roadsport EU4.

Caterham which has been selling its cars in the Land of the Rising Sun since the 1970′s recently confirmed Premium Cars Import (PCI) as the company’s exclusive importer in the country in January. Managing director Ansar Ali who used to hold a position in Lotus as general manager said, “Japan has always been one of our biggest export markets. During the early 1990s, Caterham was selling over 100 cars a year in Japan and now, with our new importer doing great work to highlight the company from their Tokyo base, we are looking forward to pushing sales up again.”

“I have no doubt we will achieve this objective as we now have a retail network of over 15 dealers in Japan who are committed to making Caterham another British success in this exciting and dynamic market,” he added. Caterham will be one of just three European manufacturers exhibiting at the motor show.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Tue, 14 Feb 12 08:26:32 +0000.

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The insanely powerful Caterham Seven RST-V8

Paul Tan — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 18:36:09 +0000

The Caterham Seven RST-V8 is the ultimate Caterham, with a power to weight ratio of over 1,000 bhp per tonne, more than double that of a Bugatti Veyron.

In the engine bay of each RST-V8 is a 2.4 litre 40 valve V8 by RS Performance, which puts out 380 horsepower at a sky high 10,000rpm and 258Nm of torque at 8,500rpm in normally aspirated form. This sounds like it’s half way on the way to being an F1 engine, which typically puts out over 700 horses and topping out at 19,000rpm. The V8 is mated to a 6-speed sequential paddle shift gearbox with an LSD.

A version of the engine supercharged at 0.8 psi (0.05 bar) produces 500 horsepower, with 406Nm of torque at 8,500rpm. The supercharged variant of the Caterham RST-V8 is called the “Levante”, and only 8 units will be available. Each vehicle comes with a two day driver training course, as this machine is not your run of the mill fast car.

0 to 100km/h with the 500 horsepower engine takes less than 3 seconds, and has traction control and launch control to help harness all that torque pushing a car that weighs just over 500kg.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Tue, 14 Feb 12 08:26:32 +0000.

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Top Gear Caterham Challenge

Paul Tan — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 20:17:20 +0000

Top Gear has an interesting challenge here, it’s the trio against The Stig in a race to see who actually manages to start th race. What we have here is The Stig driving from Caterham’s factory to the destination which is a race track, while Jeremy, James and Richard attempt to build their Caterham kit car from scratch at the destination before The Stig arrives. Video after jump.

Video: Top Gear Caterham Challenge – 1

Video: Top Gear Caterham Challenge – 2

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Tue, 14 Feb 12 08:26:32 +0000.

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Caterham Seven Hill Climb

Paul Tan — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 03:51:50 +0000

Here is a video of a Caterham Seven driven by Ken Evans going up the Loton Park hillclimb route. Driving at such speeds in what is essentially a big go-kart with a car engine is exciting. Video after jump.

Video courtesy of: Seven Builder

Video: Caterham Seven Hill Climb

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Tue, 14 Feb 12 08:26:32 +0000.

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Caterham Superlight R400

Paul Tan — Thu, 05 Apr 2007 04:17:25 +0000

Caterham’s new Superlight R400 is a part of a range that are the successors to the original Lotus Seven by Colin Chapman launched 50 years ago. The 400 in the Superlight R400 refers to it’s massive 400 horsepower per tonne power to weight ratio, thanks to it’s Caterham-tuned Ford Duratec 2.0 litre engine putting out 210 horsepower at 7,800rpm and it’s stripped down 525kg weight. Thanks to this power to weight ratio, those 210 horses take the Superlight R400 from 0 to 100km/h in less than 3.8 seconds! This engine is much more powerful than the K-Series engine used in the previous Superlight. You shift through 6 gear ratios (Caterham’s own design), and power is sent trashing through the rear wheels with a De Dion setup LSD differential.

The new chassis tubes are precision laser-cut and are jig-welded by a Panasonic robot and is an all-new design, tweaked to offer 12% more rigidity, thus increasing grip, feedback, resulting in an increased ability to get faster lap times around the track. The rear suspension has also been improved with 30 changes to the dampers, as well as optimization to the anti-roll bars and road springs.

Check out this video of a Caterham-clone car going around an autocross track. It is not a real Caterham but one of those home-built clones. Nevertheless, a spectacular performance.

More photos after the jump.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Tue, 14 Feb 12 08:26:32 +0000.

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