company industry automobiles founded 1973 founder graham nearn headquarters crawley sussex england products caterham 7 csr classic roadsport academy supersport superlight sp 300 . r parent caterham group website caterhamcars.com caterham cars is a british manufacturer of specialist lightweight sports cars established in caterham surrey with their headquarters in crawley sussex . their current model the caterham 7 or seven originally launched in 1973 is a direct evolution of the series 3 lotus seven designed by colin chapman . in the 1990s the company made the caterham 21 a two seater soft top alternative to the mgf and lotus elise which both sold many more units . a track only car the sp 300 . r a joint project with lola was released for customer testing in 2010 and was scheduled for release in 2013 . on 27 april 2011 team lotus owner tony fernandes announced that he had purchased caterham . 1 2 contents 1 history 1.1 lotus origins 1.2 construction 1.3 kit format 1.4 international 1.4.1 united states 1.5 location 1.6 caterham 21 1.7 caterham sp 300 . r 2 caterham 7 model line up 2.1 chassis variants 2.1.1 series 3 s3 2.1.2 series 5 sv 2.1.3 csr series 6 2.2 model trim variants 2.2.1 classic 2.2.2 roadsport 2.2.2.1 roadsport a 2.2.2.2 roadsport b 2.2.3 superlight 2.2.3.1 superlight r300 2.2.3.2 superlight r400 2.2.3.3 superlight r500 2.2.3.4 superlight r600 2.2.3.5 superlight 620r 2.2.4 csr 2.2.5 rs performance rst v8 engine 2.3 kit build 3 engines 4 motor racing 4.1 formula one 4.2 gp2 series 4.2.1 caterham motorsport ladder 4.2.2 caterham academy 4.2.3 karting 5 see also 6 references 7 external links history edit lotus origins edit main article lotus cars colin chapman s lotus cars launched the series 1 lotus seven in 1957 . the car was immediately embraced by enthusiasts as a low cost lightweight sports car and successful race car . revised series 2 series 3 and series 4 versions were subsequently launched in 1960 1968 and 1970 respectively . caterham cars had been a major lotus 7 dealer during the 1960s and its founder graham nearn purchased the rights to continue manufacture of the seven design from chapman in 1973 after lotus announced its intention to discontinue the model . caterham initially restarted manufacture of the lotus seven series 4 ; however when this proved unpopular production switched to a series 3 model in 1974 . in 1974 under the name of seven cars limited caterham built 20 production cars with chassis numbers 1 20 and one prototype with chassis number 0 cs3 3550 cs3 3570 . of the 21 cars produced in the first year all were fitted with the ford lotus twin cam 1557cc engine with the exception of chassis number 7 which intended for racing was fitted with a 1962cc twin cam engine sourced from alfa romeo . the lotus caterham 7 is widely regarded by car enthusiasts and the media as one of the iconic sports cars of the 20th century . citation needed with 2007 marking the 50th year of continuous production the seven still enjoys strong support and success in clubman style racing . since 2006 caterham cars has been run by an ex lotus management team led by ansar ali ceo and mark edwards coo . in june 2012 ansar ali announced he was to leave caterham cars and graham mcdonald the company s former cfo became the new ceo . construction edit as with its lotus seven precursors caterhams are constructed of aluminium sheet attached to a tubular steel chassis . nosecone and wings are either grp or carbon fibre depending on specification . all sevens are front engined with rear wheel drive and two seats . their extremely high performance is achieved through light weight less than 500 kg 1 102 lb on some versions rather than particularly powerful engines . as well as a lightweight chassis and bodywork caterham sevens achieve their very low mass through their lack of comfort and safety oriented features such as a fixed roof doors radio air conditioning airbags traction stability control abs satellite navigation or cruise control . as a result the seven is somewhat limited in its practicality for everyday usage and is instead recognised by driving enthusiasts for its focus on driving enjoyment making it an ideal track race car or sunday car . kit format edit chapman and lotus helped to pioneer the british kit car industry . the lotus seven was offered in kit form to allow buyers to avoid new car tax in the uk . subsequently caterham continued offering cars in complete knock down ckd kit form as the tradition of hand building your own seven was well established amongst enthusiasts . today all caterham sevens are still offered in kit form in the uk except the csr series 6 model . modern caterham kits differ from the majority of kit cars as all parts are supplied ready to assemble not requiring a donor car fabrication or any special skills . international edit caterham 7 roadsport near caterham south showroom although the seven has always been popular with enthusiasts outside of the uk marketplace export of the seven to other markets has increasingly been limited by homologation safety and emissions regulations in the modern era . as a result the chassis engine combinations specifications pricing and kit form availability vary widely between countries . in the past in the united states caterhams were sold as kits only lacking some modern safety features required of manufacturers but which are not required for individually assembled vehicles . buyers could either choose to construct the cars themselves or pay their regional dealers or local builders to assemble them . typically the engine and transmission are sourced separately as a unit often from caterham but all other components including frame suspension differential driveshaft interior wiring and instruments were provided in kit form . in the uk the vehicles can be obtained as kits or entirely assembled by caterham and registered for the road under sva single vehicle approval regulations . in the 60s the original lotus seven was sold only in kit form in both the uk and the us in order to evade the very high taxes on complete new cars that were not assessed on automobile parts . united states edit as of 2014 however caterham has named superformance their official distributor in the united states . international demand has increased dramatically in part due to the addition of a f1 race team and the changes in caterham s structure focusing on the distribution of the seven worldwide . caterham has since introduced a new model line up and focused on their production and production times to better suit their new international market making their partnership with superformance possible . sevens will be shipped to the usa in part built form and sold as rolling chassis via superformance s nationwide dealer network for customers to then complete the build personally or through the superformance dealership . the initial us line up includes several caterham sevens 280 360 480 and the 620r . 3 location edit until 1987 the offices factory and showroom of caterham cars were located in the town of caterham surrey . in 1987 the production and administration of the company moved to a new factory in dartford kent . caterham cars retained a caterham south showroom and servicing facility in the town of caterham adjacent to the railway station until february 2013 . the caterham dealership closed after the premises were sold for development and the showroom relocated to temporary facilities in crawley . 4 additionally the caterham midlands showroom operates outside leicester . in 2012 elements of caterham cars moved into a new facility in leafield oxfordshire where it is expected the new models of cars to be produced in the future will be developed and built . the move to this new facility which was formerly used by the arrows f1 team and the super aguri f1 team . the leafield site also accommodated the caterham f1 team which moved from its original base in hingham norfolk and competed in formula one between the 2012 and 2014 seasons . caterham 21 edit main article caterham 21 caterham 21 in 1994 caterham also produced a model called the 21 . 5 mechanically the 21 was very similar to the 7 using a modified 7 spaceframe chassis with a new grp roadster style body including a wrap around windscreen and fold away fabric hood convertible top manufactured by oxted trimming company . the 21 benefited from a considerably stiffer setup than a 7 due to the work on the chassis and having a full body . comfort was introduced in the same minimalist style as the 7 adding just enough to make it a proper roadster without adding too much weight . caterham however underestimated the effort involved in creating a completely new car and took far too long from its inception to deliver the first customer cars seeing many people who had placed deposits defect to the lotus elise and other vehicles . early ones were used as prototypes leaving customers to help iron out some of the foibles of the new car . citation needed the 21 never sold particularly well with only 48 ever made . it had moderate racing success in the belcar 24 hour series in europe and is credited with helping caterham develop the widetrack setup used in svs amongst other developments and the csr s sweeping interior is reminiscent of the original 21 design . caterham sp 300 . r edit main article sp 300 . r the sp 300 . r is a new track only model designed by caterham alongside lola cars . the sp 300 . r is a limited edition with limited production to 25 per annum . 6 caterham 7 model line up edit main article caterham 7 classic caterham chassis variants edit in 2010 caterham offers three different chassis variants in the uk . series 3 s3 edit the most popular variant retains the same dimensions and layout of the lotus 7 series 3 . series 5 sv edit caterham introduced this variant in 2000 to accommodate larger drivers space is restricted in the s3 for drivers over 6 ft 1.8 m tall . although visually very similar to the s3 the sv is longer taller and wider and has significantly more space for taller and broader drivers with the added benefits of more luggage space a larger fuel tank and more stability . the sv chassis is 25 kg 55 lb heavier than the s3 . csr series 6 edit the csr was launched in 2005 following extensive research and development by caterham with the objective of creating an improved seven . the csr is based on the larger dimensions of the sv but with a substantially revised and stiffer chassis inboard pushrod front suspensions fully independent rear suspension improved aerodynamics potent cosworth engines and a new integrated dashboard layout . model trim variants edit classic edit the most basic version of the 7 was traditionally offered with a live rear axle but now comes with de dion rear suspension found in other models of the same range . this trim level strips away all non essential equipment and comforts . classic trim is available on s3 sv chassis engines 1.4 litre k series 105 bhp or 1.6 litre k series 120 bhp . roadsport edit roadsport is the trim level intended for general usage different weather conditions and touring . the spec includes a full windscreen and weather equipment to increase practicality . a large range of performance options are available . the roadsport dates back to 1996 when it was called the superlight r in 1998 a much softer version came out called the seven clubsport 1.8 . the range continued to be developed in the years as a great alternative to someone who wanted a little