Lotus joins forces with Caterham

Formula One marque teams up with boutique British sports car maker. Photo / Supplied

British sports car brand Caterham has joined forces with household name Lotus.

Team Lotus Enterprise, headed by Tony Fernandes, the man behind the Team Lotus Formula 1 squad, has bought Caterham for an undisclosed fee from its current owners, Corven Ventures.

Despite the change of ownership, the current management structure will remain in place, leaving Caterham Cars managing director Ansar Ali in charge.

There's been no official confirmation, but it's expected that the tie-up could see Caterham branding appear on Team Lotus F1 cars - a huge boost for the Kent-based firm and something that will help it to grow and venture into new markets.

Tony Fernandes said: "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."

Ansar Ali added: "This is yet another exciting chapter in the Caterham story.

"The Seven will now have the global springboard it deserves and will continue to be evolved yet further. We also have the opportunity to expand the Caterham family beyond the Seven and SP/300.R and mature it into a truly global business."

To celebrate the tie-up Caterham will build a limited run of 25 Team Lotus Special Edition Sevens. The upgrade package, which can be applied to the top-of-the-range R500, includes a bespoke colour scheme in the famous green and yellow colours of Lotus and will come with a raft of bespoke Team Lotus additions.

Included in the upgrade package will be an invitation to a tour the Team Lotus F1 factory in Hingham, Norfolk.