Caterham is a specialist manufacturer of light sports cars based in Caterham, Surrey, England. Its only current model, the Caterham Seven, is a direct descendant of the Lotus Seven Series 3 designed by Colin Chapman and originally launched in 1968. It is one of the UK’s most successful sports car manufacturers. Over the decades, Caterham has continued to refine the design, always respecting the brilliance of Chapman’s original lightweight formula, a true designer, inventor and builder. Today at COOLthelifestyle we analyze in detail the history of this famous car brand.
Anthony Colin Bruce Chapman was an automotive designer, inventor and builder. He graduated from University College London with a BSc in Structural Engineering and later joined the Royal Air Force.
His acquired knowledge of the latest aeronautical engineering techniques was vital to achieving the best automotive technology, which will always be remembered.
In 1952 he founded Lotus Cars, a sports car company that has now become an icon. His team, Team Lotus, has won 7 Formula 1 World Championships and the Indianapolis 500. The Lotus line-up consists of several hundred sports cars, using straight 4-cylinder engines, with less power than competitors, but with a lightweight chassis and highly tuned bodies and suspension, thus achieving very high performance.
In 1957, mustachioed genius Colin Chapman built a lively little two-seater sports car. The car was designed to be ‘fit for purpose’: Chapman wanted owners to experience the joy and pride of building their own car and then taking it to the track.
To this end, he came up with the motto: “Simplify, then add lightness.” And thus Seven was born.
“Simplify, then add lightness.”
After a life devoted to engineering, Chapman died at the age of just 54, in 1982, and remains in our memory as one of the great names in Formula 1 history.
More than sixty years later, Caterham, which acquired the rights to build and develop the Seven from Chapman in 1973, remains committed to Chapman’s original philosophy and continues to produce seven different variants.
With a model range ranging from 125bhp to 310bhp, and each car weighing just over 500kg, the seven or eight Caterham models offer something to suit every taste, and every level of driving experience.
Caterham’s exclusive British cars are produced exclusively in the UK, from start to finish, with the ultimate goal of reducing weight and increasing power.
But one thing remains constant… whether you’re behind the wheel of the relatively quiet Seven 270 or the incredibly fast Seven 620R, the fun is still there.
“At Caterham, we have always put the driver experience at the heart of what we do. Just as Chapman did over 60 years ago, we are committed to reducing weight, increasing power and giving our customers an exciting drive, both on road and track, as part of the brand’s renowned one-make championship series.
“At Caterham, we have always put the driver experience at the heart of what we do.”
“In true to our ethos, we have developed over 1,000 new racing drivers through the Caterham Academy programme, but seven have the potential to make you feel like a champion wherever you drive.”
Caterham and the Seven have a history that is forever intertwined. “We are the proud custodians of the Seven, the people who know and love this car – that’s how they define themselves. We are the passion and engineering behind the current incarnation of Chapman design. A unique and sometimes bizarre British car in our own way, we consider it our duty to push the boundaries of this little car and its limits to the absolute limit, while maintaining the driving purity and racing spirit that defined the original and “they turned it into an icon.”
“We are the passion and engineering behind the current incarnation of Chapman design.”
“Our model range may or may not be mainstream. But its precise shapes encompass everything a true driver wants from a car. From the Sunday Cruiser to the racing enthusiast and aspiring racer, there’s a Caterham Seven to suit your needs. It’s hand-built, underpinned by an ideology and heritage that’s unrivalled in our sector.
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