Team Lotus announced on Wednesday that they have completed the purchase of Caterham Cars, manufacturers of the Seven.
Newcomers announce takeover of Seven sportscar manufacturer
Team Lotus announced on Wednesday that they have completed the purchase of Caterham Cars, manufacturers of the iconic Seven model which first put the Lotus name on the map.
The Seven was originally designed by Lotus founder Colin Chapman in 1957 and is still manufactured to this day - Caterham having acquired the rights in 1973.
It continues to be raced in series - not to mention by enthusiastic owners at track days - around the world and is noted for its lightweight design and affordability.
"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," said Lotus owner Tony Fernandes.
"It is already a successful business with sales across Europe, Japan, Australia and the Middle East," he added in a statement issued while Team Lotus carried out a straight line test at Duxford airfield ahead of next weekend's Turkish Grand Prix.
"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."
Custodians
Caterham's existing management team will remain in place under the leadership of former Lotus Cars executive Ansar Ali.
"We will remain entirely true to the philosophy that we, as custodians of one man's motoring concept, have protected for nearly 40 years," he said.
The announcement comes as Team Lotus engage in a court battle with Malaysian-owned Group Lotus and its parent company Proton over the use of the Lotus name in Formula One.
The High Court is due to rule on the case next month, although Fernandes denied the Caterham deal had only been done in case the decision went against him.
"This isn't being done... just in case we lose the case," he said. "We've invested a lot in bringing Lotus back into racing. We've acquired Team Lotus, have spent a lot of money building this brand up, and it's not something we want to give up.
"I and the shareholders want to wait and see what happens with the court case and then we'll make plans from there," added Fernandes when asked whether Caterham could ultimately become his team's title sponsor.
"Obviously, the plan was to try and do it (become a manufacturer) with Group Lotus but that hasn't worked out," he said. "But we think we've got something better now."
Fernandes, who also runs the AirAsia budget airline, renamed his team last year after they ran their debut season as Lotus Racing.
Agreement
That name came via a licensing agreement with Proton that the latter subsequently terminated.
Chapman called his racing operation Team Lotus and they became one of F1's biggest names in the 1960s and 1970s winning seven constructors' titles before folding in 1994.
The car company and team were in common ownership until 1994 when David Hunt, brother of the late world champion James, acquired the rights to the Team Lotus name. He sold them on to Fernandes last year.
Group Lotus, which questions the validity of those rights, is now also in F1 after becoming partners and sponsors of the Renault team.
The situation is confused further by the fact that Renault also supply engines to Team Lotus.
