Renault and Caterham’s Sports Car Project Rumored to Go Down the Drain

The last time we heard about the Renault-Caterham partnership, things weren’t going really well. Since the project to jointly develop a sports car started in 2012, progress was delayed by Renault’s decision to revise the initial design of its upcoming Alpine sports car. Caterham wasn’t thrilled at all with the decision, as this means its own version of the car had to be modified.

Caterham Reveals its First Ever Motorcycles at EICMA 2013

Caterham Group has officially announced the creation of Caterham Bikes, its first ever motorcycle division. The new motorcycle maker debuts at the International Motorcycle Exhibition (EICMA) in Milan (November 5-10).

Caterham Bikes will display three prototype products at the show: the Brutus 750 (dubbed the “SUV of motorcycles”), Classic E-Bike (an all-electric bike with retro styling) and the Carbon E-Bike (a premium electric bike inspired by F1 technology).

Fitted with an automatic transmission, the Brutus 750 can operate as a street bike, off-road machine or even a snowmobile, with the conversion process taking less than four hours. A tribute to the golden age of British motorcycling, the Classic E-Bike has a range of 40-80 km (25-50 miles) and can be driven without a license in the EU.

Finally, the Carbon E-Bike is a premium bike with modern styling inspired by F1 technology. Caterham is mulling a limited edition version featuring exclusive F1 input and materials. Production of the bikes will begin in spring 2014, with the Brutus 750 the first to be built, followed by the two electric bikes later in the year.

Caterham Bikes’ key growth market will be Asia, where there’s strong demand for such vehicles, but the products will also be sold in Europe, North America and South America.

Just like its cars, Caterham says the bikes will deliver “accessible fun” and will carry the brand’s DNA of British heritage, performance and intuitive handling. Caterham Bikes will be managed by Al-Ishsal Ishak, the company’s CEO. Ishak was previously Group Head of Ancillary Income at AirAsia, the budget airline company owned by Caterham Group’s owners Tony Fernandes and Dato’ Kamarudin.

By Dan Mihalascu

PHOTO GALLERY

Caterham Adds Another "7" to its Range, the 180hp Supersport R

Caterham's broad line-up of Seven models is welcoming a new member in the form of the Supersport R, which sits between the less powerful 1.6-litre Supersport and the more radical Superlight R300.
The Supersport R makes do with a new adaption of the Ford-sourced 2.0-liter four-cylinder Duratec petrol engine rated for 180bhp, which is linked to a five-speed manual and a limited-slip differential that drive the rear tires.

Caterham Logos to Appear on Team Lotus’ F1 Cars

It’s funny how things turn out sometimes. In 1973, Caterham, which was founded in the 1960s as a Lotus dealer, acquired the rights to build the Seven from Lotus. Now, Team Lotus has purchased Caterham Cars through a holding company, part owned by Malaysian Tony Fernandes.

Want to Try out the New Caterham-Lola SP/300 R? Here’s How

With the development of the new Caterham-Lola SP/300 R now complete, the British carmaker is ready to give potential owners their first taste of the prototype-racing car on the tarmac. The dates on which racing drivers and trackday enthusiasts alike can get behind the steering wheel of Caterham’s 300bhp, 180mph (289 km/h) sports prototype are:

-Saturday, August 27 at Donington Park
-Wednesday, September 7 at Donington Park
-Thursday, September 15 at Snetterton
-Wednesday, September 21 at Donington Park

F1’s Team Lotus Acquires British Sportscar Maker Caterham

The owners of Formula One Team Lotus announced today the acquisition of lightweight sportscar manufacturer Caterham, for an undisclosed sum from the shareholder consortium led by Corven Ventures.
Based in England, Caterham has made a name for itself for building the Seven, a lightweight two-seater sports car that was designed by Lotus founder Colin Chapman and who sold the rights of the car to Caterham in 1973.
Team Lotus chiefs Tony Fernandes, Kamarudin Meranun and SM Nasarudin said in a statement that the company plans to expand Caterham’s profile and product family while also continuing the development of the Seven.

New Caterham Seven Supersport Targets Hardcore Enthusiasts on a Bugdet

A little over two months after the introduction of its first truly new model in 15 years, the SP/300R, Caterham has now presented the first brand new addition in two years to its core model series, the Seven. As its name implies, the new Seven Supersport is derived directly from the race-prepped version that competes in the one-make Caterham Supersport championship.

Artist Envisions a New Take on the Lotus Caterham 7

Much in the same way as Morgan’s pre-Supersports models, the Lotus / Caterham 7 has remained relatively unchanged throughout its long life. A lightweight body with no fixed doors or roof, a flat windscreen, exposed front wheels and a four cylinder motor embody the Seven’s design and engineering philosophy.
Diseno-Art has drawn up a nice design study in the form of the “New 7”, a vehicle designed to expand and complement the existing range of 7-badged vehicles.

With larger proportions and more refinement than the archaic (yet still beautiful) lines of the current generation, the New 7 is designed to be uniquely tailored to each customer’s needs and offer a high level of customer service while still holding to the brand’s philosophy of lightweight, simple and fun.

Caterham-Lola SP/300R: British Sportscar Maker Reveals its First Ever Prototype Racer, Road Going Model a Possibility

The Autosport International Show in Birmingham, UK, welcomed the world premiere of Caterham's first ever sports prototype racing car, the Caterham-Lola SP/300R. Created in partnership with legendary British racing and engineering brand Lola, the SP/300R is currently in the final stages of development and will be ready for a one-make championship in 2012, with the company planning to build up to 25 examples per year. Caterham said that a road-legal version of the sports car is also being considered.

Caterham Retires The Stig's Superlight R500 [with VIDEO]

The Caterham Superlight R500 took the world by surprise in 2008 with its 263 hp 2.0-liter naturally aspirated four-pot and sub-3.0 seconds 0-60mph sprint time. The same year it was launched, Top Gear’s racing driver, The Stig, drove it around the show’s test track completing a lap in just 1 minute and 17.9 seconds. That's the seventh fastest official lap time ever recorded on the show, putting to shame “heavyweights” like the Bugatti Veyron.

But everything comes to an end, and today, Caterham announced that the special model is making its final journey next week before being retired from active service.

Caterham launches Roadsport 125 Monaco Special Edition

Caterham is ready to release another "entry-level" special edition Seven in order to celebrate the amazing city-state that is Monaco. Called the "Roadsport 125 Monaco", this Seven gets a unique paint scheme representing the Monegasque flag to highlight its aluminum body; also, "Monaco" is pasted down the side if people can't make the connection.

Caterham RS Levante 500HP Sold Out - All Eight of Them (with Video)

Eight cars might not sound a lot, but at a cost of £115,000+ each, which is the equivalent of around $200,500 or €148,000 with the current exchange rates, it is somewhat surprising that that Caterham managed to sell all RS Levante supercars in a relatively short period of time. The most powerful production Caterham ever which is being hand-built by Hertfordshire-based RS Performance in association with Caterham Cars, packs a 500+bhp 2.4-liter supercharged V8 engine, housed in a modified version of the lightweight Caterham SV chassis. -Continued

Weighing in at just 520kg or 1,146 pounds, the RS Levante boasts a power to weight ratio close to 1000bhp-per-tonne, or nearly double that of the Bugatti Veyron... So it's not surprising that the Brits announce a 0-60 mph (96 km/h) sprint time of under 3,0 seconds -even though the top speed is limited to 150mph or 241 km/h.