Caterham Cars History
Caterham Cars is a manufacturer of lightweight sports cars specialist based in Caterham, Surrey, England and part of the British car industry. Their only current model, the Caterham 7 (or seven), is a direct evolution of the Series 3 Lotus Seven designed by Colin Chapman and originally launched in 1968.
On November 5, 2008 Caterham has announced a partnership with Project Splitwheel (www.splitwheel.com), an online initiative that will use crowdsourcing methods to design a new Caterham car performance with input from owners and car enthusiasts. The model could potentially go into production by 2011 [1].
Lotus Origins
Colin Chapman of Lotus Cars has launched the Series 1 Lotus Seven in 1957. The car was immediately embraced by fans as a low cost, lightweight sports car and a race car. Revised series series 2, 3 and Series 4 versions were then launched in 1960, 1968 and 1970 respectively.
Caterham Cars has been a major Lotus 7 dealer during the 1960s, and its founder, Graham Nearn, bought the rights to continue manufacture of the design of Chapman in September 1973, after Lotus announced its intention to discontinue the model. Caterham first revived the manufacture of the Lotus Seven Series 4, but when this proved unpopular, production rose to a Series 3 model in 1974.
The Lotus / Caterham 7 is widely regarded by car enthusiasts and the media as one of the iconic sports cars of the 20th century. With 2007 marking the 50th year of continuous production, the Seven miraculously still enjoys strong support and Clubman success in racing style.
Construction
Like its precursors Lotus Seven, Caterham are constructed of aluminum sheet attached to a tubular steel chassis. Cap and the wings are either GRP or carbon fibers according to the specifications. All Sevens are on the front with a rear engine 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 a lightweight chassis and bodywork, Caterham Sevens reach their weight very low by their lack of comfort and functionality focused on security as a fixed roof, doors, radio, air conditioning, airbags, traction / stability control , ABS, satellite navigation and cruise control. Accordingly, the Seven is a bit limited in its practicality for everyday use and is instead recognized by fans driving to focus on driving pleasure, making it an ideal track / race car or "car Sunday '.
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