Caterham Cars

A British maker of lightweight sports cars, producing the Caterham Seven in kit and built form in Kent and near Gatwick.

About Caterham Cars

Caterham Cars makes the Caterham Seven, a small, lightweight and very simple sports car. It sells the Seven both as a kit that a customer can build themselves and as a fully built car. Fully built sales in the UK began in 1993. The company calls itself the "ultimate benchmark of handling and lightweight engineering".

Caterham's story began in May 1973, when it acquired the Seven's tooling, designs and exclusive rights from Lotus Cars. The Seven itself dates from 1957 and has well over 100 variants. Production began in June 1973 in Town End, Caterham. The Nearn family owned the company until 2005, and it has changed owners since. VT Holdings now owns it. The company's 50th anniversary tagline was "Pure, Simple, Fun". We did not find a formal mission statement.

The company moved production to Kennett Road in Dartford, Kent, in 1987. In 2013 it moved to a larger site near Gatwick Airport, and a new Dartford facility was planned for 2024. We could not confirm from the pages read which site is the main one today. It has sold over 22,000 cars, used more than 35 engine variants, and sold a record 670 cars in 2021.

Community is a large part of the brand. The Caterham Academy has helped nearly 1,300 beginners become racing drivers since 1995, and the company emphasises its community of owners and thanks the people who have been part of its journey. The 170R weighs only 440kg, making it one of the lightest production cars, and in 2023 the company took its first steps towards electrification with the EV Seven development car and the Project V concept. Ownership has passed from the Nearn family (until 2005) to Corven Ventures (until 2011), Team Lotus Enterprises (until 2021) and now VT Holdings. The 1973 Seven deal between Graham Nearn and Colin Chapman was agreed at Pub Lotus in Primrose Hill, London, and the company won a 24-hour endurance race in 1992 and Top Gear's 2008 Car of the Year award for the Superlight R500. Team Lotus Enterprises also ran an F1 team as Caterham F1 from 2012 to 2014.

Behind a small maker like this are roles in engineering, assembly, motorsport and events, sales and customer support. Caterham Cars' own website and its news pages are a good starting point to find more about the company and how it works.

What they do

• {'desc': 'Lightweight sports car sold as a kit or fully built.', 'title': 'Caterham Seven'}
• {'desc': 'Entry-level racing series that has trained nearly 1,300 drivers since 1995.', 'title': 'Caterham Academy'}
• {'desc': 'EV Seven development vehicle and Project V concept (2023).', 'title': 'Electric development'}

Key facts

• Took over Seven production from Lotus in 1973
• Production at Dartford, Kent since 1987; larger site near Gatwick since 2013
• Over 22,000 cars sold; record 670 units in 2021
• Owned by VT Holdings

Website: caterhamcars.com