Monday 23rd September 2013

Caterham: the future

Tony Fernandes is certainly not lacking in ambition then!

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If you thought models like the AeroSeven and Seven 165 seemed like bold moves, you ain't seen nothing yet. Well that's the basic jist of Tony Fernandes' grand plan for Caterham, and very exciting it sounds too.

Caterham range now bookended by 80hp 165...

Though rather tenuous to claim them all has new models, Caterham has bolstered its range by four already in 2013. Along with the aforementioned pair, the Seven 485 has given EU markets a taste of properly wild Caterhams and the 620R has also made a loud, fast, sideways debut.

But there's yet more to come, says Fernandes. We've still got a while to wait for the Alpine-Caterham sports car, but crossovers and small cars are in planning too. That's quite a sea change for Caterham, but look at what a similar tangent produced for Porsche; the Cayenne is hugely popular, which consequently means cars like the 911 GT3 can continue be justified. And given Renault's experience in those areas, we wouldn't be surprised to see a little postive French influence.

Fernandes says Caterham will, under his tutelage, 'show itself to be a progressive, open and entrepreneurially powered car brand that will deliver and surprise in equal measure', and also talks of the 'nimbleness and discipline' imbued from the F1 team. He uses the success of AirAsia (he's CEO there, don't forget) as an example of his previous success. QPR being relegated from the Premiership with Fernandes as Chairman isn't mentioned, so his record isn't flawless.

... and 310hp 620R, plus there's more coming!

But look at what Caterham can boast already. Along with the F1 and GP2 teams, Caterham has also recently launched its Technology and Innovation (CTI) division as well as Caterham Composites, both of which are integral to the development of the Alpine sports car.

The vision for Caterham's future is certainly exciting, but our sceptical journalistic side has to have some reservations. We'd love to see the Seven thrive and prosper, but sales volumes are never likely to be huge. It's the small car and crossover that are particularly intriguing; can a niche brand like Caterham make proper inroads in those areas? And can it do so whilst maintaining its reputation as the maker of excellent sports cars? The recent expansion of Caterham has been encouraging, but it's these future products, plus the Alpine sports car, that will be crucial. In the meantime, we can't wait for a three-cylinder Seven...

[DMC2]

mmmmm...... Sounds like Lotus all over again. Big plans that will never happen.

[renrut]

Talk is cheap and that Aeroseven concept is hideous.

[ewenm]

I wish them all the success in the world but I am also wary of statements like this. Good luck Caterham!

[Dakkon]

I wish them all the best, but I remember reading lots of grand plans from Lotus, then they fired the boss for lots of mischief and not many of the grand plans ever saw the light of day.

[mikeerhymes]

Im amazed those tyres are road legal, I thought R888 or A048 were about as slick as you could get! Anyone know what they are?

[little bill]

Has anyone bought manufacturing rights to Gordon Murrays small car concept? Could be a good fit.

[Ex Boy Racer]

a crossover caterham. Something I would be very cross over.

[Bargenosenti]

little bill said:

Has anyone bought manufacturing rights to Gordon Murrays small car concept? Could be a good fit.

Interesting thought

[Blue in Lincoln]

The tyres are Avon ZZR

[storminnorman]

I get worried when a new(ish) boss turns up and starts throwing around "crossover" and "small car".
Caterham is a sports car brand; nothing wrong with farming out some engineering in return for a small badge on the boot but there's no reason why it should fill other niches. Every manufacturer thinks it has to do that these days, and then we're left with nothing special.

The only thing the F1 team really does is make Caterham a more widely known name - however, that's hardly a positive thing due to their performance at the moment.

Fernandes' enthusiasm is commendable but he should leave the road car operation alone. Give the "crossover" piggy bank to the F1 team and that'll do much more good for the brand.

[Darumvej]

They also have plans to start manufacturing bicycles.

[tomv1to]

Maybe for the hatch they will strengthen their ties with suzuki and give us a souped up budget hot hatch in the form of the catarham alto. It looks terrible but it is light so if catarham can improve the handling and get it from 0-60 in under 9 seconds with a budget price then I reckon they would have a successful car.

[LooneyTunes]

I hope to be proved wrong, but I have a very nasty feeling that this isn't going to end well for Caterham.

[Greg_D]

storminnorman said:

nothing wrong with farming out some engineering in return for a small badge on the boot

Caterham don't have the engineering depth of lotus - if anything, they are a recipient of engineering consultancy (remember that they needed multimatic to develop the suspension on the CSR range of cars - if a sports car company needs help with suspension then that tells you everything you need to know)

[BertBert]

tomv1to said:

Maybe for the hatch they will strengthen their ties with suzuki and give us a souped up budget hot hatch in the form of the catarham alto. It looks terrible but it is light so if catarham can improve the handling and get it from 0-60 in under 9 seconds with a budget price then I reckon they would have a successful car.

I think that embodies every bad idea and thinking it's possible to have regarding car brands (well maybe not quite all). I presume you are inspired by how Proton cars became the "must have" sports cars when injected with some Lotus expertise...

1 Take a crap car that is crap and looks crap and is completely outside Caterham's current market
2 Try really hard to make it go quicker and handle better
3 Try and sell a slightly better than crap car in a market where you have absolutely no track record
4 Realise it's the one of the worst ideas ever and drop the price. So, a really cheap slightly better than crap car in a market you know nothing about and where the product has no redeeming competetive features.

Eat your heart out Igor Ansoff, PH has got it licked

Bert

[ewenm]

Greg_D said:

Caterham don't have the engineering depth of lotus - if anything, they are a recipient of engineering consultancy (remember that they needed multimatic to develop the suspension on the CSR range of cars - if a sports car company needs help with suspension then that tells you everything you need to know)

It has been a good few years since the CSR was developed. Since then Fernandes has come along, the F1 team has started, CTI has been created etc. The company/companies is/are barely recognisable now compared to then.

[jamespink]

Blue in Lincoln said:

The tyres are Avon ZZR

Avon ZZR what? They look nothing like my ZZR3s or 5s...

[LaurasOtherHalf]

love the steelies on that 165

[anonymous-user]

jamespink said:

Avon ZZR what? They look nothing like my ZZR3s or 5s...

Just ZZR

http://www.avonmotorsport.com/road-legal/performan...

And I'd still have Khumo's

Edited by anonymous-user on Monday 23 September 14:08

[simonrockman]

I think I must be the only person on PH who likes the AeroSeven

Simon