Photo: Caterham
Caterham is a small British carmaker that arose in the shadow of Lotus and has remained committed, for decades now, to its particular vision of a car, which are mostly variants of the Seven. In fact, Caterham sold more Sevens in 2021 than ever before, or some 670 new Sevens, I suppose because life is short and dozens of people thought they needed a completely impractical but very fun and lightweight British sports car in their pandemic-stricken life. Good news for those people, and their aspirants: Caterham said Thursday that it is planning a new headquarters not far from its old one, with a capacity to build around 750 Sevens a year, or 50 percent more than capacity now.
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Caterham is owned by VT Holdings, a Japanese company that bought it in 2021 and apparently isn’t quitting Caterham anytime soon. This is all part of Caterham’s 50th anniversary this year, which it will celebrate in August. It was in 1973 when Graham Nearn, Caterham’s founder, convinced Colin Chapman to let him make a version of the Lotus Seven. The rest, as they say, is history. Now, a new chapter is being written.
From Caterham’s release:
Bob Laishley, CEO of Caterham, said: “It’s fitting that, in our 50th anniversary year, we can invest in new premises to facilitate our ambitions, for the future of the Seven and the brand as a whole.
“The site not only increases our production capacity but enables us to advance our manufacturing capabilities into a modern setting. It will be a fantastic new home for the brand, our employees and our customers past, present and future to visit.”
Alastair Dawson, Senior Asset Manager at Railpen, said: “Caterham is a British manufacturing, engineering and marketing success story with a longstanding connection to Dartford. We have worked closely with the brand in its search for a new home, with Dartford X meeting all of Caterham’s criteria to support the business’ continued growth over the coming years while retaining local jobs and the vitality of its supply chain partners.”
The South East of England has been home to Caterham since it started building cars in 1973 in the town of Caterham, Surrey. In 1987, production moved to Kennet Road in Dartford where its cars have been assembled ever since.
Photo: Caterham
Caterham says its new headquarters will be 54,000 square feet, and is scheduled to be done by the end of this year. They say that there is a “multi-million pound” investment on behalf of VT Holdings. The facility sounds like it’ll be worth the pilgrimage for Caterham enthusiasts, as Caterham says that there will be factory tours, “open days,” and other such events. Caterham is a very specific choice when it comes to new cars or kits, and probably no one will love your new Caterham as much as you do. Still, long live Caterham.
Keyword: Don't Worry, Caterham's New Headquarters Can Make 750 New Sevens Per Year