Caterham to launch an affordable Seven soon
Caterham is celebrating 40 years of developing and manufacturing the iconic Seven with an affordable version. The yet unnamed car, the company says, will have a simple design and will stick to Caterham's dictum of delivering cars which is "accessible fun".
Caterham will be launching the affordable version of the Seven in the UK at a price tag of Rs 14.57 lakh at current conversion rates. The launch is expected to be in September this year with deliveries starting by year end. Caterham says that the new car will have a compact chassis mated to an EU6-compliant engine. While details about the engine haven't been revealed yet, Caterham claims that the car is the most fuel efficient Seven ever. Caterham Technology & Innovation has developed the new powertrain for this car.
Caterham Cars CEO, Graham Macdonald, said: "As we celebrate our 40th anniversary at Caterham, it feels good to be taking the brand right back to where it started. Colin Chapman designed the original Seven to be entirely 'fit-for-purpose' â€" a racing car for the road with the driving experience at its heart. With that in mind, the new entry-level Seven will be uncomplicated, easy to run and, most important of all, an intuitive and exciting drive."
Caterham entered India in 2011 via the Dabur Group. In an interview with OVERDRIVE two years ago, then Caterham CEO Ansar Ali had said that the company was planning on selling and supporting its entire range in India. Assembly of the cars was expected to begin from the first quarter of 2012. He also shared plans for a one-make series race in India, given that we now have the world-class Buddh International circuit. Since Caterham sourced its engines from Ford, Ali had mentioned that they could work out an agreement in India since the same Duratec engine was manufactured here. Come 2013 and there is no sign of Caterham India's operations and the company's only presence here is through its Facebook page, with orders being routed to the UK website.
Our 2011 Caterham 7 roadster first drive is here.