Caterham is a small British car manufacturer that emerged in the shadow of Lotus and has remained committed, for decades, to its particular vision of a car, which are mostly variants of the Seven. Indeed, Caterham sold more Sevens in 2021 than ever before, or some new 670 Sevens, I guess because life is short and dozens of people thought they needed a totally impractical but very fun and light British sports car in their pandemic-stricken lives. Good news for those people and their suitors: Caterham said Thursday that it plans a new headquarters not far from its old one, with the capacity to build about 750 Sevens a year, or 50 percent more than the capacity now
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Caterham is owned by VT Holdings, a Japanese company that bought it in 2021 and apparently he won’t be leaving Caterham anytime soon. It’s all part of Caterham’s 50th anniversary this year, which it will celebrate in August. It was in 1973 that Graham Nearn, founder of Caterham, he convinced Colin Chapman to let him make a version of the Lotus Seven. The rest, as they say, is history. A new chapter is now being written.
From Caterham’s release:
Bob Laishley, CEO of Caterham, said: “It is fitting that, in our 50th anniversary year, we can invest in new premises to facilitate our ambitions, for the future of Seven and the brand as a whole.
“The site not only increases our production capacity, but allows us to advance our manufacturing capabilities in a modern environment. It will be a fantastic new home for the brand, our employees and our past, present and future customers for to visit”.
Alastair Dawson, Senior Asset Manager at Railpen, said: “Caterham is a British manufacturing, engineering and marketing success story with a long-standing connection to Dartford. We have worked closely with the brand in finding a new home, with Dartford X meeting all of Caterham’s criteria to support the continued growth of the business over the coming years, maintaining local jobs and the vitality of its supply chain partners.”
South East England has been Caterham’s home since it started building cars in 1973 in the town of Caterham, Surrey. In 1987, production moved to Kennet Road in Dartford, where their cars have been assembled ever since.
Caterham says its new headquarters will be 54,000 square feet and is scheduled to be completed later this year. They say there is a “multi-million dollar” investment in the name of VT Holdings. The facility looks like it will be worth the pilgrimagemage for Caterham enthusiasts, as Caterham says there will be factory tours, “open days” and other such events. Caterham is a very specific choice when it comes to new cars or equipment, and nobody is likely to love your new Caterham as much as you do. Still, long live Caterham.
