Lotus announced the deal as legal proceedings with Group Lotus continue © Sutton Images
Team Lotus has confirmed that Team Lotus Enterprise has purchased the British sportscar company Caterham Cars.
The official confirmation comes after reports last week, with documents showing Tony Fernandes was appointed a director of Caterham on April 12. The deal was announced at a media event at Duxford airfield, where the team will also be performing a straight line test of its T128, but there was no confirmation about how the Caterham name would be used with regards to Formula One.
"The acquisition of Caterham Cars by Team Lotus Enterprise will not only signal the continued development of the legendary Seven, but will provide Caterham with the platform to apply its philosophy of 'adding lightness' to exciting new models for the 21st Century," a Team Lotus statement read.
Fernandes, who had previously been hoping to enter the automotive business with Lotus, said that the British heritage was a key factor in the purchase, and that Team Lotus Enterprise would be looking to expand Caterham's global standing.
"Caterham has a unique place at the heart of the motoring world. As well as being proudly and staunchly British, it has an enviable and uniquely unblemished reputation within the industry for performance, handling and engineering excellence. Caterham Cars has remained wholly faithful to Colin Chapman's philosophy of 'less is more', and the DNA of the original Seven can still be traced to the newest additions to Caterham's product offering.
It is already a successful business with sales across Europe, Japan, Australia and the Middle East, and under the guidance of the existing management team, we now have all the ingredients and the launch pad to further evolve that spirit and take Caterham to new exciting horizons with innovative products and greater global brand exposure."
Confirmation of the deal comes before any verdict has been delivered on the Team Lotus v Group Lotus court battle, with a decision not expected until next month. Ownership of Caterham could give Fernandes another option should he be forced to relinquish the Lotus name.
Credit: ESPN F1 (en.espnf1.com)
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