Yahoo Autos Caterham Considers Building a Sports Car With Doors and Even a Roof
If you're looking for a bare-bones sports car, it doesn't get much better than a Caterham Seven. It's almost completely devoid of creature comforts, keeping it outrageously light and incredibly nimble. But, as Autocar reports, Caterham may soon add a second sports car to its lineup-one that features the creature comforts the Seven lacks.
"We'd love to have a full-bodied sports car, because when we take the Seven to some of the new emerging markets, they don't recognize it as a car because of the way it looks," Caterham CEO Graham MacDonald told Autocar. "What we're unlikely to do is just stick a roof and doors on a Seven. We want a bit more ease of access and more creature comforts inside."
The problem is, Caterham doesn't have the manufacturing capacity to build a second sports car itself, so it needs to find another automaker to work with. "The best thing for Caterham now is probably a joint venture," MacDonald said. "Any new product is a big investment for a small business like us. We're more than happy to sit and talk to anyone."
Previously, Caterham had worked with British design firm Drive and Renault's Alpine to create the C120 concept, shown above. That joint venture eventually fell apart, and Renault developed the new Alpine sports car itself. But according to MacDonald, "the split was amicable," and if Renault was interested, he'd be keen to work together again.
Even if Caterham does manage to build a second model, though, MacDonald promises the creature comforts won't compromise the driving experience. "It's important to get the right engine and product for our customers," he said. "It has to have Caterham DNA."
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