[Com. Caterham 1] Focus 2012 by Ansar Ali
Publié : 08 janv. 2012, 15:03
http://star-motoring.com/Features/Focus ... ising.aspx
ou sinon :
Keeping the drive experience pure, fun and affordable.
It’s a line that Ansar Ali puts across with conviction.
As the boss of Caterham Cars, he sees a clear path to the future that’s pivoted on such values.
Ansar Ali
Come 2014, Caterham Cars, now part of the Caterham Group mothership, will be producing a new line of sports cars it promises will become accessible to a wider spectrum of people.
“We will be doing two-seater sports cars that are more usable,” says Ali, 49.
“They will have doors and air-conditioning, while still keeping the drive experience pure, fun and affordable.”
The niche sports car maker was formed almost 40 years ago and started building cars in the spirit of the Lotus Seven.
The Caterham Seven has striven to stay true to Lotus founder Colin Chapman’s obsession to “add lightness” as a defining feature in its minimalist sports cars.
Caterham Cars today is a one-product company that’s seeking to break out of this limitation.
The Caterham Seven is its mainstay, comprising the Classic, Roadsport, Superlight and CSR variants, and they have sustained the company all these while, with 500 units made a year.
It achieved a record profit of £1 mil (RM5mil) in 2010. Not bad for a specialist car builder that is now part of Tony Fernandes’ expanding Caterham empire.
But increasingly it has become more dependent on exports, which today form 55% of its revenue. Its biggest export markets are France, Germany, Italy and Japan.
Ali admits that Caterham Cars is an obscure brand in Malaysia now “but I think in 12 months especially with Formula 1, a lot more Malaysians will know what Caterham is.”
The new cars coming in 2014, to be made in collaboration with Caterham Technology and Innovation (CTI) - an engineering unit under the group - will remain in the RM150,000 to RM400,000 price band it currently sells the current models in Malaysia.
Ali is quick to say that producing the new crop of cars is not a case of dumbing them down for the
mass market.
“There are going to be exciting things going on at CTI: How do you make F1 into an affordable road car?” says Ali rhetorically.
“It can be around the ride and handling, it can be around the suspension and how to manage heat.
“The important thing is the Seven will remain. We will continue to invest in it… in a way that’s our ‘Porsche 911’, our iconic car ,” says Ali.
“We are probably the only manufacturer at the price band we are targeting with genuine F1 DNA.”
Ali also said it is entirely possible for Malaysia to contribute 5% to 10% of its global sales volume after 2014 by leveraging on its core strength and those of the Caterham Group.
Last month, Caterham Cars made its first foray into Malaysian motorsports with the launch of the Superlight R300 Championship at the Sepang International Circuit.
The event has already established itself as one of the top motorsport series in Britain and Europe.
With a proven 175bhp Ford Duratec 2.0-litre engine and dedicated race chassis, the R300 Championship is currently the ultimate Caterham Seven series.
“The purpose of the race series in the next two to three years is to get the brand recognised in Malaysia,” says Ali.
Apart from the bread-and-butter Seven, Caterham will also reveal to Malaysians the all-new Caterham-Lola SP/300.R next year.
The track-focused car made its global debut in January and is Caterham’s first all-new model in 17 years, featuring its first mid-engined offering and a new supercharged version of the Duratec 2.0-litre engine.
With 300bhp and a sub-600kg kerb weight, the car is able to go from 0-100kph in 2.8s, a second faster than even the Lamborghini Aventador. Only 25 units will be made a year.
According to Ali, the SP/300.R, which goes on sale this year, has drawn “a lot of online interest from Malaysia.”
Recalling how his company became part of the Caterham Group, Ali said he approached Fernandes with a business proposal. At the end of 45 minutes, it was a done deal.
The SP/300.R.
“He didn’t waste any time!” says Ali with an incredulous laugh.
“He was trying to get Lotus...and clearly there were some big obstacles in the way.
“My view was that I could give him a pretty iconic brand. We could start from scratch, build a company really the way we want to build it with relatively little baggage and little initial investment.”
Motorsports has always been associated with high participation cost.
But not if Caterham Cars can help it. It has teamed up with local outfit Thunder Asia Racing Team to organise the R300 Championship from May 25.
It marks the starting point for its greater involvement in Malaysia and elsewhere in Asia with staunch support from the Malaysian maverick leading the group.
“We are going to change some of that elitism,” says Ali with a confident glint in his eye.
ou sinon :
Keeping the drive experience pure, fun and affordable.
It’s a line that Ansar Ali puts across with conviction.
As the boss of Caterham Cars, he sees a clear path to the future that’s pivoted on such values.
Ansar Ali
Come 2014, Caterham Cars, now part of the Caterham Group mothership, will be producing a new line of sports cars it promises will become accessible to a wider spectrum of people.
“We will be doing two-seater sports cars that are more usable,” says Ali, 49.
“They will have doors and air-conditioning, while still keeping the drive experience pure, fun and affordable.”
The niche sports car maker was formed almost 40 years ago and started building cars in the spirit of the Lotus Seven.
The Caterham Seven has striven to stay true to Lotus founder Colin Chapman’s obsession to “add lightness” as a defining feature in its minimalist sports cars.
Caterham Cars today is a one-product company that’s seeking to break out of this limitation.
The Caterham Seven is its mainstay, comprising the Classic, Roadsport, Superlight and CSR variants, and they have sustained the company all these while, with 500 units made a year.
It achieved a record profit of £1 mil (RM5mil) in 2010. Not bad for a specialist car builder that is now part of Tony Fernandes’ expanding Caterham empire.
But increasingly it has become more dependent on exports, which today form 55% of its revenue. Its biggest export markets are France, Germany, Italy and Japan.
Ali admits that Caterham Cars is an obscure brand in Malaysia now “but I think in 12 months especially with Formula 1, a lot more Malaysians will know what Caterham is.”
The new cars coming in 2014, to be made in collaboration with Caterham Technology and Innovation (CTI) - an engineering unit under the group - will remain in the RM150,000 to RM400,000 price band it currently sells the current models in Malaysia.
Ali is quick to say that producing the new crop of cars is not a case of dumbing them down for the
mass market.
“There are going to be exciting things going on at CTI: How do you make F1 into an affordable road car?” says Ali rhetorically.
“It can be around the ride and handling, it can be around the suspension and how to manage heat.
“The important thing is the Seven will remain. We will continue to invest in it… in a way that’s our ‘Porsche 911’, our iconic car ,” says Ali.
“We are probably the only manufacturer at the price band we are targeting with genuine F1 DNA.”
Ali also said it is entirely possible for Malaysia to contribute 5% to 10% of its global sales volume after 2014 by leveraging on its core strength and those of the Caterham Group.
Last month, Caterham Cars made its first foray into Malaysian motorsports with the launch of the Superlight R300 Championship at the Sepang International Circuit.
The event has already established itself as one of the top motorsport series in Britain and Europe.
With a proven 175bhp Ford Duratec 2.0-litre engine and dedicated race chassis, the R300 Championship is currently the ultimate Caterham Seven series.
“The purpose of the race series in the next two to three years is to get the brand recognised in Malaysia,” says Ali.
Apart from the bread-and-butter Seven, Caterham will also reveal to Malaysians the all-new Caterham-Lola SP/300.R next year.
The track-focused car made its global debut in January and is Caterham’s first all-new model in 17 years, featuring its first mid-engined offering and a new supercharged version of the Duratec 2.0-litre engine.
With 300bhp and a sub-600kg kerb weight, the car is able to go from 0-100kph in 2.8s, a second faster than even the Lamborghini Aventador. Only 25 units will be made a year.
According to Ali, the SP/300.R, which goes on sale this year, has drawn “a lot of online interest from Malaysia.”
Recalling how his company became part of the Caterham Group, Ali said he approached Fernandes with a business proposal. At the end of 45 minutes, it was a done deal.
The SP/300.R.
“He didn’t waste any time!” says Ali with an incredulous laugh.
“He was trying to get Lotus...and clearly there were some big obstacles in the way.
“My view was that I could give him a pretty iconic brand. We could start from scratch, build a company really the way we want to build it with relatively little baggage and little initial investment.”
Motorsports has always been associated with high participation cost.
But not if Caterham Cars can help it. It has teamed up with local outfit Thunder Asia Racing Team to organise the R300 Championship from May 25.
It marks the starting point for its greater involvement in Malaysia and elsewhere in Asia with staunch support from the Malaysian maverick leading the group.
“We are going to change some of that elitism,” says Ali with a confident glint in his eye.
