Caterham Cars is a manufacturer of specialist lightweight sports cars based in Caterham, Surrey, England and part of the British motor industry. Their only current model, the Caterham 7, is a direct evolution of the third-series Lotus Seven designed by Colin Chapman. Caterham had been a major supplier to Lotus during the 60's, and its founder, Graham Nearn, purchased the rights to continue manufacture of the Seven design from Chapman in 1973, after Lotus announced their intention to discontinue the model.
As with their Lotus Seven precursors, Caterhams are constructed of aluminium sheet attached to a tubular steel chassis, brazed together by hand. Their extremely high performance is achieved through light weight (less than 500 kg on some versions) rather than particularly powerful engines.
In the United States Caterhams are sold as kits only, lacking some modern safety features required of manufacturers but which are not required for individually-assembled vehicles. Buyers can either choose to construct the cars themselves or pay their regional dealers or local builders to assemble them. Typically the engine and transmission are sourced separately as a unit- often from Caterham- but all other components (including frame, suspension, differential, driveshaft, interior, wiring and instruments) are provided in kit form. In the UK, the vehicles can be obtained as kits or entirely assembled by Caterham and registered for the road under SVA (Single Vehicle Approval) regulations. In the 60's the original Lotus Seven was sold only in kit form in both the UK and the US, in order to evade the very high taxes on complete new cars that were not assessed on automobile parts.
In the late 90's, Caterham also produced a model called the '21'. Mechanically the 21 was almost identical to the 7, but instead of the uncompromising narrow, open body and wheels, the car had a wider roadster body, including a proper windscreen and fold-away hood (convertible top). While a solid car, the 21 never sold particularly well because of the Lotus Elise and was discontinued after only a few years.