CATERHAM READY TO TAKE ON ESTABLISHED GERMANS

Renault Alpine Concept

Tony Fernandez may be a name that’s common in North America, but in some other parts of the world it’s neither here nor there. However soon, if the man has his way, the name will be attached to performance, glory and admiration. That’s because Fernandez is the big boss at Caterham and he wants people to forget about the likes of Porsche, Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Ferrari. He wants them to buy Caterhams.

Caterham itself is a strong British brand with a good long heritage. Already they are racing in Formula One where success has yet to come. That aside, Caterham is getting into the road-car production over the next few years. Plans are apparently afoot to produce a range of vehicles to rival the best in the world. Among them will be a small SUV to compete against cars like the Audi Q5/ BMW X3/ Porsche Macan.

We’ll also see a compact performance coupe likely to be powered by a small turbo engine with over 220kW of power. Targets will be existing models like the Volkswagen Scirocco R and Alfa 4C. This car, said to be based on the upcoming Renault Alpine, should be on sale around 2016. Nothing has been said about right-hand-drive markets yet, but we are encouraged by the fact that as a UK brand, Caterham will produce enough crops to send some down south as well, just as McLaren Automotive has through the Daytona Group.