so is a caterham a genuine louts 7 or is it a caterham ? and a lotus 7 a lotus 7 ?







as they dont look like the same car to me, they look like just another clone with more cash? shoot me down if i'm wrong.

[Edited on 28/4/08 by graememk]

Caterham bought the rights for the Mk4 (grp bathtub) 7 and casually picked up the rights to Mk1-3 versions in the smallprint. They then proceeded to start making Caterham branded Mk3 lotus 7's to the original plans and ditched the mk4.

The original prisoner car is a Mk1 or Mk2 I think. The current caterham 7 has had 40 something years of development and is about as close to an original Lotus built 7 as a Mk1 Escort was to a Mk6.

It's basically the same now...

Read here LINKETY LINK

Steve

so a caterham isnt really a lotus 7 at all ? just looks a bit like one then ?

[Edited on 28/4/08 by graememk]

Well it can't be a Lotus 7 if it's not made by Lotus can it really!! BUT up until very recently Caterhams had a chassis which was quite obviously a direct descendant of the Lotus 7 chassis and as such are quite distinctively different from any other 7 alike chassis (Birkins possibly excepted).

Not really worth getting all hot under the collar about tbh though

Don´t forget that Birkin Cars also owns the right to be called a genuine Seven as Caterham


http://www.birkindirect.com/

i just think of it as Caterham own all of the 7 rights so in essence there cars are Lotus 7's. Isnt it the cas ethat if owners of original 7's need parts then Caterham supply them?


Didnt realise Birkin could use the 7 name too. Nice looking car on the website.

bmw 7 series ?

triumph 7?

etc etc ?

No if you want parts for Lotus Seven Redline have the parts rights

According to Mr Birken;
"After no time at all, a hankering to have another “7” led me to search for a replacement which included the possibility of importing a Caterham replica."
The caterham is the replica

Steve

OK, I´ll always been told that Colin sold the rights for the Seven to both Caterham and Birkin