As expected, Team Lotus confirmed that it has purchased iconic British sportscar manufacturer Caterham.
But despite growing rumors in recent days, no announcement has been made as to how the deal will effect the future of the Formula One team, who are still battling to retain the use of the Team Lotus moniker.
It had been suggested that they could switch to the Caterham name - backed up by the appearance of the caterhamformula1 website - but Fernandes appears keen to fight for the name made famous by Colin Chapman. However should he fail in his bid a change to Caterham seems his most likely option.
Speaking about his acquisition today, Fernandes said:
"I can confirm that Team Lotus Enterprises have acquired 100% of Caterham. We did that a few weeks ago"
"It's a very exciting time for us as we always wanted to be in car production."
"Caterham has a unique place at the heart of the motoring world. As well as being proudly and staunchly British, it has an enviable and uniquely unblemished reputation within the industry for performance, handling and engineering excellence.
"Caterham Cars has remained wholly faithful to Colin Chapman's philosophy of 'less is more', and the DNA of the original Seven can still be traced to the newest additions to Caterham's product offering."
"They have a fantastic platform to go and market their cars and we are able to promote new models and introduce F1 technology into Caterham cars and elevate them into a much wider global audience"
"It's a tremendous opportunity in terms of the type of cars we are going to be making in Asia. Particularly for those who couldn't afford brands such as Porsche and Ferrari."
"We believe Asia is a huge market and we'll bring in lots of new technology and most importantly, to make it affordable"
To mark today’s announcement, Caterham is building a limited run of Team Lotus Special Edition Sevens.
Just 25 of the Team Lotus upgrade packages, which can be applied to any variant up to the top-of-the-range 263bhp, 150mph Superlight R500, will be built in the UK, with the same number allocated to the company’s export markets.
For an additional £3k over the normal asking price, the car has a unique livery, a special plaque signed by Team Lotus F1 drivers, a Seven history book signed by chief designer, Mike Gascoyne, and owners will have a ‘customised tour’ of the Team Lotus F1 factory in Hingham, Norfolk.
The takeover provided Team Lotus with an opportunity to have a new name for the Formula 1 team, if the legal battle with Group Lotus does not go into their favor. But Fernandes is keen on keeping the bleed green and yellow color for the team.
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