14/01/11
CATERHAM-LOLA SP/300R IS HERE!
Lola Cars has spent the last year working closely with another iconic British company, Caterham Cars, to develop the SP/300R chassis and aerodynamic package. In the first collaboration between the two world-leading firms, Lola has been engaged as a technical consultant, drawing up the chassis and aero package to a brief provided by Caterham.
Lola is the world’s leading manufacturer of customer racing cars and, importantly, is especially prevalent in the sports prototype racing categories, counting five LMP2 class wins at the Le Mans 24 Hours since 2000.
The result of the collaboration – the Caterham-Lola SP/300R – is a racing car that, although a significant departure from the legendary Seven, remains true to Caterham’s key brand values of reliability, cost-effectiveness and simplicity.
Martin Birrane, Executive Chairman of Lola Group, said: “Lola is very pleased to be the design house of choice for Caterham. We have enjoyed working closely with the Caterham team to deliver the Caterham–Lola SP/300R racing car. Our two British-based companies have a combined 89 years of experience in creating and delivering great cars. We wish Caterham and their customers every success with this very capable new car.”
Caterham Cars managing director, Ansar Ali, echoed those views: “Having established that a sports prototype vehicle was the appropriate way forward for the Caterham brand, we considered partners for the project. Lola Cars was the only UK-based manufacturer that met all our criteria.
“Lola continues to be the most popular choice for private entrants in sportscar racing and its record at Le Mans speaks for itself. It was important for us to create a car that is not just a logical extension of our existing product portfolio, but also one that has the potential to be as successful as the Seven, both in domestic and export markets.
It was also important for us to build a car that, like the Seven, does not require an army of engineers to run and can instead be very cost-effective to race. Lola’s input here has been invaluable.”
The new car will carry the title Caterham-Lola SP/300R in deference to Lola’s role as design consultant.
Lola is the world’s leading manufacturer of customer racing cars and, importantly, is especially prevalent in the sports prototype racing categories, counting five LMP2 class wins at the Le Mans 24 Hours since 2000.
The result of the collaboration – the Caterham-Lola SP/300R – is a racing car that, although a significant departure from the legendary Seven, remains true to Caterham’s key brand values of reliability, cost-effectiveness and simplicity.
Martin Birrane, Executive Chairman of Lola Group, said: “Lola is very pleased to be the design house of choice for Caterham. We have enjoyed working closely with the Caterham team to deliver the Caterham–Lola SP/300R racing car. Our two British-based companies have a combined 89 years of experience in creating and delivering great cars. We wish Caterham and their customers every success with this very capable new car.”
Caterham Cars managing director, Ansar Ali, echoed those views: “Having established that a sports prototype vehicle was the appropriate way forward for the Caterham brand, we considered partners for the project. Lola Cars was the only UK-based manufacturer that met all our criteria.
“Lola continues to be the most popular choice for private entrants in sportscar racing and its record at Le Mans speaks for itself. It was important for us to create a car that is not just a logical extension of our existing product portfolio, but also one that has the potential to be as successful as the Seven, both in domestic and export markets.
It was also important for us to build a car that, like the Seven, does not require an army of engineers to run and can instead be very cost-effective to race. Lola’s input here has been invaluable.”
The new car will carry the title Caterham-Lola SP/300R in deference to Lola’s role as design consultant.
All pictures courtesy of Caterham-SPR.com