Caterham Group Announced At Brazil Grand Prix

CATERHAM, UNITED KINGDOM – Nov 28, 2011: Caterham Group has officially been confirmed as the parent company name for the range of automotive, motor racing, technology and innovation companies that sit within a single business under the stewardship of Group CEO, Riad Asmat.

Eight months after the purchase of Caterham Cars, Chairman, Tony Fernandes, announced the creation of the new umbrella brand at the Brazil Grand Prix in Sao Paulo.

"We have been talking for some time now about our plans for Caterham in all its guises, from the road car company to Formula 1 and GP2, and in the technology, design and innovation fields. Now, with the announcement about the rebranding in Formula One to Caterham F1 Team for 2012 and beyond, we are in a position to give a much more in-depth explanation of how the Caterham Group is taking shape," explained Fernandes.

At launch, Caterham Group consists of four main areas: Caterham Cars, Caterham F1 Team, Caterham Technology & Innovation (CTI) and Caterham Composites. More business identities will be added in the future.

Explaining the philosophy of Caterham Group, Fernandes, said: "This range of business interests provides us a very strong foothold in a number of growth sectors, staffed with teams of people with a strong mix of experience, youth, creativity and passion. In short, we have all the right ingredients in place to do some incredibly exciting things in markets that are ripe for innovation and new ideas."

Under the guidance of Chief Executive, Ansar Ali, Caterham Cars has not only been busy expanding into new markets like India and China, readying the exciting SP/300.R sports prototype for 2012, but laying the foundations for a completely new product range that will see the first all-new Caterham road car launched in 2014.

In terms of Caterham F1 Team, which includes Caterham Racing as the new name for the Group's GP2 outfit, Fernandes said: "This is the new and permanent incarnation of our Formula One investment. On and off track we continue to invest in people, infrastructure and technology, and 2012 is a critical year in our development."

The F1 team will also act as a focal point for a development programme that encompasses 700 plus Caterham Seven racers around the world and various motor racing formulae from karting, GP3, World Series by Renault and up to F1 - a staircase of talent that gives opportunities for drivers, engineers, mechanics and all the associated skill-sets across the motorsport industry the chance to learn, develop and reach the top.

The third strand of Caterham Group is Caterham Technology & Innovation (CTI) which was launched in September.

In addition to assisting Caterham Cars on the development of the next generation of accessible and affordable sportscars, the rapidly expanding team of engineering experts in their field is already beginning to undertake advanced projects for external companies operating within the automotive and aerospace sectors, including a radical new in-flight entertainment system.

Caterham Composites completes the newly formed business.

Under the stewardship of Mike Gascoyne, who will combine his role as CTO of Caterham F1 Team with that of CEO of Caterham Composites, the company is already working on projects across the aerospace, nautical, motorsport and automotive industries.

"With those four arms in place, and more to be announced in due course, we have a dynamic group of businesses already working together that gives a clear vision of what our long-term strategy is in their respective fields, and as one entity under Caterham Group," Fernandes added.

"The Group will be based across a number of centres of excellence - Caterham Cars, Caterham F1 Team and our motorsport interests will be based in one location that we are close to announcing, and our technology and composites interests will be based in Norfolk.

With those plans now complete we have the foundations in place for long-term growth and success, and now we are in complete control of our own destiny. We have a very exciting future ahead of us and are all looking forward to seeing the rewards of our hard work pay off for many years to come."