"Caterham:Survival of the Fastest" documentary 2003

Documentary following Caterham Cars 2000-2003 in the twilight of the Nearn era as they struggled to create a concept for a new car with Reynard. Copyright BBC/Open University and shared on KZbin as not available elsewhere.

[@1silvervespa]

20 years later it's still selling and hasn't changed hugely.

[@richardcarr6493]

20 yrs on from this video still being made in many different configurations l m glad they still make em :)

[@jonnolly]

Inept son takes over iconic company and manages to mess it up within a few years. Now sells himself as an Australian based business consultant. Seriously? So glad Caterham is in safe hands. Thank you Colin. And Graham.

[@mrrolandlawrence]

yeh they went with the wrong market. 7's are raced. radical made a nice business for themselves. shame caterham didnt see that and develop their own S3 back in the day instead of trying to produce a car with pennies for a development budget.

[@richardcarr6493]

l see that happen all to often today in many companies

[@martinluke9470]

Jez comes across as the most sensible bloke there.

[@chrisval78]

Never mind Lotus, Caterham, et al, it was just great to hear the distinguished voice of the late, great and wonderful John Peel. RIP matey, from a fellow Brummie !!!!

[@johnwh1039]

Just re-watched this. Caterham really cant stop being a single product company, so evolve not replace. Keep the looks the same but introduce a carbon fibre monocoque rather than a spaceframe. Widen the footwell a bit so I can drive it with shoes on. But don't change the basic shape....be like Morgan and stop worrying about it

[@brianfreeman8290]

Caterham IS the Seven. It remains the benchmark, and the car that makes all enthusiasts go misty eyed at the mere mention. It is also a monster experience for sensible money. I'd hate to see it radically change. Maybe a slightly wider track would make access and comfort a tad better, but it deserves immortality. We, the fans, will ALWAYS aspire towards it. Jan '24

[@DPR178]

Any one here from the collecting cars podcast. CC suit is indeed very poor

[@trentweston8306]

You might say the 7 is the British 1911 pistol. A brilliantly simple and effective package that is still relative and competitive today.

[@EricIrl]

Sadly Graham died a few years after this programme and the sons sold the company on. Through various trials and tribulations the company still survives and seems to be doing well. They no longer have a premises in Caterham, their main showroom being in Crawley. The narrator is the late great John Peel. Pity the format is a bit squeezed.

[@JamesSmith-qs4hx]

Was John Peel a PDF file too?

[@milesborg9812]

I remember the Caterham garage well, particularly the selection of Caterham's and a few vintage race cars and older Lotus cars that you could look around in the back garage there. I remember the Caterham 21 as well, which I felt looked much better than an Elise and reminded me of a TVR. Loved the place. I remember, specifically in the 90's, they featured a yellow Lotus 102 F1 car in the show room. The early one with a V12 Lamborghini engine and Camel livery. Fantastic thing (although not very successful in racing)! On the way home from school I used to drive my mum mad always asking her to go home via the road the garage was on just so I could catch a glimpse of the cars as we drove past. I hand delivered CVs to the manager of that place many times practically offering to do anything for them including clean their cars and hoover the show room & garage for free at the weekends & evenings when I was younger. I even asked the manager for advice about getting into the industry too in a letter. They were pretty dismissive and I never heard a peep out of them each time. This video explains a lot. That show room has now been turned into housing. Shame. The huge Caterham F1 motorsport headquarters has also been abandoned and has been left vacant due to motorsport failings - maybe that place will have a similar housing fate too. I'm glad the 7's are still going. Hopefully, I'll get to drive one one day. Simplicity, with engine and chassis upgrades, are all that this car needs to continue to prosper (with maybe some some one offs /anniversary models or quirky versions of the same 7). There will always be a demand for the raw motoring experience that the 7's offer, and with the way car is industry is going, they are still relevant - maybe more than ever.

[@Bulletguy07]

Thats sad to read of how your enthusiasm was just brushed aside. Very bad they didn't at least have the courtesy to respond in some way.

[@milesborg9812]

@@Bulletguy07 Yeah it was a bit frustrating but in hindsight probably a good thing. The video explains a lot.

[@iamscotticus8081]

This is not another retelling of the Lotus 7 story, although the history and some nuggets are thrown in, it is a telling of a period in Caterham time when Simon Nearn is still struggling with the reality that the 40 years old company his father handed over to him, is only ever going to be successful with one product. The question is, will Simon be happy running a small company struggling to keep one product alive? They fear that someone will challenge the great 60's legend, so they better get cracking on offering a replacement. Spoiler alert.... Nobody can repeat Chapman. What Lotus created in the late 50's and 60's could have only been done then, and the 7 was perfect the first time. They know it, only certain kind of person will want a 7, and they wouldn't want it in any other form than the series 3. Fortunately for Caterham, there remains to be enough of those people around buying 7s to keep the microbrand alive. Personally, I think Caterham missed an opportunity to revamp the S4. They could make it an easier 7 to live with.

[@ericgeorge5483]

Very few cars can offer a driving experience like a 7. RAW driving on the edge for little money. A true motoring icon.

[@markd9937]

Not sure about the little money bit but icon it certainly is

[@ericgeorge5483]

@@markd9937 Cpmpared to so called supercars they are a bargain.

[@peterstevens4223]

G00D Evening from Auckland, New Zealand it’s 3/14/2020.

[@machohogan]

The brand feels more solid today than in 2003.

[@garyh155]

I raced caterams for 4 yrs won 2 championships just amazing car best time my life if uve never drove one u ain’t lived Maverick team GB 2006 roadsports 🏁

[@allanb52]

I was once in the specialised vehicle business and met Adrian, regarding a business venture, a very nice man he was too, I also owned a 7 and this is my opion. The 7 is like Morgan and has a keen following which will never die, if, as they are doing, they keep it up to date. The mistake many people make in business is to try to be all things to all men and that is not what niche businesses are about. They are about doing what you do well and keeping things going forward organically. Technology as the be all and end all of a product is a myth, bullshit if you like and a good design will look good to a trained eye. The 7 is a real fun vehicle, exciting to drive and that is something totally lost in 99.9% of what we drive today. Nice film. British engineering will always be the best and Chapman is up there with Brunel as a great mind.

[@elliotthale1835]

Need an update ! Very interesting looking back.

[@olliemoxham8530]

It is the competitions pursuit of progress that has bloated their products with tech and increased their product’s weight - enabling the 7 to be more relevant than ever. The Elise is now 900kgs! Almost double the weight of the 7. As mass market sports cars will eventually go EV, I predict there will be a growing niche of drivers who will seek out the pure driving experience that Caterham provides. Ironically, it is now harder for mass market companies to enter Caterhams space.

[@ronwalsh]

I got to drive one of the Caterham 7s years ago. It has to be the closest thing to flying at very low level I have ever felt. The 7 made my MGB seem huge in comparison. I would really love to have one of these, just put a Miata engine in it.

[@i_Fly36]

What's wrong with the duratec?

[@SuperMadpom]

Caterham now bought by a Japanese Investor 17/04/2021

[@nickb3968]

The disconnect between engineering for production and for performance on display(on many levels). Many a successful racing team engineer admits that designing for cost effectiveness is beyond them.

[@poucxs9246]

the Reynard dude who was filmed from within his car at the end came across (at least to me) as quite a pesimist, Caterham is still in business.

[@neilhandbury]

Who else is here because of the Collecting Cars podcast

[@adrianfleming5754]

JUST WATCHED THIS NOW YOU HAVE FIGURED IT OUT COOL CATERHAM

[@crusherbmx]

The Seven is high on my bucket list

[@1silvervespa]

THIS TERRIFYING KIT CAR HAS MORE POWER TO WEIGHT THAN A *BUGATTI VEYRON* OFFICIALLY that is the Formula not to forget !!

[@sgranty02]

You could just tell there hearts weren’t really in it !

[@russellcupples2170]

The way to keep the seven in popularity is to modernize it minutely .Creature comforts if you will .A removable hartop ,actual doors and windows and a trunk .You want to make it last then update it but don't lose it's simplicity but update it .Air heat roll up windows should be fine along with the other stuff I outlined .Just modernize it with minute creature comforts

[@another3997]

No, completely wrong. Keep it simple. Just upgrade the chassis and engines. Keep the basic car as it is.

[@TairnKA]

I had a concept of mounting a Chevrolet Corvair (air cooled 6 cyl) up front in one of those with the trans-axle mounted behind the seats (weight distribution).

[@Russell_and_Rosko]

Use a 944/924 torque tube and rear trans. Not sure about the Corvair engine as it runs in a counter clockwise direction, it’s not very potent, and the width of the horizontally opposed bottom end would make it tough to fit in a book chassis. Make a video if you end up building one ✌🏽

[@TairnKA]

Unfortunately, all of my concepts are just that, concepts. I've never had the resources and/or facilities to do any of them (lost count of them). ;-)

[@TairnKA]

Yes, the counter rotation would be the biggest issue. Regarding the engine, a stock non-turbo is up to 140hp and can be reliably increased to over 200hp (more then enough). ;-)

[@IrnMaiden304]

So one thing that would have been smarter for caterham .... learn more about whom ever you do business before going to bed with them. A business that's going bankrupt used them as a crutch and dragged them through 2 years of absolutely no progress. Tried to get them to change engine layout and body styling which basically was the Elise, just with a caterham logo. I would have switched engineering companies before it went on to the 2 year and complete shutdown. The 7 has been around soo long, why not just make it have more options. Give that option to the customer, a choice of engines/suspensions/drivetrains/etc. People love to accessorize, making things more personal to them..... especially when there isn't anything wrong with what they want to change. Why else would people buy the 7 .... but yet build it themselves! ?

[@sqd8r]

Hindsight makes everyone seem a genius.

[@jpkatz1435]

@@sqd8r Yes, MY hindsight makes ME believe i'm a genius.

[@hogey74]

The Elise seems to me like the thing that fused old and new. I have an mx5 and the Elise is surely somewhere in between my car and the old lotus 7...

[@jimmcarthur1085]

JAMES MCARTHUR KEEP IT SIMPLE FRONT WHEEL MOTOR, REAR WHEEL DRIVE . SELL AS READY TO GO, AND SELL AS A KIT, WITH OR WITHOUT A MOTOR. 2. SELL AS REAR WHEEL DRIVE. WITH ROLL UP WINDOWS AND CONVERTEABLE TOP.

[@alangood8190]

All the company needs is a product placement advertising platform in a major television series, à la The Prisoner, but on the other side of the pond, à la the striped tomato Ford Gran Torino in Starsky and Hutch. Sorted. Sales would rocket.

[@MLFranklin]

At 25:50 MID-ENGINE? As an engineer, I appreciate the objectivity in design and respect the original front-engine decision, but I have to admit I was a little disappointed. I was also super stoked at 25:50 when they got new information and it persuaded them to adopt a mid-engine layout. EDIT: And then I got disappointed again when I saw how the whole thing ended.

[@feralfabrications2465]

I like how part of the success of the later cars is the "more power to weight than a Bugatti Veyron" marketing pitch and I'm sure they must be working on a +1000hp/ton version

[@iamscotticus8081]

This is not just another retelling of the Lotus 7 story, although the history and some nuggets are thrown in, it is a telling of a period in Caterham time when Simon Nearn is still struggling with the reality that the 40 years old company his father handed over to him, is only ever going to be successful with one product. The question is, will Simon be happy running a small company struggling to keep one product alive? They fear that someone will challenge the great 60's legend, so they better get cracking on offering a replacement. Spoiler alert.... Nobody can repeat Chapman. What Lotus created in the late 50's and 60's could have only been done then, and the 7 was perfect the first time. They know it; that only a certain kind of person will want a 7, and they wouldn't want it in any other form than the series 3. Fortunately for Caterham, there remains to be enough of those people around buying 7s to keep the microbrand alive. Personally, I think Caterham missed an opportunity to revamp the S4. They could make it an easier 7 to live with.

[@paulleggett9735]

I'm here for the suit....

[@thedeadstig123]

No wonder the company went down hill with him in charge

[@southaussiemotorsport7962]

Yep agree with the comment below dont change the design just evolve it, the looks are what got me interested in the seven,it's like nothing else you can buy, if they can just update it safety wise with ABS and an airbag? ( My wife said she will only ride in the car if we're wearing helmets) I would buy one straight away! Instead I am leaning towards a Lotus Elise, but heart says seven tho!

[@martinluke9470]

It was an impossible task. You can't turn the 7 into something it's not. It's a unique icon.

[@russellcupples2170]

Oh and make it accessible to bigger people via widening it 3 " and extend the cockpit by 6" and ut wider seats in it .Your market is limited to shorter people and there is a whole slew of tall people ,My son wants one but cannot fit at 6'4" tall

[@1061shrink1061]

thats what the SV model is for! its about the dimensions you describe and is for people over 6ft4. That said, in an S3 with lowered floor and tillet seats, a 6ft4 driver can easily get in.

[@russellcupples2170]

I did not know that .Thank you

[@1061shrink1061]

No worries. Sv is about 10cm wider and 6" longer, and provides a fair bit more elbow and leg room. Its available in most trim levels and isn't hugely more expensive. I have a little S3 though, with a lowered drivers floor and my 6ft4 friend was able to drive it comfortably.

[@russellcupples2170]

Cool

[@johnwh1039]

love the comment. 10 centimetres wider and 6 inches longer!!

[@1silvervespa]

Even if Electric it will push on .....

[@aureliobrighton1871]

A Shortbody Slingshot Dragster ... almost 😉 .. and btw. a fine example for relying on analytical techniques rather than own Knowhow, vision and spirit . that is why computergames do so well, it does not take any of it

[@spraynpray]

I've wanted one for a few years, but I've never found out how to get one. I drove a few hundred miles once to a dealership, and it turned out to just be a man's house, and he told me he had stopped dealing them a few years prior. Caterham's websites are garbage. It's like they don't want to sell cars.

[@aaronblair9583]

Soo sad that the kids sold the company after dad died...one hell of a business now. Soo little in these cars

[@jasonwiggins7894]

No doubt the EV version is on it's way but it Needs aero for me ... front end goes light at high speed

[@johnwh1039]

funny to hear that in 2000 Caterham was struggling. 2018, with an identical looking car, they have no problems apparently! Maybe we are all sick of bland, well built 'white goods'.

[@another3997]

@Spitfire Mark1A I think you got his comment the wrong way round... mainstream cars are the well built white goods. Caterhams are a world apart from almost anything else. Long may they continue.

[@johnwh1039]

@@another3997hats what meant! Caterhams sell because we are sick of modern 'whte goods' cars

[@michaelcagle4662]

I have heard rumors but who actually owns Caterham?

[@dansheppard7589]

Anyone else here after the Collecting Addicts podcast?😂

[@BrettFosterUK]

is that nicolas hamilton at 43:37??

[@davidfoster1762]

I think he is.

[@2HRenovation]

They should have hired Donkervoort.

[@BigDuke6ixx]

All these years later and the 7 is even more iconic and even more popular...and it was all thanks to ....KZbin!

[@Countrysideboy247]

I've driven one and even managed to knock down a Lamborghini!

[@sync232]

I'd make a simple off road car. Oh wait..

[@jellybaby7]

It's called a Caterham not a Chapman, whose this Chapman bloke, its Colin Caterham.

[@kevinjamesdawes7223]

Ah the family hand down and the new man tries to make his mark on something he doesn't understand. Trying to get there car to take on anyone when others want your place is just stupid. Wider tyres and a vtec engine job done. It's one lambo, Germany, trying to reinvent the countach. Why?. It just shows you don't understand the company at all

[@1silvervespa]

The Honda CT70 Passport is still in production WHY ? It has a purpose . The Chaterham is the same it has a purpose . It fills a gap in the car food chain. Morgan has survived longer . So stop whining and get selling. Fix the sore spots . Like the Foot Box !!! Mentioned in every dam video ever shot . Put heaters in with at least windscreen clearing capability. 45 years you haven't fixed these common complaints ....... WTF !! HE DESIGNED THE CAR IN A WEEKEND !!! You can't fix the the two biggest complaints ?????.?????

[@benmarr352]

Even my 1997 Vauxhall Redtop Caterham had electric elements in the windscreen to defrost.

[@jasetheace71]

Add lightness.......

[@cnobillbradley9673]

And stiffness now that’s a trick

[@1silvervespa]

Chaterham 21 looks like a Miata.....humm.

[@1silvervespa]

Get apporoved for Street use in other Countries and Sales will climb . 2022...

[@sh4969]

If it ain't broke don't fix it.

[@shauntvr]

greate cars

[@1silvervespa]

Talk about draging yer arse !! Design team Jokes ...

[@1silvervespa]

It can be Electric too .....

[@General5USA]

Good.Luck with this story! Its almost as humorous as watching Benny Hill fine tuning a tricycle! What a nasty turnaround story.I never thought the British were so ...ahem...American. They obviously want to give up the car because because they probably want to keep it from the real designer that they don't want to mention. Oh by the way, what they are showing is a carnival GoCart..not a Caterham 7

[@mfranzusan3014]

It's a sad state of affairs. Many years, and hundreds of thousands of dollars lost on paper concepts every meeting turns up with new/different designers, engineers, management, and ideas people. One year it's "yeah, let's move forward with this" then it's "no, it looks too much like a lotus/mid-engine design looks ugly..." people designing a camel from the idea of a horse. A contemporary design with a modern powertrain, and you can't even agree on a new direction/design. I'm not sure how Morgan is doing, but at least they have more than one sku. Caterham is doomed if they will never sell more than one car. The Caterham staff can't wrap their heads around taking a risk, because the last time they did, they were outclassed by Lotus. It was a timing issue. They're stuck on a price point and building on what they have. They're saying they're "forward thinking" by lateral thinking. Ford didn't keep building the Model T, they had to change to adapt to their competition outselling their product despite the price point. So after nearly 30 years of Model Ts, they started building Model As, with bigger engines, more room in the cabin area and better performance. Caterham is a glorified kit car company that thinks they're competing with everything else on the road. If they were, they'd stop trying to manufacture base model roadsters and start building something modern with airbags, traction control, abs brakes, and a bigger, stronger, more economical engine that people are used to. So what do they do? Get involved with MG/Rover and build the same car with an MG/Rover engine. "Here! We finally made our new car, same as the old car, with a new designation!" Doomed.

[@rob8198]

Documentary of a boondoggle. Don't fuck with a good thing!

[@1silvervespa]

Change is not always good. ..... And it's hard to be content !! Your not advertising to new customers. Your not putting it infront of people so stop blaming the car for your short falls. False beliefs . The car needs exposure in North America...

[@jijzer3284]

abuse claim on the good music the car is stil shit after al those years

[@General5USA]

A family designed success??? what a bunch of lies by about a stolen car design

[@General5USA]

Bull Sh*t!!!

[@1silvervespa]

WIDEN THE BODY GIVE SOME LEG ROOM .... CHATER TO THE MAJORITY OF DRIVERS . INCREASE SALES STOP BEING STALE .

[@eddymagomago4502]

Quiero uno me encantan😻