Just popping home for a bit
Our Caterham drops into the factory in which it was built, so we can go for a drive with the boss.
By rights, Graham Macdonald should have a furrowed brow and the weight of the world on his shoulders. Supply chain carved up by Covid; Brexit’s shadow over vital overseas sales; the challenges of keeping the age-old Seven roadlegal in a world of mandated active safety tech... Instead, Caterham’s CEO greets us with a broad smile and infectious enthusiasm. He’s clearly a man who enjoys his work.
We’ve brought our Seven to meet its makers at Caterham’s factory, an unassuming building on a busy Dartford industrial estate. It’s been the company’s home since 1986, when it left the Caterham, Surrey, base it’s named after.
‘As you can see, we don’t have a lot of space back here,’ Macdonald says, as we head onto the shop floor, Sevens in various stages of undress levitating on stands, each being completed by one technician from start to finish. ‘Quiet calm – this is ideal to see,’ he says. ‘After the first lockdown in 2020, I had chaos out here. We came back in May after shutdown ready to go; many of our suppliers weren’t. It took months of work to get everything flowing as it should. But we’re back in a happy place.’
So, how’s business? ‘In terms of sales, it’s fantastic. We opened up and the world went mad. Lockdown seems to have fostered a “you only live once” attitude, which we’ve perhaps benefitted from.’ To echo that, cars in the section of the factory being ‘kitted’ – prepped for being crated and delivered to spanner-wielding customers – normally make up 20 per cent of sales, the other 80 being fully factory-built, turn-key Sevens. That ratio has shifted, kit demand increasing as people find time on their hands.
If they had more room, would they be interested in buying the rights to the Lotus Elise, production of which in Hethel ends this year? That’s precisely what the founders did with the Lotus Seven all those years ago. ‘You know, it’s something we’ve talked about,’ he says, ‘and I think, personally, it will leave a hole in the market. I’m sure if we got into negotiation with Lotus it wouldn’t be easy but I think there’d ⊲
‘We opened up and the world went mad. Lockdown seems to have fostered a “you only live once” attitude’
Caterham CEO Graham McDonald
be a market for it. It’s certainly something that’s in the back of my mind. But who knows…’
A neat two-seat sports car with enclosed bodywork? Sounds a bit like the lost Caterham sister car to the Alpine A110. It’s easy to forget the A110 came about through a joint venture with Caterham, which ended before reaching production. ‘You know, I don’t have sleepless nights, but… I still think about that car fondly,’ Macdonald says, philosophically. ‘We developed the suspension and my team were insistent the car had to be small, lightweight and agile. The A110 has had so many great reviews and, of course, they all praise it for being small and lightweight! Sadly it [the joint venture] fell out of bed, Renault ran with it and what a great product it’s been.
‘It came out more expensive than they wanted, to build and retail, and I don’t think they’ve been getting the [sales] volumes they wanted,’ he acknowledges, ‘so I don’t know whether we’d have been struggling had it gone ahead and perhaps you’d be talking to a different Caterham CEO now!’ It’s clear his feelings are anything but sour towards Alpine, and he has half an eye out for a used A110 to replace his BMW M4.
What of the 2030 ban on sales of new petrol cars in the UK? Will low-volume outfits like Caterham get dispensation? ‘We will lobby hard but I think there probably will not be exemptions for us,’ he says. So is a plug-in Seven being readied? ‘We’ve done feasibility studies and we’ve actually driven a prototype on a track. It pleasantly surprised us; the experience of sheer torque, no gearbox. It was heavy, however: 800kg. And we reckon the price would be north of £100k were it to come to market today. As batteries and motors develop and prices and weight come down, we’ll start talking with partners. It’s not on the horizon for another four to five years, I think.’
The latest Caterham model is the thoroughly un-electric, retro-inspired Super Seven 1600. Orders are healthy; many of the cars in-build are flowing-winged Supers. There’s one waiting outside, so we head out for a drive, Graham in the 1600, me in CAR’s 360S. He drives with a precision fostered by racing in Sevens. ‘I fund
Caterham chief exec Graham Macdonald drives with a precision fostered by racing in Sevens
my own racing and take holiday for test days, and I get to see what my customers are going through. And racing is a great test bed; it really does feed back into the engineering of our road cars.’
We pause for a breather outside Brands Hatch. ‘I came into the business 13 years ago and I’ve been CEO now for eight years,’ he reflects, ‘and the last couple of years is probably the most stable we’ve been in all that time. I’m proud that we’re self-sufficient.’
The game will never be easy, but long may Caterham continue to play it on its own terms.