Team Lotus owner Fernandes to buy carmaker Caterham

Team Lotus could be set to tie up with Caterham Cars, a famous British specialist sports car marque.

Sky News City’s business editor Mark Kleinman, who broke the News Corp/Slim takeover reports, said the F1 team’s boss Tony Fernandes is likely to confirm next week that he has bought the Lotus-linked manufacturer.

Caterham’s only current model is the Caterham 7, a direct evolution of the Series 3 Lotus Seven designed by legendary Colin Chapman in 1968.

The Team Lotus/Caterham tie-up could be a neat way for Fernandes to emerge independently from the bitter F1 naming dispute with Group Lotus.

Kleinman said he understands Malaysian entrepreneur and AirAsia owner Fernandes "is paying several million pounds for the (Caterham) business".

Current Caterham owner Corven Ventures declined to comment, while Fernandes could not be reached for comment.