Caterham wants Renault reunion to build new sports car

Caterham has announced that it would have no hesitation in rekindling the joint partnership it had with Renault if it resurrects its still-born sports car.

Originally, the alliance with the French car maker was founded to help share the development costs with the small British sports car maker.

As part of the deal, Renault Alpine would build its version of the small, lightweight rear-wheel drive sports car for Caterham and help the low volume British car maker develop safety tech like ABS, ESP and airbags that are not fitted to its famous Seven range of cars.

Set up in 2012 the partnership fell apart just two years later in 2014.

Back then the breakdown of the sports car project was described as "mutual" and "amicable".

Behind the scenes it's thought Caterham was struggling with a lack of funding, spiraling costs and the hidden complexity of the project.

Now, with just months to go before the launch of what's thought to be called the Alpine A210, Caterham is angling for a renewed deal with Renault.

If successful, the result will be the long-awaited production version of C120 concept.

Announcing that Caterham would have "no hesitation in picking up the plans again in the right circumstances", the British sports car maker's boss, Graham MacDonald, told Autocar magazine that there was a great sense of regret the C120 project never came to fruition.

"Most definitely, it [the C120] could be revisited. We did a lot of research at the time. Renault was very good with the assistance we got.

"They had thousands of people in their technical centre. We've got an awful lot of data that we now own. Renault agreed that if we needed to, we could go back to them and request to supply parts. We were keen when we parted to revisit it."

Within Caterham there remains demand for a more conventional vehicle to help broaden its appeal. Importantly, the new coupe wouldn't be a replacement for the iconic Seven sports car, says the firm's boss.

If the Renault deal isn't rekindled, according to Autocar, Caterham will use an engine from another manufacturer. MacDonald has already ruled out using Ford's Ecoboost engines.

"We are talking to Ford and a number of other manufacturers. While the 620 is supercharged, we like naturally aspirated engines," said the Caterham boss.

The British sports car maker will also need a car manufacturer to work with as, by its own admission, Caterham still doesn't have the financial resources to press ahead alone. Nor does the Surrey-based UK car maker have the manufacturing capacity for a more complex sports car.

"The best thing for Caterham now is probably a joint venture," said MacDonald. "Any new product is a big investment for a small business like us. We're more than happy to sit and talk to anyone."

MacDonald says a full-bodied sports car is a must-have to help it conquer emerging markets.

Like before, Caterham wants its new sports car to be rear-wheel drive but, unlike the original C120 concept, instead of packing a mid-mounted engine, the new coupe will switch to a traditional front-engine.

Commenting on the new plans, MacDonald said: "We are actively thinking about what is the next step to the Seven. We have a number of ideas involving a number of other businesses.

"As yet, nothing is near conclusion, but certainly we would like another product to follow on from it."