New £15,000 Caterham Seven planned for September

Caterham is to launch a replacement for the Classic Seven in September.

The new car, which will use a new engine and a different suspension setup to previous cars, will cost £15,000 and is aimed at attracting new buyers to the market. Caterham told us its target is to make the car affordable, and to do that a price tag below £21,000 was necessary.

A new focus on fuel efficiency will help to enhance appeal, but that doesn't mean the car will lose its sporting prowess. "This will be a car built for the driver who wants to drive," said Caterham Cars CEO Graham Macdonald "but also for one who doesn't need extreme power."

"Our lowest price car now is the Classic, and we struggle to source the Rover engines for it. We've built only a couple of those in the past year. Up until now that has been our low-cost car but it's going now."

Caterham hopes that the £15,000 price tag will make the Caterham Seven more affordable for owners. The company had previous said the car would cost £17,000 in a teaser photo released in May.

Caterham's plan is to entice customers who like the car on towards higher-performance models, creating more brand loyalty.

"Price shouldn't be an entry barrier for customers," said Macdonald "You see people who own Fords for example because that's what they've always owned. They started with a Fiesta then moved to a Focus, and then onwards and upwards. Our philosophy, especially when we're competing against other niche brands, is to get customers at that starting point and give them the option to upgrade."