» Fernandes buys Caterham car maker?

Team Lotus looks set to confirm a tie-in with the British-based specialist sports car maker Caterham, with rumours doing the rounds that team boss Tony Fernandes has bought the Lotus-linked manufacturer.

The rumours have gathered pace with the team announcing that it will hold a press conference next week at Duxford Airfield, although it has not specified what the announcement relates to, other than to say it would be “an incredibly exciting announcement about the future of the team”.

Caterham has an historical tie-in with Lotus’ first forays into carmaking, with the Caterham 7 model being a direct evolution of the Series 3 Lotus 7 designed by Lotus founder Colin Chapman in 1968.

There are also broader commercial implications if this rumour proves to be correct, and there are suggestions that the tie-up could be a useful avenue for branding Fernandes’ team if he loses his ongoing legal dispute with carmaker Group Lotus over the use of the Lotus moniker.

All parties have declined to comment further.

[Image via Sutton Images]