You’ve always been able to build your own Caterham. It just necessitated parting with a fair few of your hard-earned pounds and receiving a delivery of car parts. Now you can go to a Caterham dealer and build one virtually.
It’s a first for the niche hardcore sports car maker, which is comparatively late to the configurator party by comparison to other marques. But the wait should be worth it. This new system allows for over 58 quadrillion combinations of spec. Yes, that’s 58,000 trillion different ways you can spec your Caterham. That makes the Seven one of the most customisable new cars on sale.
“It’s unlikely you’ll ever see two identical Sevens, and our new configurator demonstrates exactly why that is. Purchasing a Seven is a unique experience, and we want to give people the opportunity to create their perfect car.
Sir Chris Hoy was one of the first people to try out the configurator. He gave it the nod.
“I was blown away by the technology. When you’re spending a lot of money on a brand-new car, the configurator gives you the confidence to push the button and order the car with confidence. If someone was considering buying a Caterham, I would 100 percent encourage them to come into the showroom to make use of the big screen.”
The configurator is the result of a partnership with Renderapp, which has delivered a system that can display your car in high-quality 4k detail. This allows the most in-depth details, like metallic flakes in the paint and the grain of the leather. The images with the car on a white background are grabs from the configurator.
To control the system, you work through a tablet and have complete free rein to look around the car, in 360 degrees. Each option is scanned and simulated in near-perfect accurate detail, to allow every possible Caterham to be brought to life on the system.
“We have thoroughly enjoyed working with the Caterham team and believe we have delivered a world first with the number of options available within this configurator,” said Will Elliott, Renderapp co-founder.
“We look forward to future projects with Caterham, expanding the configurator to make the customer’s journey even more enjoyable, memorable and unique. Our goal is to make buying a Caterham as enjoyable as driving a Caterham,” added co-founder Nick Moutafis.