U.K.’s Caterham Keeps it Old-school in Cool New Video

British carmaker posts cheeky anti-tech film to promote new website.

Iconic British car maker Caterham has launched its first-ever brand film to coincide with the unveiling of a new website.

The bold, 45-second film amplifies one of the key reasons that the UK’s love affair with the niche sportscar manufacturer is as strong as ever 45 years after Caterham’s inception.

Caterham has always adhered to Colin Chapman’s original ethos with its legendary Seven, carrying the philosophy that the fun and thrill of the driving experience should be at the heart of the Seven’s evolution and development.

As the automotive industry hurtles towards a fully autonomous future with manufacturers adding more and more driver aids, Caterham is taking an anti-technology stance with its brand film.

Despite the underpinnings of the Caterham Seven barely changing in the last 60 years, the company enjoyed record orders in each of the last two years. The order book for a new Seven is booked solidly until February next year.

The brand film celebrates the Seven’s spartan approach to technology, with an anonymous driver burning rubber –  tricky in most mainstream cars due to the presence of invasive driver aids – in the range-topping Seven 620R, before cheekily knocking over the camera and blasting off into the distance.

As well as being hosted on the new website, the content will also be used across Caterham’s social media channels and YouTube.

Graham Macdonald, Chief Executive Officer at Caterham said: “The car industry is going through a dramatic change and much of this is being driven by the speed and development of technology. Naturally, we are in no way against the drive towards safer cars and motoring, as well as the efforts of the industry to minimize accidents on the road.”

Macdonald added, “But manufacturers seem intent on stuffing as much new tech into their cars as they can, steadily depleting the amount of input the driver needs to have. To us, that’s almost sacrilege because the less input the driver has, the less they can enjoy the pure thrill of driving.”

“That’s what has made our cars as popular today as they have been for 45 years,” he says, “And, while others might follow the tech trend, we’re taking a stand on behalf of the real drivers out there.”

Tom Wrigglesworth and Matt Robinson, Directors at Wriggles and Robins and creators of the brand film, added: “At a time when most cars on the road feel like they’re slowly becoming apps with wheels, we love that Caterham has always put the pure thrill of driving first.”

The ad is filmed beautifully, and nicely demonstrates the pure power of Caterham’s cars.