Graham Nearn; Caterham Cars founder and saviour of the Lotus Seven
Hyfler/Rosner
Caterham Cars founder and saviour of the Lotus Seven
Alan Henry
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/nov/10/graham-nearn-obituary
Graham Nearn, right, and Patrick McGoohan, star of The
Prisoner cult TV series, with the Lotus he drove in the
show.
Graham Nearn, who has died aged 76, was one of the most
imaginative and innovative motoring entrepreneurs of the
postwar era, and the man who almost single- handedly kept
alive the iconic Lotus Seven sports car design. The
brainchild of the Lotus founder Colin Chapman, whose Formula
One cars were a dominant force in grand prix racing during
the 1960s, the Lotus Seven was designed to offer
state-of-the-art racing technology to enthusiasts on a
budget. Bought in kit form for about �500, its Ford 1,172cc
engine, could deliver up to 75bhp, giving impressive
acceleration up to 80mph in a car that weighed only 500kg.
But when Chapman decided to develop a more up-market image
for the Lotus range, Nearn stepped in to ensure that the
spindly little sports car survived and thrived.
It was only a matter of time before the Lotus Seven became
the Caterham Seven, as Nearn's south London motor business
assumed responsibility for its development and manufacture.
Nearn himself was a longtime Lotus aficionado. Born in
Catford, south-east London, and educated at Purley grammar
school, after national service in the army, followed by a
spell in the timber trade, in 1959 he established Caterham
Car Sales and Coachworks as one of the original Lotus
centres specialising in the sales of Lotus products.
Working with his then business partner David Wakefield,
Nearn quickly built up a successful business, but although
his company dealt with the sales and servicing of the entire
Lotus range, Nearn was always fascinated by the Seven, which
he had first seen on the Lotus stand at the 1957 London
Racing Car Show. During the 1960s the Seven achieved iconic
status in Patrick McGoohan's television series The Prisoner,
in which Number 6 drove a Seven with the registration number
KAR 120C, the original number plates of which Nearn had
pinned to the wall of his office at the back of the showroom
in Caterham for many years.
Nearn appeared in the last episode of The Prisoner,
returning the eponymous hero's car to his house in
Buckingham Palace Road, and running a duster over it. Lotus
had sold the original model used in earlier episodes and the
public relations people at Lotus asked Nearn to deliver a
suitably liveried replacement.
When Chapman decided to axe the Lotus Seven in the early
1970s, Nearn successfully deployed all his powers of
persuasion to convince him that it would make sense for
Caterham not only to take over the sales and manufacture of
the car, but to do so with official Lotus blessing. The deal
was finally cemented in 1973 and Nearn would be inextricably
identified with this quirky little British sports car for
the rest of his life.
Nearn was an astute and creative publicist and used
Caterham's meagre budgets and limited resources to boost
sales and promote the car in any way he could. A staunch and
loyal friend to all his suppliers and business
collaborators, he was popular with the motoring media and
from time to time complete kits were handed to selected
writers who could be relied upon to report on how easy it
was to convert a box of bits into a brilliant road car.
Nearn loved motor racing and in 1986 started the first
Caterham "one-make" racing series, which became one of the
most successful one-make racing categories in the world,
with more than 800 active competitors involved.
In the 1980s Nearn progressively passed over operational
control to a new generation management team led by his son,
Simon, and assumed the figurehead role as chairman. The car
continued developing and evolving, but the Nearn family
eventually sold the business in 2005. Nearn is survived by
his wife, Jane, sons Simon and Robert and daughters Nina and
Eliza, all of whom worked in the family business at various
times over the past 40 years.
. Graham Bradshaw Nearn, automotive engineer and
entrepreneur, born 20 September 1933; died 24 October 2009