Caterham is still keen on a new, more conventional model to flesh out its model range.

In an interview with Autocar, Graham MacDonald, CEO of Caterham, has admitted that the small British sports car maker is still eager to have a fully enclosed 'practical' sports car, despite its joint venture with Renault falling through in 2014.

MacDonald said that such a car would need to have a mainstream and modern body shape to ensure that it has broadest possible market appeal.

Mirroring the setup of the cancelled Caterham 'C120' (above), which would have been a sister to the upcoming Alpine 'A120', any new Caterham would need to share a platform with another manufacturer.

Caterham's preference is for its new model to use a front-engine, rear-wheel drive layout, although the company did acquiesce to Renault's desire for a mid-engine package in keeping with Alpine's tradition.

The new Caterham would also use another carmaker's engine. Although there are supercharged Ford engines employed in today's Seven range, the preference would be for a motor that's naturally aspirated.