Caterham Cars is set leave the Surrey town in which the brand was born, after the site on which the niche, low-volume sportscar builder is based was sold to developers.

The sad farewell comes after the site on which the Station Avenue showroom is located was sold by the previous land owners to developer, Churchills in late December 2012. Last week, the Planning Inspectorate granted permission for Churchill Retirement Homes to build 35 sheltered apartments on the site, overturning the refusal by Tandridge District Council.

Before it relocates to an exciting – and much larger – facility not far from Caterham, where the marque has been based since 1973, the new and used showroom will move into a temporary home, details of which will be announced in due course.

While the move from Caterham must now take place by the end of February, the Company is aiming to be installed in its new permanent home by summer.

Graham Macdonald, chief executive of Caterham Cars, said: "It is with great sadness and regret that Caterham Cars will leave its spiritual home. It is not a decision that the Company wanted to take but, rather, one in which its hands have been tied.

"Our brand proudly takes its very name from the town in which it was founded by the Nearn family and it is particularly poignant that, just as Caterham begins an exciting new chapter in its history, it is moving away.

"I would like to thank the town of Caterham and its residents for their unstinting support over the last 40 years."

Last November, Caterham Cars announced a joint venture with Renault to develop and build Caterham's first brand new road model for 17 years and revive Renault's historic Alpine badge.

At the Autosport International Show at the start of this month, it unveiled the inaugural Caterham Kart, the CK-01, as it aims to add the final rung of its complete motorsport 'ladder', from grassroots racing to Formula 1.

Please visit http://www.caterham.co.uk or call 01883 333 700 for more information.