After falling in the love with the Lotus Seven at an Earls Court show in 1957, Graham Nearn (who died on 24 October, 2009) founded his own car company to keep the iconic sports car on the road.

The nippy kit car was shelved by Lotus as they went upmarket in the 1970s, but Nearn founded Caterham Cars to take over the manufacturing rights of the Seven.

The car had particular cult appeal after featuring in the opening titles of The Prisoner. Nearn himself appeared in the final episode of the show when star Patrick McGoohan finally escaped from the Village, delivering a Seven to his home.

But the pair’s association didn’t end there, with Nearn and McGoohan teaming up in the late ’80s to produce a Caterham Prisoner Edition Seven. Forty-seven of the limited edition were made and McGoohan took, naturally, number six.

Nearn entrepreneurial skills were also exhibited when the Seven was banned from racing events for being too successful. The t-shirt slogan “Caterham Seven, the car that’s too fast to race” added even more appeal to the car.

Before founding Caterham Cars, London-born Nearn was an army officer and, briefly, a timber merchant.

He handed the business down to his son Simon in 1997 and the family sold the company in 2005 into the hands of Ansar Ali, a former Lotus general manager.

Graham Nearn died of heart failure aged 76. He was survived by his wife, Jane, and by two sons and two daughters.