I heartily concur, pickles.
I built and sold 2 complete Caterham's back in the 2000's for less than a rolling chassis costs today. Makes zero sense to me, as (engines aside) virtually nothing has changed in decades.
Purely an impression, others will add facts if available, but roughly since Superformance came along, it appears to be a profit grab. Exchange rates were higher years ago, and that affects stock on hand, but why the cost of a new car today hasn't dropped 20% eludes me.
I briefly toyed with the idea of a direct import, knowing full well there'd be (justifiably) no support from the locals, but my guess is CaterhamUK wouldn't talk to anyone with a USA shipping address.