THE RECENTLY-UNVEILED ALL-ELECTRIC CATERHAM PROJECT V IS BRITISH BRILLIANCE.
One of the coolest cars to be unveiled at this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed came from well-known lightweight sportscar creator, Caterham.. As Bob Laishley, Caterham CEO says: "An electric Caterham of any shape and size has to stay true to what sets us apart from everyone else: being lightweight, simple and offering an unparalleled driving experience; that’s our DNA." So with that in mind, this is Project V, a lightweight fully-electric coupé concept vehicle that could arrive as soon as late 2025 or early 2026. Designed as an electric car from the start, Project V comes from the new Caterham Chief Designer, Anthony Jannarelly, and the famed Italian engineering firm, Italdesign. That explains how the car looks so damn good. Caterham has targeted a kerb weight of 1 190 kg by using an innovative carbon fibre and aluminium composite chassis. The car uses a 2+1 seating layout with a 2+2 as an option. The interior is basic with no frills but it looks perfect to us, there’s nothing left wanting and no features to bloat the price. Anthony Jannarelly, Chief Designer for Project V, added: “A Caterham Seven’s design is simple and minimalist, it’s designed for its intended function, to be lightweight and fun to drive. With Project V, we’re applying this philosophy to the sports coupé architecture to create a seducing and timeless silhouette. Every single feature has to justify itself from a weight perspective to maintain lightness and optimise driver engagement.”
And now for the good stuff that we like, powertrain and performance. Project V makes use of a battery-electric powertrain, and to keep the weight down there’s a single motor mounted at the rear axle, and a small by today’s standards 55kWh USOC lithium-ion battery pack. This means it can recharge from 20-80% in as little as 15 minutes using a 150kW DC rapid charger. A full charge will get Project V 400 km away from home, which is rather impressive considering. Caterham claims the car can hit 100 km/h in under 4.5 seconds and will top out at 230 km/h. Caterham is well-known for making cars that handle on rails, and this one will undoubtedly do the same, it features double-wishbone front and rear suspension with fully adjustable geometry, electrically assisted power steering, split-sized wheels with 19-inch up front and 20-inch at the rear wrapped in Michelin Pilot Sport 4S rubber, and of course a proper braking system. “Project V is not just a concept or design study, we’ve conducted engineering and production feasibility throughout the development process. An electric Caterham of any shape and size has to stay true to what sets us apart from everyone else: being lightweight, simple and offering an unparalleled driving experience; that’s our DNA. Project V fulfils our ambition to sustainably grow the company and explore electrification simultaneously. Subject to the next phases of development and technical capability, Project V could be brought to market towards the end of 2025 or early 2026 with a target price starting from less than £80,000.” says Bob Laishley.
Take a look at the YouTube video showing off the all-new and pretty damn amazing Caterham Project V, a sportscar that looks all futuristic and stuff, but hasn't gone the way of the other bespoke manufacturers with massive amounts of power. No, this car sticks to the Caterham ethos of good power and light weight: Caterham Project V | The Wait Is Over. | Caterham
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