Caterham will soon no longer solely produce variations of a car that dates all the way back to 1957.
The British sports car firm has revealed the Project V, a fully-electric coupe concept that “has the potential” to go into production in late 2025 or early 2026.
The Caterham Project V concept has been designed by the company’s new chief designer, Anthony Jannarelly, and built by Italian engineering firm Italdesign.
Caterham claims to have designed the Project V exclusively as an electric vehicle (EV) from the start.
The Project V is powered by a single rear-mounted electric motor producing 200kW of power that’s fed by a 55kWh lithium-ion battery pack. It’s claimed to do the 0-100km/h sprint in less than 4.5 seconds and flat out you’ll be doing 230km/h.
Caterham quotes a WLTP range of 400km, and can be charged from 10 to 80 per cent in 15 minutes when plugged into a 150kW DC fast-charger.
The electric coupe concept has a targeted kerb weight of 1190kg, which will apparently be achieved thanks to a carbon-fibre and aluminium composite chassis.
It has fully-adjustable double wishbone front and rear suspension, electrically assisted power steering, and disc brakes all around with “high-performance calipers”.
There are 19-inch wheels at the front and 20-inch wheels at the rear, wrapped in Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tyres.
The Project V’s exterior design has elements that are reminiscent of classic Lola racers, as well as the Alpine A110. The front end also has some design elements that look a bit like a Porsche 911.
The electric coupe concept has a 2+1 seating configuration as standard, but can be optioned with a 2+2 layout.
The inside is “simple” and “driver-focussed” with a digital instrument cluster and an infotainment system that has smartphone mirroring.
Caterham CEO Bob Liashley said when the production version of the Project V goes on sale it will have a target starting price from less than £80,000 (~A$155,000).
The Caterham Project V will make its public debut at the 2023 Goodwood Festival of Speed that runs from July 13 to 16.
This isn’t the first time Caterham has looked to move away from the Seven as its only model.
In 2013 it revealed the Ford-powered AeroSeven concept, with a view to putting it into production in 2014. Unfortunately the brand ran out of cash in 2014, and the project was shelved.
