Caterham is known for their simplistic, lightweight, and fun cars – and now, it’s attempting to do the same thing even with electric power. The British boutique sportscar manufacturer has unveiled the Project V concept ahead of the Goodwood Festival of Speed this weekend, which will preview its upcoming fully-electric coupe slated for “late 2025 or early 2026”.
But just how light can an EV actually be? Thanks to what must be black magic, the Caterham Project V will weigh in at just 1,190 kg (targeted) – that’s lighter than even the Toyota GR86.
Caterham says that the incredible low weight is mostly down to the “innovative carbon fibre and aluminium composite chassis”, and not actually through a deal with the devil. In the same vein, the interior of the Caterham Project V is also significantly pared down compared to a more “regular” EV sports car, though you still at least get a large touchscreen in the centre for your smartphone connectivity.
The showcar here also has a unique 2+1 seating layout, which Caterham says is to maximise seating comfort for the rear passenger. Looking at the seat itself, though, we aren’t so sure about that. A 2+2 seating layout is also available as an option.
Even with the obsessive focus on lightweighting, the Caterham Project V doesn’t sacrifice on performance too. Powered by a 200 kW (272 hp) electric motor mounted on the rear axle, the electric sports car can accelerate from 0-100 km/h in less than 4.5 seconds, before reaching a top speed of around 230 km/h.
Electric juice is supplied by a 55 kWh USOC lithium-ion battery pack “with advanced thermal management”, which is enough to provide up to 400 km of electric range on the WLTP test cycle. Thanks to the 150 kW DC fast charger support, a quick top up from 20-80% will just take 15 minutes.
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A big chunk of that comes from its slippery shape, too, which is designed by Caterham’s new Chief Designer, Anthony Jannarelly. It’s not the most Caterham thing to look at, but come on, the Caterham Seven’s original design dates back all the way to 1957 – it really is time for a change.
Complementing the slippery shape and the electric powertrain are the fully adjustable double wishbone suspensions, electrically power steering, and staggered (19- and 20-inch) Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tyres all round.
According to Caterham Cars CEO, Bob Laishley, the Project V is more than just a design study or concept. The development team, consisting of Caterham and Italian engineering firm Italdesign, have also conducted engineering and production feasibility studies throughout the development process. “Project V fulfils our ambition to sustainably grow the company and explore electrification simultaneously,” he said.
Despite it being the ‘shiny new thing’, Laishley says that the Project V won’t be replacing the existing Seven models, but instead complementing it. “We believe that by retaining the core Caterham values, it will appeal to both our existing customer base and attract new fans to the brand,” Laishley added.
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“By using a more practical coupé body style and by exploiting the packaging benefits of an EV, this is a car that works as well for trips to the shops, or the school run, as it does for Sunday morning sprints.” I guess “well” is truly relative, but at least it does work better for shopping trips than the Seven.
The Caterham Project V is estimated to be priced from around GBP80,000 (approx. RM480k) when it goes on sale.
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