Caterham’s Electric Age Is Approaching

Caterham set to its full electric disclosure VU project show car on July 12, and to lead the way, the company released another trailer.

Billed as “driver-focused, light and fun to drive”, the Caterham Project V is part of the British sports car company’s brand new design language. It’s a strong departure from open-top seven starting in 1957.

Caterham Project V was made in collaboration with design and engineering firm Italdesign, with the show car being manufactured at its headquarters in Turin, Italy.

This latest trailer shows glimpses of the Project V’s front and rear. There are slim LED headlights, as well as large round taillights.

previous teaser revealed the car has a shape reminiscent of classic Lola racers. There are prominent front and rear fenders and a subtle rear spoiler.

At this stage, Caterham has not detailed the electric powertrain for Project V, nor its outputs.

“This is the essence of a sports car with an electric powertrain. This is a statement of intent. This is Project V,” said the brand.

If Project V goes into production, it will be next to EV Seven just revealed by Caterham.

Despite the extra weight of the battery pack, Caterham claims the EV Seven concept is less than 70kg heavier than the Seven 485 and 700kg lighter. It has a power-to-weight ratio of 245kW per ton.

It is powered by a custom version of the Swindon Powertrain’s HPDE electric motor, which produces 179 kW of power and 250 Nm of torque, about the same as the gasoline-powered Seven 420.

Caterham estimates the EV Seven concept can sprint from 0-60 mph (0-96 km/h) in 4 seconds and you’ll get an estimated speed of 209 km/h.

This electric motor is powered by a water-cooled 51 kWh battery with an available capacity of 40 kWh. It can be quickly charged DC at speeds up to 152kW.

This is not the first time Caterham has sought to remove the Seven as its sole model.

In 2013, the company unveiled the Ford-powered AeroSeven Concept, with the goal of getting it into production in 2014. Unfortunately, the brand ran out of money in 2014 and the project was shelved.

THAN: Iconic sports car brand Caterham will run on electricity