Meet Project V: The first all-new Caterham in fifty years

Caterham is all set to unwrap a 50th birthday present in the shape of a brand-new car – the Project V.

The electric sports car will be the British firm’s first completely new car from the ground up since it took over production of the Lotus Seven in 1973. Project V will be unveiled at the Goodwood Festival of Speed on 12 July to showcase the company’s plans for a battery-powered future.

Caterham’s Chief Designer Anthony Jannarelly says Project V may be a big visual change from the existing Seven, but it remains true to the same core values of lightness, simplicity, and delivering a driver-focused experience.

With Project V set to create a new design direction for Caterham, Jannarelly explained: “This is a dream role for me because I understand the DNA of Caterham as a Seven owner, and life-long fan. I ‘get’ the joy that a simple, lightweight, driver-focused sports car can bring. 

“My vision for a future Caterham will explore my retro-futuristic design philosophy. I want to take the best of both worlds, the elegance and simplicity of the past combined with the proportions and precision details of a modern sports car.” 

Credit - Caterham Cars Ltd

Full details of the new coupe have yet to be revealed, but the first show car will be built by Italdesign at its Turin headquarters in Italy. It also uses what Jannarelly describes as a ‘completely new design language’ for Caterham and shares nothing in common with the Seven.

This points towards Project V being mid-engined and having a much longer and more practical electric driving range than the EV Seven unveiled by Caterham in May. The EV Seven concept has been designed for 20-15-20 use at track days, where the driver uses it for 20 minutes, recharges for 15 minutes, and then drives for another 20 minutes.

Bob Laishley, CEO of Caterham, said: “Any future EV model we produce must be true to the DNA of a Caterham: lightweight, fun-to-drive and driver focused.”

He added: “The main objective for the EV Seven is to develop a vehicle with a weight delta of no more than the equivalent of having a passenger on board. We’re never going to launch a one tonne Seven – we’d rather not do it.”

Caterham Cars Ltd

The EV Seven will also make its debut the at Goodwood Festival of Speed alongside Project V and has a 240bhp electric motor that delivers 0-60mph in 4.0 seconds. Its drivetrain has been built by British specialist Swindon Powertrain and the company’s Managing Director Raphaël Caillé said: “Our history of working with Caterham spans more than three decades – we developed the Vauxhall engine used in the JPE (Jonathan Palmer Evolution) edition Seven in the early 1990s, and we’re thrilled to be able to continue this partnership today through our work on this exciting project.

“The targets we’ve been set for low vehicle weight and battery charging speed are undoubtably ambitious, but the use of cutting-edge immersion cooled battery technology along with our own powertrain components means we’re able to develop an electric Seven that maintains the core values of the original.”

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Bob Laishlay added: “Building a Seven that’s capable of a Sunday morning drive is achievable with current battery technology, but the challenge is for track use where the energy consumption is greatly increased. At the moment, immersion battery cooling is one of the best solutions in terms of coping with the rapid charge and discharge cycles that would be experienced on a racetrack.”

The EV Seven concept was also led by Anthony Jannarelly, who has a distinguished curriculum vitae for creating very light, fast sports cars. He designed the W Motors Fenyr and the Lykan, which featured in Fast and Furious 7, and was limited to a production run of just seven cars.

Credit - Jannarelly Automotive

Frenchman Jannarelly has also produced cars under his own name, notably the Design 1. This compact coupe, which converts into a roadster by lifting the roof off, tips the scales at only 850kg.

To maximise the Design 1’s low weight, it comes with a 325bhp 3.5-litre Nissan V6 engine similar to the one you’ll find in the latest Nissan Z sports car. The Design 1 has a top speed of 135mph and ticks off 0-62mph in 3.9 seconds, with a focus on usable performance rather than outright top speed just as with the Caterham Seven.

Jannarelly has a long-running history with Caterham as a Seven was the first car he bought when he moved to Dubai to work at W Motors. He admits it was not the most practical car in the heat of Dubai but says it was the light weight and back to basics nature of the Seven that drew him to it. It made his appointment as Chief Designer at Caterham an obvious one when he joined the company in May 2023 and means he has all the right credentials to develop the next generation of Caterham cars.

What’s your perspective on Project V? Should Caterham persevere with the Seven platform, or is it time to take a new direction?