Project Caterham V Has Audi TT Parts and Maserati Seats

One of the highlights this month at the 2023 Goodwood Festival of Speed ​​was the Caterham Project V. It’s a one-off for now but the British sports car company intends to have a production version on sale around the end of 2025 or early 2026. .It is unlike any other Caterham before it given that this is a 2+1 (optional 2+2) powerhouse built by Italdesign.

Caterham remains a small brand, and we all know how difficult it is for niche car manufacturers to develop the parts needed to build a car. To speed up the engineering process and reduce costs without compromising on quality, the Project V uses the same hatch as the Audi TT while the slim seats come from Maserati. These details were not mentioned when the car was launched on July 12, but have now been revealed by the company’s CEO.

In an interview with Jack Scarlett of The Fully Charlotte Show, Caterham CEO Bob Laishley said the plan is to use the same features for the production model. So the road-going V project will follow the same strategy used for the Seven, which has a Ford engine working with a Mazda gearbox and a BMW differential. Borrowing off-the-shelf OEM components helps brands with limited budgets save a lot of money.

Speaking of reducing consumption, the absence of a front trunk is another step to reduce costs by simplifying the nose of the car, therefore eliminating hinges and latches. Not only does it create a clean front, but it also shaves off up to 10 kg (22 pounds). Laishley went on to mention that Caterham is not capable of building a show car, but scrapping it and starting over. In other words, what you see is what you will get in a few years from now when the next production version is launched.

In an earlier press release, the head honcho hinted that the rear-wheel drive electric sports car is more than just a cool show car at Goodwood FoS: “Project V is not just a concept or design study, it made possible engineering and production in the development process.”

The final model will target the same curb weight of 1,190 kg (2,623 lb) for the 2+1 variant courtesy of a carbon fiber and aluminum composite chassis. As an upgrade, the car is equipped with a rear-mounted electric motor good for 268 hp (200 kilowatts) and a lithium-ion battery pack with a capacity of 55 kWh. The Project V has dual front and rear wheels with Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires for 19 inches at the front and 20 inches at the rear.

Caterham has promised the car will do 0 to 62 mph (100 km/h) in less than four and a half seconds before reaching 143 mph (230 km/h). With the battery fully charged, it should reach 249 miles (400 km) in the WLTP cycle. The battery pack supports DC charging at 150 kW, in which case it takes 15 minutes to charge the battery from 20 to 80 percent.

If all goes according to plan, the production version written by Anthony Jannarelly will cost £80,000. At current exchange rates, that works out to about $104,000 or €93,300. It is not thought of as a substitute for Seven but as a complementary model.