Project V is Caterham’s statement that an electric car can still be driver-focused, lightweight, simple, and genuinely fun—“the essence of a sports car with an electric powertrain.” Its origins trace to September 2022, when designer Anthony Jannarelly began work with Caterham on an all-new electric sports coupé design, deliberately applying the Caterham Seven’s minimalist, weight-disciplined philosophy to a fresh coupé silhouette. That intent shows up in the project’s target spec mindset: everything must “justify itself” from a weight perspective to preserve responsiveness and engagement. Caterham frames Project V not as a tech showcase first, but as an EV shaped around sports-car fundamentals.
Development moved quickly from concept to public validation through a clear sequence of milestones. In October 2022, Caterham partnered with Italdesign to build the Project V show car; June–July 2023 brought teaser images and a global unveiling at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. The concept then toured and collected credibility: shortlisted for a Best Exterior Design Award (December 2023), debuted internationally at Tokyo Auto Salon (January 2024), appeared at the Turin Auto Show (September 2024), won a German Design Award (February 2025), and exhibited at IAA Mobility Munich (September 2025). By January 2026, Project V reached the US at CES in Las Vegas with XING Mobility, and a latest prototype was unveiled at Tokyo Auto Salon—showing an active march from design idea toward engineered prototype.
Yamaha’s connection is direct and technical: in October 2024, Yamaha joined as a development partner, supplying Yamaha e-axle technology for the prototype (with the prototype to be built by Tokyo R&D). In Caterham’s published target specification, Project V is a rear-wheel-drive BEV using a Yamaha Motor single-motor e-axle, paired with a Xing Mobility immersion-cooled 47 kWh battery (cells noted as Panasonic Energy automotive cylindrical lithium-ion). Targets include 200 kW (268 bhp), 0–62 mph in under 5.0 seconds, 143 mph top speed, 249 miles WLTP range (estimated), and 20–80% in 20 minutes on a 100 kW DC fast charger (estimated)—all wrapped in a relatively compact coupé footprint (L 4,350 mm) and a target weight of 1,430 kg. In its market, two major rivals/benchmarks are Porsche’s Taycan and Tesla’s Roadster: both compete for EV performance prestige and speed, but they typically emphasize outright power, size, and grand-touring/hypercar narratives, while Project V differentiates by pursuing Caterham-style lightness, simplicity, and driver engagement with a more modest battery and a focused RWD, sports-coupé setup.
📷: CATERHAM
