Electrification seems inevitable at this point. When companies like Ferrari, Lamborghini, Rolls-Royce, and others all have hybrid or fully electric models, you know there’s something big going on in the automotive industry. There are only a few brands that aren’t currently looking at a battery-powered future and until now, Caterham has been one of those firms. But this is no longer valid as the Dartford, England, based automaker now hints at its second electric sports car concept. And it looks unlike anything else we’ve seen from Caterham in recent years.
The first teaser image of the so-called Project V doesn’t reveal much but it seems like we will be dealing with a hardtop vehicle. The brand says that the concept will represent “a bold new design” that is “driver-focused, lightweight, and fun to drive.” The shadowy image shows a silhouette that reminds us of the Caterham 21, one of the very few vehicles from the marque to feature a more streamlined design. But whereas the 21 was a roadster, this new concept appears to be a coupe.
At this point, Caterham isn’t ready to talk a lot about the Project V. What we do know for sure, however, is that it will be powered by an electric motor or electric motors. The company describes it as “the essence of a sports car with an electric powertrain” and “a statement of intent.” This last statement could probably be seen as a hint that a production model based on the concept might be coming in the future but this is just a vague assumption at this point.
About two weeks ago, Caterham unveiled another electric sports car concept. The EV Seven follows the brand’s traditional formula but replaces the combustion engine with an electric powertrain while keeping the weight compared to the Seven 485 almost unchanged. The prototype has a peak output of 240 horsepower and 184 pound-feet of instantaneous torque, enough for a 0-60 miles per hour sprint in 4.0 seconds. Unfortunately, Caterham has no plans to put the battery-powered Seven into production, at least for the time being.
The UK sports car manufacturer will unveil the Project V on July 11 this year.
