Think back to 2023, if you can. Very specifically, do you remember the 2023 Goodwood Festival of Speed? That's where the very storied, very British car maker Caterham first showed off its Project V concept. It's both gorgeous and all-electric, and although it was clearly designated as a concept, the firm also said it planned to bring it into production in the future.
Reactions were mostly very positive, with many praising its design, both for its driver focus and its general aesthetic. And while you'll always have some EV skeptics, even that part didn't seem to be a major point of contention. Instead, those who were less enthusiastic were, quite reasonably, worried that the price of developing such a car might end up being more than Caterham's typical fans would want to pay. And that's not a bad question to ask, honestly.
But if you've been wondering if Project V's development has fallen by the wayside, Yamaha is here to tell you that it hasn't. And that, in fact, it's joining Caterham to collaborate further on the development of Project V. The companies anticipate the working concept to be fully complete somewhere in mid-2025, "with a view toward mass production and commercialization" sometime after that.
What part is Yamaha taking in this collaboration? It's specifically developing the e-axle, and will offer up a completed trial version for the completed prototype Project V. This program is intended to not only advance this specific project, but also to help Yamaha realize its goals of achieving greater sustainability via motor platforms both large and small.
For those unfamiliar with Yamaha's history, this isn't the first time it's been involved in a car project, or even the first time it's been involved in an electric car project. While Yamaha Motors is much more well-known for its motorcycles and powersports vehicles, it's been involved in collaborative projects with Toyota, Ford, and Subaru (and the Subaru one was electric).
What's particularly interesting and refreshing about this project is that, unlike many a concept or prototype plan, the collaborating parties have made a tentative deadline public at the time of their partnership announcement.
While that's not entirely unheard of, it's also not something that happens all the time. So, it's a bit of a nice change to have some idea when we can expect to see the finished project.
What are you hoping for from Project V? Are you interested in driving one in the future? Let us know in the comments!
