The car "will have all the characteristics today’s Caterham customers know well: lightness, simplicity, agility and performance," says chief designer Anthony Jannarelly.
Caterham
Caterham is planning to reveal its first electric vehicle this year, the company’s chief designer Anthony Jannarelly told U.K. publication Autocar.
Jannarelly, who is known for designing the W Motors Lykan Hypersport and his own Jannarelly Design-1 sports car, did not reveal specs for the upcoming Caterham EV, but gave some strong hints at the car’s overall design.
“Like the Seven, it will have a steel spaceframe—but a different one—because they’re easy to modify in production if you need to,” Jannarelly told Autocar. “It will have a six-panel enveloping body in aluminum or carbon fiber: two sills, two doors plus clamshell openings front and rear. It will be prettier and more modern than a Seven—those will be big points of distinction—and maybe it will have a roof. We’re designing it as a pure EV from the start, with rear drive only.”
Jannarelly says Caterham is working with Italdesign in Turin to bring the car into the modern era. It’s unclear whether this new model will occupy a bigger footprint versus the British company’s impossibly tiny Seven roadster.
Electric vehicles are notorious for their weight, but Caterham has remained focused on cutting heft to improve driving pleasure.
“The principle is always lightness,” Jannarelly told Autocar. “What everybody loves about the Seven is that it’s a simple car that just works, and even if we’re making an EV, we will try to apply the same philosophy. It’s very simple. There will be no fancy features. The main thing is your enjoyment in driving this car.”
Autocar says the new car will be revealed “in the coming months,” though it’s unclear whether we’ll see a concept design or the final product. Either way we’re excited, as this is the first new car Caterham has launched since the company was started. If it’s anywhere as near as good to drive as the Seven, we’re in for a good time.
Brian Silvestro Road & Track staff writer with a taste for high-mileage, rusted-out projects and amateur endurance racing.
Keyword: Caterham Will Show Its First Electric Car Later This Year