Back in late 2022, Caterham announced that it was working on a new, all-electric model to help ferry the brand into the future. Now, designer Anthony Jannarelly has revealed that the two-door car will be a departure from the Seven in appearance, but not in spirit.
Development work is progressing quickly on the new car, which was “just an idea in people’s heads” when it was first talked about in September. However, Jannarelly told Autocar that the new car will be ready in the coming months to help Caterham celebrate its 50th anniversary.
The team is working with Italdesign on the project, which Jannarelly expects will “please the existing Caterham fans while also trying to reach another type of audience.” He described the car as a bridge between the old and the new. He added that it’s the first car the brand has really had to design itself.
Read: Caterham Is Planning A Lightweight, All-Electric Two-Seater
“The next car we’re going to make is the first car where we can really apply what could be the ‘Caterham styling’, which was not a fact of the Seven, which came from the Lotus [7],” said Jannerelly.
He added that the Seven is so minimalistic and pared back that it “has no styling” as modern designers might conceive of it. The car is so focused on function that its form can only follow.
Although the aesthetic design of the Seven won’t carry over to the upcoming EV, Jannerelly said that the spirit will live on. The brand is trying to make the car as light as possible, in order to make it a true driver’s car.
“The principle is always lightness,” he said. “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.”
Details about the aesthetics of the car remain scant, with Jannerelly saying that the upcoming EV will not have a long hood, like the Seven. However, he said that the car will not be bulky, and will take advantage of EV packaging to make it compact and simple.
Caterham CEO Bob Laishley previously stated that the car will feature a steel spaceframe, like the Seven because it’s easy to modify in production. It will also have two doors, two seats, and just six body panels that are made out of either aluminum or carbon fiber—one of which may even be a roof.
Designed from the ground up to be a pure electric vehicle, power will go only to the rear wheels at first. Unfortunately for lovers of the brand, the base price is expected to be higher than that of the Seven, though Caterham expects to be able to build more of the vehicles at its new factory in Dartford, UK.
Jannerelly suggested that the car could be revealed this year, but production is not expected to start until at least 2026.
