Caterham Project V Rejects Everything Modern EVs Stand For – And That’s the Point

I’ve been covering electric sports car announcements for years, and they all sound the same: massive battery, blistering charging speed, tablet-sized touchscreen, skateboard platform. Caterham’s Project V, which just made its U.S. debut at CES in Las Vegas, deliberately ignores every item on that checklist.

“We don’t really care about charging time. We care about discharge time,” Justin Gardiner, Caterham’s overseas representative, told Car and Driver at CES. That single sentence tells you everything about why this $135,000 EV matters for buyers who’ve been waiting years for the Porsche 718 electric to materialize.

• What: Caterham Project V show car debuts in the U.S. at CES; working prototype reveals Friday at Tokyo Auto Salon
• Price: Now targeting ~$135,000 (up from $107,000 when announced in 2023)
• Production: Global sales beginning 2027
• The catch: 100 kW max charging speed – intentionally slow by 2027 standards

Spec	Caterham Project V	Porsche 718 EV (Expected)
Price (est.)	~$135,000	~$80,000+
Power	268 hp (200 kW)	TBD (likely 300+ hp base)
0-62 mph	Under 4.5 seconds	TBD
Range (WLTP)	249 miles	TBD
Battery	55 kWh	TBD
Max Charging	100 kW (NACS)	TBD (likely 270+ kW)
Weight	~2,623 lbs	TBD (likely heavier)
Production	2027	Late 2026/2027

The Anti-Skateboard Bet

Every major EV uses a skateboard platform: batteries spread flat under the floor, raising the seating position but simplifying manufacturing. Caterham looked at that industry consensus and said no.

Project V places its two battery packs – each just over 27 kWh – at the front and rear of the car. One sits between the front occupants’ legs. The other lives under the rear seat. The result is what Caterham calls “polar momentum” – weight pushed to the extremes rather than concentrated in the middle.

“Whereas every other EV manufacturer tends to put the batteries in the skateboard, we have absolutely deliberately put the driver’s seat as close to the ground as possible,” Gardiner explained. “While every other car manufacturer wants [the weight] all the way to the middle, we’ve deliberately pushed it all the way to the front and the back, because that’s the way it is in the Seven, and that’s what makes the Seven fun to drive.”

This isn’t accidental. This is a philosophical rejection of how the industry builds EVs.

Why 100 kW Charging Is the Feature, Not the Compromise

Here’s where Caterham’s approach gets genuinely interesting for track-day enthusiasts. The Project V charges at just 100 kW maximum with its NACS connector in the U.S. For context, a Porsche Taycan can charge at 270 kW. A Lucid Air hits 300+ kW.

Caterham doesn’t care.

The company chose Xing Mobility’s immersion-cooled batteries – cells submerged directly in dielectric fluid – not because they charge fastest, but because they discharge hardest without overheating. According to Xing Mobility, their immersion cooling technology maintains temperature fluctuations within 3% even under aggressive driving, and can double battery lifespan compared to air-cooled systems under high-rate discharge conditions.

“Caterham drivers like to thrash the hell out of their cars,” Gardiner said. “If somebody’s draining those batteries really, really fast, a lot of EVs will go into limp mode because they’re overheating. We know our customers are going to do that. We just know they are. So we have to make the battery packs work.”

For buyers who plan to actually track their EVs rather than just talk about it, this trade-off might make sense. For road-trip warriors, the 249-mile WLTP range (figure closer to 200 miles real-world) and slow charging could be deal-breakers.

The Price Creep Nobody’s Mentioning

When Caterham unveiled Project V at Goodwood in 2023, the company targeted “just over $107,000.” This week at CES, that number is now around $135,000.

“I don’t think $130,000 is outrageous in any way,” Gardiner said. “I think not only us, but a lot of people are sitting around waiting for Porsche to finally pull the trigger on their EV Boxster and Cayman. I’d love to know what they’re going to sell those for.”

That’s a 26% price increase in two and a half years, before a single production car exists. For comparison, Porsche’s upcoming 718 EV is expected to start around $80,000 – roughly $55,000 less than the Caterham.

Caterham’s counter-argument: “Whatever happens, those will have a lot more power than this car, but they won’t be as much fun to drive. We’re still going to have that true gearhead customer, who is going to prefer us over another Porsche on a skateboard.”

The Analog Interior in a Digital Age

Project V’s cabin is deliberately stripped. A flat dashboard with classic gauges and physical knobs. The only screens handle Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, and the mandatory rear-view camera. No massive center display. No over-the-air update ecosystem. No subscription services.

“There are no modern flourishes in the cabin because the design ethos was to keep things simple,” Car and Driver reported. The seats sit incredibly low – a direct result of not having a skateboard battery floor to sit on top of.

Even the powertrain philosophy reflects this simplicity. Caterham uses an off-the-shelf Yamaha Motor 200-kW e-axle – the same unit available to any manufacturer. No proprietary motor development. No vertical integration flex. Just a proven component bolted in.

“We’re not looking to assist the drive. We’re just going for the minimum amount of traction control that we absolutely have to have,” Gardiner said. “Because this is a new car, it will have to have ABS, it will have to have traction control, and it will have to have airbags, none of which are available on the Seven. But we are keeping it as simple as possible. One motor, rear wheels, that’s it.”

Caterham’s Electric Lifeline

This isn’t just a product launch. It’s a survival strategy.

“Frankly, we need to future-proof ourselves,” Gardiner told Car and Driver. “We have no plans to stop making the Seven, but some governments have plans to make us stop making the Seven. At some point, somebody’s going to say you’re not making this anymore.”

VT Holdings acquired Caterham in April 2021. VT Holdings CEO Kazuho Takahashi – also now CEO of Caterham Cars – wanted the Project V’s design inspired by his favorite car: the Lotus Elan +2. Chief designer Anthony Jannarelly started work in fall 2022.

Meanwhile, Caterham is rethinking its entire U.S. strategy. The company has essentially ignored America for 50 years, selling the Seven through a fragmented network. Project V changes that.

“We have ignored America as a market for 50 years, and that’s ridiculous, because you guys are all loaded,” Gardiner said. “We’re going to take America very seriously as of this week. We are looking to sell a lot of these over here.”

EVXL’s Take

When Lotus CEO Matt Windle asked last year whether “the market is ready for an electric sports car,” he was questioning demand at any price point. Caterham’s answer is different: the market might be ready, but only for an EV that doesn’t feel like every other EV.

I covered Caterham’s Yamaha partnership back in October 2024 when the prototype timeline was announced. Fourteen months later, they’re showing it in Vegas and Tokyo simultaneously. That’s real momentum from a tiny automaker.

Here’s what I expect: Caterham will find buyers among track-day enthusiasts who’ve been disappointed by heavy, numb electric sports cars optimized for straight-line acceleration. The Project V’s deliberately low tech, deliberately analog approach will attract a small but passionate audience willing to pay $135,000 for what is essentially a philosophy statement on wheels.

But at nearly $55,000 more than the expected Porsche 718 EV base price, with half the likely charging speed, Caterham is betting that “fun to drive” beats “practical to own” for enough buyers to matter. Given that Lotus just indefinitely postponed its electric sports car and questioned market readiness entirely, Caterham’s willingness to actually ship something in 2027 is notable.

The real test comes when Porsche finally reveals 718 EV pricing. If Porsche comes in under $100,000 with 270+ kW charging, Caterham’s value proposition gets much harder to defend. If Porsche surprises everyone with $120,000+ pricing, suddenly Caterham’s “enthusiast premium” looks more reasonable.

For now, this is the only electric sports car being designed for people who want their EV to feel less like a computer and more like a car. Whether enough buyers exist to support that bet, we’ll find out in 2027.

Are you willing to pay a $55,000 premium over the expected Porsche 718 EV for Caterham’s analog approach? Or does 100 kW charging disqualify this as a daily driver? Let us know in the comments.