Caterham’s “retro-futurist” designer talks Project V and Italdesign collab

Car Design News chats to Anthony Jannarelly, lead designer of the Caterham Project V concept car

Caterham is not a name that appears on Car Design News too frequently but many will be familiar with its iconic ‘Seven’ nameplate.

Now the brand is pushing into new territory to create a totally new kind of Caterham, one with a roof, a larger GT footprint and a sleek coupé silhouette. Revealed in the flesh at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, the Project V is a concept for now but very much with a production intent.

Lead designer Anthony Jannarelly was brought in following a chance encounter with Caterham’s owner, who explained his vision during a visit to Dubai. Jannarelly – a sportscar enthusiast who agonised over a Caterham Seven or a Porsche Speedster replica (eventually settling on the former) – leapt at the chance to get involved. Design house Italdesign was soon brought in to support the project and by all accounts it was a fruitful relationship.

Anthony Jannarelly (right) at Goodwood with the Project V

The design story is fascinating, but first, some stats: 272PS from a 55kWh battery pack paired with a single motor mounted in the rear axle; 0-62mph in under 4.5 seconds; an estimated top speed of 143mph and a target WLTP range of 249 miles. We grabbed Jannarelly for a chat during the show to learn more about the car. (Editor’s note: we really had to get the elbows out for this one – the Project V had attracted quite the crowd.)

Car Design News: How did the project start?

Anthony Jannarelly: Bob [Laishley, CEO of Caterham Cars] and I met two years ago and he asked me if I’d like to design their next car. For me – owning a Caterham Seven myself – I understood the philosophy and you could say it was a natural brief for me. What was great is that it would be a brand-new car, with a brand-new chassis, built from the ground up to be an EV. And to be clear, a