It’s been more than two years since Caterham introduced its all-electric Project V concept, and while the wait hasn’t exactly flown by, the project is edging closer to production. The car is now on display at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, and later this week, a working prototype will debut at the Tokyo Auto Salon. For American sports car fans, there’s also some promising news on the horizon.

Read: Caterham Won’t Let Go Of Its EV Dream Even If The World Already Has

Caterham has long been a niche name outside Europe, but that’s about to change. Speaking at CES, Justin Gardiner, the company’s overseas representative, confirmed that Caterham plans to bring the Project V to the US market. And it’s not a half-measure.

“You Guys Are All Loaded”

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

The Project V will be sold alongside the iconic Caterham Seven, but Gardiner notes that the firm needs to “future-proof” itself, preparing for the day when it’ll no longer be able to build the Seven.

Electric, but on Caterham’s Terms

Staying true to its purist driving ethos, Caterham has engineered the Project V to feel nimble and alive behind the wheel. Instead of adopting a typical skateboard battery layout, the company went with a more unconventional approach.

Two liquid-cooled battery packs from Xing Mobility are mounted at the front and rear of the car, helping distribute weight in a way that echoes the dynamics of the Seven. Together, the packs provide just over 27 kWh and feed a 268 hp electric motor sourced from Yamaha.

“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 told the magazine.

“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. Polar momentum is the term, and we’re deliberately putting polar momentum into this car.”

Priorities Behind the Powertrain

The battery setup is cooled using a dielectric liquid, which helps manage heat under aggressive driving conditions. Despite a relatively modest charging cap of 100 kW, Caterham isn’t particularly concerned with rapid top-ups.

As Gardiner puts it, the focus is on how quickly the battery can discharge, not how fast it can recharge. The target buyer isn’t thinking about long-distance commutes, they’re more interested in how hard they can push the car on a back road or track session.

As for pricing, there’s still no firm number for the US, but Gardiner expects the Project V will land somewhere around $135,000 when it arrives.

Caterham

A lot has changed since Caterham introduced its fully electric Project V concept all the way back in July 2023. Zero-emission sports cars don’t sound as appealing as they did, with many automakers now rethinking and delaying their electrification plans. But not Caterham.

The British company is preparing to unveil the first working prototype of its EV coupe at the Tokyo Auto Salon next month, a move that signals continued investment in a project it believes has long-term potential.

More: Caterham’s CSR Twenty Is The Priciest, Most Premium Seven Ever

According to the latest update, this initial prototype is being used for “testing and evaluation” as Caterham moves toward full-scale production. The company hasn’t pinned down a new launch window, but it’s understood that the previously suggested timeline of late 2025 or early 2026 is no longer on the table.

The last major update came in October 2024, when Caterham confirmed the Project V would use a Yamaha-supplied e-axle. The concept had originally promised 268 hp (200 kW / 272 PS) from a single electric motor, the same configuration Yamaha previously used on the 2022 Subaru STI E-RA concept. That figure still appears to stand.

A few months later, in December 2024, Caterham shared another technical development: the car will use immersion-cooled battery packs supplied by Xing Mobility. These cells, which use CTP (cell-to-pack) architecture, are said to provide 200 Wh/kg of energy density, outperforming traditional liquid-cooled alternatives. In practice, that likely means more range and less weight to carry around.

What’s Next for Project V?

The company’s next steps include continued evaluation of the electric powertrain, additional testing of the Xing battery system, and a round of chassis durability assessments. All of this will help shape the final production model, which still appears to share much with the original design study.

Besides the rolling prototype set to debut on January 9, Caterham also confirmed that the show car will make its US debut at the 2026 CES in Las Vegas on January 6. It’s likely this will be the same white vehicle displayed at the IAA Mobility Show in Munich last September

More: Another Gas Sports Car Dies So An Electric One Can Live

Having both cars on the circuit at once suggests that the Project V’s exterior and interior designs will carry over largely intact into the next stage of development.

A New Hand on the Wheel

In other news, Caterham announced last month that Bob Laishley had stepped down as CEO after four years at the helm. Laishley, a former Nissan executive, has been succeeded by Kazuho Takahasi, who is also the President and Founder of parent company VT Holdings.

Commenting on the prototype’s debut, Takahasi said:

“This is a significant milestone in the development of Project V, with our prototype making its public debut at the Tokyo Auto Salon. This next step enables us to begin a comprehensive vehicle testing program in collaboration with our technical partners. Our objective remains unchanged: to realise our vision of a pure electric sports car that embodies the unmistakable DNA of a Caterham.”

Caterham