Yahoo Autos Yamaha, Caterham Teaming Up to Build an Electric Sports Car
Yamaha may be famous for motorcycles and keyboards, but the multi-faceted Japanese brand has actually had a significant hand in creating some of our favorite sports cars, too. From the Lexus LFA's seminal 4.8-liter V-10 to the 8000-rpm, Toyota-powered Lotus Exige to the V-6 of the original Ford Taurus SHO, Yamaha engineering has been responsible for some of the most exciting powerplants in the automotive world.
And on Wednesday, the company announced it's helping Great Britain's Caterham build an electric sports car.
Known as Project V, the mass-production-aimed, carbon fiber monocoque sports car project is being led by Caterham, with Yamaha coming in to help with drivetrain development. Yamaha and Caterham say that the model will inherit the driving-pleasure-focused DNA of a Caterham while employing Yamaha's precision engineering.
The principles of lightweight (with a target curb weight of around 2400 pounds), simple, and fun-to-drive will be core to Project V... which are exactly the kind of adjectives we like to hear. Claimed specs of 268 hp, a top speed of 143 mph, and a 0-62 mph time of under 4.5 seconds don't hurt, either.
Yamaha's newly announced development partnership focuses on testing and production of the e-axle, as well as the vehicle motion control systems. Paired with an 55-kWh battery pack, these electronic systems will be dynamically augmented by double-wishbone suspension with fully adjustable geometry at both ends of the car.
This is not the first time Yamaha has been contracted out to build a world-class electric powertrain, either. Subaru bought into Yamaha's nearly-500-hp EV motors back in 2021, equipping its all-electric supercar, the STI E-RA, with them in an attempt to beat the 400-second lap time around the Nürburgring. Yamaha also says that continuing to produce electric vehicle components falls in line with its 2050 carbon neutrality goals.
Caterham first unveiled this Project V concept model in 2023 at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, then showed it again at the 2024 Tokyo Auto Salon. Currently, the Brits are in conversation with Yamaha engineers in Tokyo, with project completion targeted for 2025. Mass production is the ultimate mission for Caterham, the release says.
Visually, the Project V concept looks like an Alpine A110 merged with a Maserati GranTurismo and a 997-generation Porsche 911, but that could just be our performance-focused eyes. Either way, we're looking forward to the day when Caterham's Project V hopefully makes its way onto the streets — even at an estimated price of $103,000.
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