Earlier today, the Caterham AeroSeven Concept made its world debut at the start of the 2013 SingTel Singapore Grand Prix weekend. The signature green-yellow themed concept, unveiled by Caterham boss Tony Fernandes at the Pan Pacific Singapore, previews a production version of a two-seater performance road car that’s set to enter the market in 2014.
The AeroSeven Concept is the first Caterham model designed with significant input from all of the Group’s specialist business arms, in this case Caterham Technology & Innovation, Caterham Composites and Caterham F1 Team. The debutant was teased earlier in the month by the Malaysian-owned F1 team via silhouette stickers on the race machines of Charles Pic and Giedo van der Garde at the Italian GP.
The carbon-fibre bodied vehicle is based on an updated interpretation of the Seven CSR platform, and features race car-inspired features, including aerodynamic styling, an exclusive F1-style steering wheel as well as a new, fully active Graphical Display Unit (GDU).
The GDU – developed by Caterham Technology & Innovation – integrates all display and instrumentation in a high-resolution, centrally mounted screen, offering display information of items such as engine speed, gear selection, vehicle speed, traction and brake settings. The race-inspired steering wheel, meanwhile, incorporates ‘Road’ mode, ‘Flash-to-Pass’ and ‘Pit Lane Speed Limiter’ functions.
The design study, which draws heavily on methods used by the F1 team, incorporates a completely new rollover structure to aid safety and improve aerodynamic performance as well as enhance aesthetics. The vehicle also features traction control, the first ever Caterham to be equipped with it.
The rear-wheel drive vehicle will initially be powered by a 240 PS Ford Duratec-based 2.0 litre normally-aspirated unit, the same EU6-compliant mill found in the European-homologated Caterham Seven 485, paired with a Caterham six-speed manual gearbox.
The company says that it’s assessing other engines for suitability and options for the final production version, so this one isn’t definitive as yet, but in its current engined form, performance specs include a 0-100 km/h time of under four seconds. Caterham also says it is exploring the feasibility of using Bosch’s race-derived anti-lock braking system on the car.
The post Caterham AeroSeven Concept premieres in Singapore appeared first on Paul Tan's Automotive News.
via Paul Tan's Automotive News http://paultan.org/2013/09/20/caterham-aeroseven-concept-premieres-singapore/
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