Top Gear Car Of The Year 2008

Westfield Sportscars Ltd has welcomed the selection of the Caterham Superlight R500 as Top Gear’s Car of the Year 2008. Commenting on the announcement, Julian Turner, Westfield’s managing director said: “As a company already working intensively on the development of a lightweight electric race car, we welcome the recognition by the knowledgeable Top Gear Team of the significant potential performance of a lightweight vehicle powered by a smaller engine. The combination of smaller engines with the lightest chassis possible – without compromising safety, the use of alternative fuels and the application of eco-friendly methods of production; this approach should be a clear choice for the majority of manufacturers.”

The comments made by the Top Gear Team on electric and fuel cell vehicles are mirrored in the significant investment into the development of these technologies and their application being made by Westfield’s parent company, Potenza Sports Cars Ltd. This investment, which involves the development of the world’s first lightweight electric race car and a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle, will ensure that Westfield continues to stay at the forefront of automotive technology. The leading edge development work will also benefit the Potenza groups other companies, including GTM and Roadster Bil.

Westfield Sportscars Ltd manufactures a significant part of its vehicles in-house and is committed to maximising energy efficiency in this process. An incentive scheme, spread over two years, encourages each employee to achieve energy savings with a monetary value equivalent to their own salary. The staff’s dedication to this initiative has already resulted in a 40 per cent increase in energy efficiency during the past twelve months.

As a member of the Niche Vehicle Network, Westfield is continuing to look at new materials for weight and recycling benefits. At a recent meeting, the company announced that the lifespan of a Westfield vehicle is over thirty years, making the Westfield sports car an extremely attractive purchase when calculating the Whole Life Cycle cost. To date, not a single Westfield has been returned to the company under the End-of-Life Vehicles Directive. The key to the vehicles’ long life lies in ease of ‘upgrade’ and ‘inter-changeability’ – essential characteristics of all Westfield products.