Engineers at an automobile manufacturer celebrated the launch of their newest vehicle by building it from the ground up at 450 feet.
One team completed construction, which would normally take 100 hours, in just six hours in the cabin of the i360 on the Brighton coast.
Visitors could watch them at work while the clock ticked as they enjoyed 360-degree views of the coast, the English Channel and the South Downs.
Graham Macdonald, head of Caterham Cars in Crawley, said, “We posed a daunting challenge for the engineers to build the car at such a height, but we believed they would finish it – and they did.
“This is sure to be one of the most interesting and memorable places we’ve ever built a car.
“We hope that the public who watched the build enjoyed their first sighting of our lightest production car ever – the Severn 170.”
The i360 guests counted down while the engineers put the finishing touches on the vehicle, cheering and clinking champagne as the timer went to zero. In addition, the team honored the car to celebrate.
Simon Lambert, Motorsports and Technical Director at Caterham, said the British Airways i360 was the perfect place for the challenge.
He said: “We like to think that we represent the best of the British – as do Brighton and British Airways.”
The vehicle weighs just over 440 kilograms at a top speed of 100 miles per hour. It’s one of Caterham’s greenest cars to date, with a carbon footprint that is greener than some hybrid vehicles, including the Toyota Yaris 1.5.
Building it was the company’s most ambitious automotive engineering challenge to date, having previously built a kit car at Harrods, London.
If you want to emulate the success of the team, you can also buy the vehicle as a complete kit to build yourself and it is also available as a factory car.
Simon said, “Building a kit car is a great experience that your family can be a part of.
“By building it yourself, you can understand your car and it should make you a better and safer driver.”
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