LEADING LIGHTS
IF YOU NEVER EVEN GOT A CHANCE TO DRIVE Jannarelly’s new Design-1 sports car, you could derive plenty of entertainment from watching others get used to the quirks of entry, operation and exit, and a further layer of enjoyment from their reactions immediately after a drive.
Watching Adam Towler hoist himself out of the slim cockpit with a wide-eyed expression and puffed-out cheeks, I’m guessing he’s had quite an experience. Having spent probably a dozen hours in the car myself by this point it’s a familiar sensation. You emerge from every drive slightly frazzled, but also energised, in much the same way as you would from one of the more potent Caterham Sevens.
Given the company’s founder, Anthony Jannarelly, owns a Seven himself, the similarity of experience isn’t a huge surprise. The Design-1’s mission statement is effectively that of a more exotic, more touring-capable Seven – something with a proper roof, longer-distance legs and sleeker styling, but otherwise offering similarly involving and exciting driving manners.
This ‘Caterham, but more’ vibe is exactly why you won’t find an actual Caterham in this test. Consider the Jannarelly, just this once, a stand-in for the much-loved Brit; a different spin on a familiar experience. But it’s also why we’ve chosen to
