Caterham reveals electric version of iconic Seven roadster

Featured Sponsor

Store	Link	Sample Product
UK Artful Impressions	Premiere Etsy Store

He lotus seven original it was an inspired concept. It was completely minimalist and therefore perfectly in keeping with Lotus founder Colin Chapman’s philosophy of performance through light weight.

Today, the legacy of the Seven rest with caterhamAnd that means the company has the burden of reinventing the lightweight roadster for the electric age, something that doesn’t exactly jibe with Chapman’s philosophy.

The biggest hurdle for Caterham is how to deliver an electric Seven as driver-focused as the petrol car. There’s also the question of how to cram enough batteries into the Seven’s diminutive body to ensure decent longevity at track speeds while keeping weight down. However, Caterham is up for the challenge, and on Wednesday the company offered a taste of what an electric Seven could look like with the reveal of the EV Seven concept.

The concept features a single engine on the rear axle, generating a peak of 240 hp. Its battery is a 40kwh unit capable of charging up to 152kw using a DC fast charger.

Caterham EV Seven Concept

Caterham estimates the concept will hit 60mph in four seconds and top out at 130mph. The company also claims curb weight to be less than 1,543 pounds, which is only about 250 pounds heavier than your typical Seven. The Caterham’s target weight is to roughly equal the weight of a gas-powered Seven carrying a passenger.

“Any electric Seven must be able to be used both on the road and on the track,” Bob Laishley, Caterham’s chief executive, said in a statement. “For the latter, this means being capable of a repeatable 20-15-20 drive cycle – the ability to drive on the track for 20 minutes and recharge in 15 minutes with enough power to drive for another 20 minutes.

The EV Seven is not intended for production, but will be used as a feasibility study for a future electric Seven. It has been developed in partnership with Swindon Powertrain, a company that develops powertrains for road and race cars, and features an immersion-cooled battery pack, which is new to the world of cars (typically found in supercomputers) and features a design where the coolant is in direct contact with the battery cells.

The EV Seven concept will make its UK debut in July Goodwood Festival of Speed ​​2023. While not intended for production in its current form, Caterham is developing an electric sports car that it intends to build and sell in the near future. The car is being repaired by talented designer Anthony Jannarelly and will be revealed later this year.