Caterham previews an electric EV Seven

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Caterham has plugged into the world of electrification by creating an EV Seven concept, basing it off the fun-to-drive Super 7 super lightweight sports car.

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Caterham previews an electric EV Seven Back to video

Caterham says the electric concept weights less than  1,543 pounds (700 kg,) which is only a paltry 150 pounds more than their Seven 485. There’s no compromising dimensions as the batteries will go in the engine bay and transmission tunnels. It uses a modest battery with 40 kWh of usable capacity out of its 51 kWh total as per a recent Autoblog article. The Mazda MX-30 small crossover uses at 35.5 kWh battery for 161 km of range, and the Nissan Leaf uses a 40 kWh battery, good for 240 km. Factoring in weight and capability, my guess is the EV Seven could see range in the high-200’s. All this math via my abacus is in response to no range figures being provided, but Caterham did provide some estimates for its usability on track days.

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The battery cells are submerged directly in a dielectric solution created by Motul to offer the most amount of cooling, making it optimized for the track. Their aim is to provide 20 minutes of full-speed on the track, 15 minutes of charging, which should enable 20 more minutes of track driving thanks to a DC fast charger offering charging speeds up to 152 kW, assuming you can find a 150-kW charging station trackside. Gotta be careful with that constant heat, though.

The rear-mounted motor, made by Swinden Powertrain, is good for 240 horsepower and 184 lb-ft of torque through a single-speed transmission. Estimates have the 0-60 mph sprint done in 4 seconds, with a max speed of 209 km/h (130 mph).

Start saving your nickels as it may be a while until it’s here. Caterham CEO Bob Laishley says “We’re going to bring this to market at the right time when the future generation of battery technology allows it, and that’s why now is the time for us to trial the concept.” The first look will be this July at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.