Electric Caterham Seven to debut at Festival of Speed

Designed in collaboration with Swindon Powertrain Ltd, the Caterham EV Seven will test the feasibility of an electric sportscar that stays true to Caterham’s roots for building simple machines that are as at home on the road as it is on track.

The stats are encouraging. Based on an SV, wide-body chassis, the EV Seven weighs just 70kg (about the same as a passenger) more than a comparable petrol model, with an impressive 700kg total weight targeted.

It’s even more impressive when you see the power on offer. The EV Seven uses a bespoke version of Swindon Powertrain’s E-Axle, which produces 243PS (179kW) and 249Nm (184lb ft). That translates to 0-62mph in just four seconds and a top speed of 130mph in a car as light as the Caterham. A limited-slip differential, Bilstein dampers and four-piston brakes round off the recipe.

A 40kWh immersion-cooled battery pack supplies the electricity and uses dielectric fluid (usually used to keep supercomputers’ temps down) to stay cool. The result is a battery that can deal with demanding heat cycles experienced during spirited driving and subsequent recharge speeds of up to 152kWh.  

CEO of Caterham, Bob Laishley, said: “Any future EV model we produce must be true to the DNA of a Caterham: lightweight, fun-to-drive and driver-focused. The main objective of this project is to develop a vehicle with a weight delta of no more than the equivalent of having a passenger on board. We’re never going to launch a one-tonne Seven – we’d rather not do it.

“Building a Seven that’s capable of a Sunday morning drive is achievable with current battery technology, but the challenge is for track use where the energy consumption is greatly increased. At the moment, immersion battery cooling is one of the best solutions in terms of coping with the rapid charge and discharge cycles that would be experienced on a race track.

“We do not have plans to put EV Seven into production at this stage – it’s a test bed to see how well an EV powertrain works for our customers’ specific use cases. We’re doing this project with our eyes wide open so that we can learn how to deliver the specific Caterham vehicle attributes necessary for a Seven: lightweight, simple and fun to drive. 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,”

We’ll bring you more news on the Caterham EV as soon as we have it.