Caterham launches seven 700kg electric prototypes

Electric Caterham Seven. We thought that day would never come. It still may not be. What you see here is an example, a toe in the water. As it stands Caterham has no intention of putting it into production.

All clear on that? Because we will come to discuss why Caterham has done it more. In the meantime, here’s what you’re looking at: Seven, but weighing around 70kg, with performance comparable to the main 485 petrol version. Based on an adult-wide chassis, it will use a front-mounted 50.8kWh battery pack (40kWh usable) to power a 240bhp transaxle electric motor on the rear axle incorporating a single gear and limited slip differential.

The battery extends into the transmission tunnel, allowing weight distribution almost identical to that of a gasoline car. 0-60mph will take around 4.0secs, top speed is 130mph and the target weight is less than 700kg – the target is the extra weight to be equivalent to carrying passengers. However, what we have here is possibly the lightest electric car in the world.

Not all of Caterham’s own work. The company has joined forces – not for the first time – with Swindon Powertrain. The touring car engine specialists first engineered the Seven JPE (Jonathan Palmer Evolution) back in 1993. Swindon Powertrain has diversified ever since, going so far as to develop its own EV brand, the Swind, which powered the Mini original and build e-bikes.

The plan is to build two prototypes of the Seven EVs designed to meet a specific goal: tracking daily use. “The core DNA of the product is the track car,” said Bob Laishley, CEO of Caterham. “We’ve taken an hour of track space and thought about how you would use it; drive for 20 minutes, have a cup of tea, then use it again for the last 20 minutes of the hour. So we need a charge during the tea break. Every other feature, the range and the size of the battery, it all depends on that, because if you have enough energy to run the track for 20 minutes, you will have enough for Sunday morning blat.

The problem is that the on-board charging network required to allow DC charging in public places, let alone AC at home, would add more weight and take up less available space. So these two cars, using the 400V architecture, rely on an efficient 150kW charging system that Caterham will take to track when the cars are running. As we said, things toe in the water.

Why bother at all? Two reasons: it is not clear what the legal picture looks like for small car companies after 2030, and, according to Laishley, “we are also developing a show car, a completely new model, which can use some of this as a development platform.”. We are set to see that. on the 12th of July.

Two basic things going on there. Could Caterham be about to expand its range with a new car for the first time since the doomed 21 of the 1990s? And what does the electric future mean for small UK car companies?

“From 2030, all new cars should have an electric range,” says Laishley. “Hybrid is a non-starter because we can’t pack in an engine, a battery – or of course a battery big enough to give it range – and get it into the chassis. Especially for us, that rule doesn’t include making an ICE (internal combustion) Seven.”

The current European rules are different – and simpler – but as it stands all UK car companies have to adhere to the same rules, a one-size-fits-all strategy that could spell the end for many.

“If you talk to the government directly they say they don’t want to put companies out of business,” Laishley continues, “and in general, common sense has prevailed for those manufacturers who produce less than 1,000 cars a year. And this controversial paper has not been put in place as we speak today.

But you can see why Laishley feels Caterham needs to at least see how the Seven EV will look, feel and behave. The car will be tested and developed before being seen in action at the Goodwood Festival of Speed ​​in July.