Caterham will launch an all-electric version of the iconic Seven sports car as it looks to secure its future in a world of electrified vehicles.
The EV is expected to share many components with the current Seven but things like the suspension and chassis will be overhauled to account for the extra weight of the battery pack and electric motors. Caterham will look to minimize weight as much as possible and as such, won’t give the car a regenerative braking system.
Speaking with Autocar, Caterham chief executive Graham Macdonald said a decision has yet to be made on whether the electric Seven will be larger “and nicer to sit in” than the current car or stick to the current formula, although the latter is more likely. It should offer acceleration to match the flagship 620R that can hit 60 mph (96 km/h) in a mere 2.79 seconds.
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“It’s very much like a go-kart: it’s two-pedal, you’ve got rapid acceleration and it’s a different product to drive,” Macdonald said when discussing a prototype that he has driven. “No less exciting, but exciting in a different way.”
Before Caterham brings an electric Seven into production, though, it will first need to sign a supply deal for the batteries and electric motors.
“I think we would enter into some sort of partnership whereby we can purchase batteries and get them made to fit our dimensions, rather than buy a square skateboard that has a body-in-white on top. That loses the Caterham,” Macdonald said.
The electric Seven should be ready by 2026 and while the brand is investing in electric technologies, it also remains committed to internal combustion engines.
“My ambition is to keep combustion engines going as long as we possibly can, as long as we can find an engine that fits our product but that’s becoming harder now,” Macdonald stated. “Everybody is going smaller and fitting turbochargers, and that’s not what we want.”
