Renowned maker-of-fast-shoeboxes, Caterham, have revealed an all-electric version of their current lightweight Seven sports car

Caterham have been hard at work trying to design an EV solution for their immensely popular Seven sports car. The Seven is available with a variety of engines and power options, but they all have something in common – they’re powered by dinosaur juice. So the British firm decided to pull up their sleeves, make a cup of tea, and have a think about how to do this.

This is what they came up with, and whilst it is only a technological concept, it does showcase the future of Caterham. Called the EV Seven (sEVen would have been better, but what do we know?), it packs a 240bhp, 250Nm of torque single-speed motor hooked up to a 51kWh battery that delivers an estimated 0-60 of 4 seconds.

Use the slider to see the different options

Top speed is said to be good for 130mph, but that’s not what Caterham’s are about. The real jewel is the weight, sub 700kg incase you were asking. We know that batteries and motors are typically heavier than their ICE counterparts, and as such, the EV Seven weighs just 70kg more than the current production Seven.

We also know that Caterham’s are built for going around the track, and they have thought of that (it must have been that extra spoonful of sugar in their tea), the Caterham EV Seven can do a 20-15-20 meaning it can run for 20 minutes at full chat, charge for 15 minutes and then go back out for another 20 minute stint.

Bob Laishley, CEO of Caterham, 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 for 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.”

It’s also being showcased in two colours, which are opposites of each other – you can use the slider on the photos to compare the two.