Rumors a few battery-powered Caterham have been circulating the web for years however there’s lastly official proof that the automaker is definitely engaged on such a product. The corporate presents its EV Seven idea that follows the identical fundamental recipe as the remainder of the fashions from the Seven lineup however replaces the combustion engine with a purely electrical powertrain.
Serving to Caterham with the event is Swindon Powertrain, which offers the electrical motor and its auxiliary parts. The height energy of the system is 240 horsepower and 184 pound-feet of instantaneous torque. The 0-60 miles per hour acceleration takes roughly 4.0 seconds however there’s no phrase concerning the car’s high velocity.
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Caterham envisions the electrical Seven as a observe toy, which must be able to 20-minute drive periods adopted by 15-minute charging periods and one other 20 minutes of observe enjoyable. You’d most likely be tempted to say a BEV isn’t splendid for observe use however Caterham says the idea weighs simply round 154 kilos (70 kilograms) greater than the Seven 485. The overall car mass is just below 1,543 lbs (700 kg).
Offering the electrical power is a 51-kilowatt-hour battery with a usable capability of round 40 kWh. The agency says the battery has a bigger buffer than on a traditional EV to ensure that the pack to soundly stand up to demanding observe use adopted by speedy charging. Talking of charging, the height DC charging energy the EV Seven can assist is as much as 152 kilowatts.
The electrical Caterham advantages from {hardware} upgrades borrowed from the Seven 420 Cup, too. These embrace a limited-slip differential and adjustable Bilstein dampers. Different essential novelties for a Seven are the regenerative braking and quad-piston brake calipers.
Sadly, Caterham says it has no plans to place this electrical car into manufacturing. As a substitute, it should use it as “a check mattress to see how nicely an EV powertrain works for our clients’ particular use circumstances.” The EV Seven will make its public debut throughout this 12 months’s Goodwood Competition of Pace in July. One other electrical Caterham idea shall be revealed later this 12 months.
