The famous Caterham Seven has gone electric too, but it can only run for 20 minutes if driven on track

Caterham Seven is the exponent of a category of simple and classic British roadsters, with tubular chassis and extremely low center of gravity, which for a long time had a special charm in the way they were driven. And, being light and so close to the road, they managed to give shivers when driving and with relatively modest power. Well, now even the Caterham Seven has become electric, for now in conceptual form, it is true, but which indicates absolutely clearly that this is what we are going to see in a new, electric era.

When such a car becomes electric, it is intriguing to find out how powerful it has become and especially how heavy it has become, because of the battery. The good news is not long in coming, Caterham announcing that the electric Seven is only 70 kg heavier than a petrol one. And that's because it uses a battery of only 51 kWh.

The total weight of the car therefore remains below 700 kg, and this makes it one of the lightest electric cars on the market, if it will debut in series with the same parameters. The battery will be able to be charged with 152 kW of power, so quite quickly, especially since the usable part, i.e. that net capacity that can be used, is only 40 kWh, which is effectively the golden mean that the battery will limit through software.

Photo: The battery will be located in the center, not under the seats, to maintain the same driving position

The electric motor is one of 240 HP and reaches 9,000 rpm, but the torque of 250 Nm offers it from the first revolution. The electric motor is also of British origin and will be able to catapult the car from 0 to 60 miles (96 km/h) in about 4 seconds. These parameters have been calibrated so that they are very close to those of Caterham's gasoline engine version, so that enthusiasts will not feel deprived of the legendary sensations when they drive an electric version. By the way, the car will also benefit from a rear limited-slip differential, but the gearbox has disappeared, in its place is a simple one-speed gearbox. The maximum speed that this electric Caterham will be able to reach is about 210 km/h.

The British do not announce the autonomy of this electric car, but they say that they have made it capable of both public roads and sports circuits, and on the circuits the autonomy was set at 20 minutes of intense running, followed by 15 minutes of rapid charging, and then you can run again for another 20 minutes with it.