Caterham EV Seven Concept is the all-electric track car we want

With batteries and electric motors adding a lot of weight to vehicles, we thought featherweight sports cars like the Caterham Seven are headed to retirement. Or so we thought.

Caterham has revealed the EV Seven. And yes as the name suggests, it's the all-electric sports car study of the British manufacturer that will make its first public appearance at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in July. 

Tipping the scales at only 700 kg, it's only 70 kg heavier than its equivalent ICE model. This means Caterham can continue the Seven's characteristic of being a lightweight and fun-to-drive sports car for the electric age.

The Caterham EV Seven Concept has the 420 Cup's race-ready hardware that consists of a limited-slip differential and Bilstein dampers. Swindon Powertrain developed the rear-mounted electric motor that produces 243 PS and 250 Nm of torque, allowing the EV Seven Concept to sprint to 100 km/h from a standstill in around 4 seconds.

The 51 kWh battery pack was placed where Caterham's combustion engine used to be and is immersed in dielectric fluid for better thermal management. This battery tech allows the EV Seven Concept to perform well during longer track times. Caterham says it can be used in 20-15-20 drive cycles on the track - 20 minutes flat out, 15 minutes to charge, and then drive another 20 minutes at full throttle.

In terms of charging, the EV Seven Concept has integrated regenerative braking, and its architecture is capable of accommodating a 152 kW DC fast charger.

While Caterham still doesn't have plans to actually put the EV Seven Concept into production, it will indeed serve as a testbed for future EVs made with the principle of lightness.