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PostPosted: April 13, 2021, 8:44 pm 
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Joined: January 27, 2010, 1:11 pm
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Location: Jefferson City, MO
thought you might be interested, not that many of us here have Caterhams.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/peterlyon/2021/04/07/british-icon-caterham-cars-acquired-by-japanese-automotive-group/?sh=3234d9a17783

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PostPosted: April 13, 2021, 8:57 pm 
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Joined: June 20, 2019, 12:34 pm
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At least it looks like an organization that appreciates performance cars

Thom

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PostPosted: April 14, 2021, 1:13 am 
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Joined: November 11, 2013, 4:47 am
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"Electric by 2030" :ack:

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PostPosted: April 14, 2021, 9:27 am 
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Joined: January 28, 2021, 3:32 pm
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Location: Port Orchard, WA
RichardSIA wrote:
"Electric by 2030" :ack:


It's not like they have a choice if they want to continue to sell cars in the UK and Europe.

"We will protect and develop the Seven to meet the legislative challenges that lie ahead,” "

It's those "legislative challenges" that are driving that.

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PostPosted: April 14, 2021, 11:02 am 
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Joined: July 17, 2008, 9:11 am
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electric versions joining the lineup by 2030


Not that the gas versions are going away. Do not forget that all Caterhams sold in the USA are kit cars, not factory made vehicles. Gasoline engines will continue, at least here, I'm sure.

I give them kudos for moving the technology forward. Having forward looking plans for a 64 year old design platform is admirable. Good for them. VW gave up trying after a short 65 year run with their Beetle. :cheers:

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PostPosted: April 14, 2021, 11:25 am 
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Joined: November 6, 2020, 6:29 pm
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Location: Spring, TX
An EV Caterham could be a hoot, too.
Light weight, should lead to longer range, though the battery pack would negate some of the weight benefit.
IIRC, someone on here was looking at doing a Tesla-esque-powered 7?

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PostPosted: April 14, 2021, 11:40 am 
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It looks to be a company that genuinely appreciates the brand and heritage. There are much worse things that could have happened.

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PostPosted: April 14, 2021, 12:09 pm 
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Joined: October 24, 2008, 2:13 pm
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@FieroReinke

Thanks for the link to the story.

Cheers,

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Damn! That front slip angle is way too large and the Ackerman is just a muddle.

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PostPosted: April 14, 2021, 12:35 pm 
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Joined: February 22, 2017, 10:47 am
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Location: Raleigh NC
Driven5 wrote:
It looks to be a company that genuinely appreciates the brand and heritage. There are much worse things that could have happened.
^^^^ So much this. It could have been bought by a Chinese company, and then you would have a harborfreight quality product with a 90 second warranty, horrible customer service, and nonexistent spare parts.

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PostPosted: April 14, 2021, 2:22 pm 
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Joined: April 23, 2006, 8:26 pm
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An electric Seven, hmm

Power-wise, it would be awesome at local autocross due to the lack of noise and its low end torque. Total weight, though, would likely be a fair bit more than the equivalent gas model, depending upon the desired range.

As for how it would do at a trackday, that's harder to say, since its terrible aero drag would be an issue at speed, versus how many corners are involved. For the same reason, freeway range would suffer due to the drag. Electric cars excel in stop-and-go traffic, but their advantage is lost at higher speed.

Cost will likely be yet another premium on top of an already expensive kit (else we wouldn't have this forum!).

I've looked into doing an electric "whatever", and if you want any sort of performance (meaning, not using Prias or low-end Nissan electrics), figure it'll run around $10K, not including batteries. That last bit is a killer. OTOH, if you can find a wrecked Tesla for cheap, that helps.

Lastly, many all-electric cars have VERY invasive computers running them, and if they detect someone's changed things, they can brick themselves. There was a story about someone buying a wrecked Tesla, fixed it all up, and it wouldn't start. Tesla had remote-bricked it, not wanting a non-factory repaired car ending up back on the road. I can see both sides of that, and haven't heard whether this has been resolved. It might take someone developing an aftermarket ECU specifically for Tesla drivetrains.

Bottom line, the whole project isn't impossible, but will be much more expensive than gas, assuming you want performance.

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