Caterham Uses Bicycle Tech to Drop the Seven’s Weight by 10 Percent

Caterham’s Prototype Chassis (Credit: © Caterham)

The Caterham Seven is one of many track-designed rigs that has nearly all of its focus on low weight paired with a competent powertrain. So far, that focus has worked out well for the retro-inspired model, but the British automaker still isn’t pleased. Today, it announced that it is working with an unlikely partner to drop even more weight from the svelte Seven.

» Related: Caterham Rolls Out Two New Vehicles for the U.S.

The unlikely partner? Famed bicycle-tube makers, Reynolds Technology. Using butted-tube technology—a design where the ends of the tubes are thicker than the middle—Caterham is able to cut 10 percent from the Seven’s weight without compromising integrity and rigidity. In some areas of the chassis, the overall weight loss was as much as 50 percent. This system also allows it to save this weight without moving to pricey alloys.

This new chassis design is still in prototype phase, but Caterham expects it to be a £1,000 and £2,000 ($1,435 to $2,871) option for the Seven. Given the clientele Caterham caters to, the automaker feels that this is an option that as much as 20 percent of its buyers will add.

There is no anticipated timeframe for the official reveal of this lightweight, optional chassis, but I suspect it’ll be sooner rather than later.

We’ll keep an eye out for more details on this lighter Seven chassis and bring you the latest reports.