The Lotus Evija is the most powerful series production road car ever built. It is the first hypercar from Lotus, and the company’s first model with an electrified powertrain. Only 130 examples are being produced, making it among the most exclusive cars ever launched. The vehicle will be manufactured at Hethel, near Norwich in Eastern England, which has been the home of Lotus since 1966. Production of the Evija will begin there during 2020.
“The Lotus Evija is a car like no other” said Lotus Cars CEO Phil Popham, speaking at the unveiling in London. “It will re-establish our brand in the hearts and minds of sports car fans and on the global automotive stage. It will also pave the way for further visionary models. This is another amazing moment in the history of our company. The Evija is a true Lotus in every sense – it has been developed with an unwavering passion to push boundaries, to explore new ways of thinking and to apply ground-breaking technologies.”
The vehicle design on the Evija features a dramatic Venturi tunnel through each rear quarter. According to Design Director Russell Carr, the company studied how Le Mans race cars use air flow creatively to go over, under and around the vehicle, but also through it. This concept of ‘porosity’ is key to the Evija and has enabled Lotus to create a timeless design with exceptional amounts of downforce. This in turn signals the start of a contemporary new design language for the company, which will evolve and reappear on future high-performance cars.
The Evija is also the first Lotus road car to feature a one-piece carbon fibre monocoque chassis. The advanced all-electric powertrain was developed with technical partner Williams Advanced Engineering, famed for success in motorsport, from Formula One to electrifying the first four seasons of Formula E. The battery pack is mid-mounted immediately behind the two seats and supplies energy directly to four powerful e-motors. This highly efficient system is the lightest, most energy dense, electric power package ever fitted to a road car. With a target weight of just 1,680 kg, it will be the lightest pure electric hypercar ever to go into series production.
Engineered for precise and sustained performance, the Evija has five driving modes – Range, City, Tour, Sport and Track. It can race from 0-62 mph (0-100 km/h) in under three seconds and accelerate to a top speed of more than 200 mph (0-320 km/h).
The Evija is priced from £1.7 million plus duties and taxes. A £250,000 deposit secures a production slot.
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