Lotus has unveiled a long-awaited all-new model in the form of an electric hypercar.
The Norfolk sports car maker claims that its Evija is “the world’s most powerful series production road car”.
Evija – pronounced Eh-vi-ya – means ‘the first in existence’, highlighting the car’s status as beginning a new chapter in Lotus history.
Performance figures for the Evija will be ‘targeted’ at 2,000hp and 1,200Nm of torque, giving the model a 0-60mph time of less than three seconds and a top speed in excess of 200mph.
Lotus has not yet revealed any technical details of the Evija’s powertrain. However, the brand’s technical partner in the project is Williams Advanced Engineering, sister brand to the famed Formula One racing team and with extensive electric drivetrain experience for the likes of Jaguar and the all-electric Formula E motorsport series.
According to Lotus, the Evija will employ the “lightest, most energy-dense electric power package ever fitted to a road car”. Design parameters include targeted overall weight of just 1,680kg, which would make the car impressively light for an electric vehicle.
Achieving this will involve extensive use of carbon-fibre, including the monocoque chassis and bodywork.
Active aerodynamics will feature on the car with the rear spoiler deploying as required, while large venturi tunnels will channel air from the front and sides of the car through the bodywork at the rear.
Lotus claims that the Evija will have a 250-mile range between charges, and will recharge to 80% capacity using a 350kW charger in 12 minutes. This is the highest-capacity charger currently available but the car will be capable of accepting a charge of up to 800kW, future-proofing it for when faster systems are released.
According to Lotus Cars CEO Phil Popham, the Evija will re-establish the brand in the hearts and minds of sports car fans and on the global automotive stage.
“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 groundbreaking technologies,” Popham said.
Only 130 examples of the Evija will be built and each will cost £1.7m. Lotus is now taking £250,000 deposits for the car.
