Unveiling the new hypercar Phil Popham, Lotus Cars CEO (formerly of Land Rover), and Russell Carr, Design Director, described it as a ‘bold statement of intent from the iconic British company, illustrative of its ambition under the stewardship of Geely’. Evija has lofty ambitions to fulfil but it can re-establish Lotus as a leader in terms of both engineering and design. A hypercar that is built ‘For The Drivers’.
Mr Carr commented: “The Evija is beyond anything Lotus has ever done and beyond anything I’ve ever done. We have created something strikingly beautiful, something new, dramatic and unique.”
The Evija is the most powerful and dynamically accomplished road car in the history of Lotus and it sets a new standard for Lotus driving performance. It is the first all-electric British hypercar and the first Lotus with an electrified powertrain. It is also the first new model since Geely took control of the Norfolk firm in 2017.
A technical tour de force, the Evija is illustrative of the innovative thinking and ingenuity that has always been part of the Lotus DNA. With a target output of 2000 horsepower, it is the world’s most powerful series production road car. With a top speed in excess of 200mph and the capability to smash the 0-60mph benchmark in around 2.6s (0-186mph in 8.9s), it is fast. Even at 1,680kgs, it is light for an EV hypercar and possesses a range of around 250 miles. Evija has been designed and engineered in the UK and will be produced at Hethel, home of Lotus since 1966. A maximum of 130 examples will be built.
Evija is a seismic shift for Lotus and signifies the rebirth of one of the UK’s most renowned sports car marques. It will act as a halo for a thrilling new range of Lotus performance cars that are set to follow, with several of the design elements being carried onto future models. Its construction is also revolutionary, with a one-piece, monocoque structure produced entirely from carbon fibre that weighs a mere 129kgs. Channels designed into the floorpan, as well as the body structure are designed to work as an active aerodynamics package. Evija’s battery pack is mid-mounted behind the seats and takes only 18 minutes to achieve a 100% recharge.
Power is fed from the batteries to a pair of high-density electric motors, which drive each axle of the four-wheel drive transmission. Four tiny planetary gearboxes transfer power to each wheel. By way of intelligent management, the drive units provide a torque vectoring facility that works imperceptibly but effectively to ensure that the car always tracks true.
Lotus has been given a lifeline by Geely and, for the first time in at least 15 years, it has a management team that knows and understands the future direction of the company. It will continue to produce the Elise at the other end of its scalable production, while Evija costs from £1.7m plus local taxes.
