Brand’s first BEV can hit 300kph in under 9sec with production starting next year.
Wow, that’s an aggressive revival!
This is the Evija electric hypercar, Lotus first all-new model in a decade developed under new ownership: Geely of China.
Codenamed Type 130, the Evija is marking new milestones in development of battery-electric vehicles.
The body of the two-seater is made from carbonfibre to help bring the weight down to 1,680kg, a figure Lotus says is best among all-electric hypercars (others including those from Pininfarina and Rimac). The wheels are made from magnesium measuring 20in up front and 21in at the rear.
The Evija is 4,459mm long, 2,000mm wide and 1,122 tall making it almost similar in size to the last all-new model Lotus: the combustion-engined Evora.
That extra-low height is also the result of the 105mm ground clearance giving the Evija a truly sporty exterior appearance. The same goes for the inside where F1-style steering wheel, bucket seats and electronic fascia can be found.
How many electric motors has it got?
The Evija is powered by four electric motors driving all wheels via single-speed automatic. In the typical Lotus fashion, the lithium-ion batteries are located mid-ship for optimum handling balance; they have been developed by Williams Advanced Engineering and help for 400km of driving range.
Preliminary figures for the Evija include 2,000hp of power and 1,700Nm of torque making it the most potent car ever produced, be it one powered by petrol or batteries (Bugatti’s ICE-powered Chiron has 1,500hp and Pininfarina’s all-electric Battista 1,900hp).
Performance targets include 320kph top end, 0-100kph in under 3sec (Tesla’s upcoming Roadster is said to do it in 2sec) and 0-300kph within 9sec. Mid-range punch appears more outrageous: 100-200kph in 3sec and 200-300kph in 4sec.
There are five driving modes in the Evija ranging from meek to feral: Range, City, Tour, Sport and Track. Apart from providing power for the car’s performance, the electric motors also have torque-vectoring control to make handling as intuitive as possible.
Lotus says the Evija uses lots of active aerodynamics to aid for that monumental performance.
There are no side-view mirrors with wing-mounted cameras doing the job instead by relaying images onto door-mounted screens inside (similar to that in Audi E-tron). Another hi-tech feature is the main and dipped beam head lamps using laser lighting technology.
It must cost millions…
Oh yes it does. In the UK, where the Evija will be built starting from next year, the price is set at 65 million baht. Buyers need to place a deposit of 9.5 million baht for a production slot.
Add that with Thai taxes and the retail price of the Evija is almost 200 million baht. Of course, buyers would be offered with plenty of scope for personalisation.
As a reference to its model code, only 130 Evijas will be made worldwide.
