Electric hypercar race begins

Electric hypercar race begins

The Lotus Evija and Pininfarina Battista BEVs are set to turn a new chapter in the world of ultra-fast cars.

Evija has 2,000hp and 1,700Nm.

Battista receives 1,900hp and 2,300Nm.

Wow, something we’ve never really seen before…

It’s not that we’ve never seen them before. But the Lotus Evija and Pininfarina Battista, seen here in official pictures, are basically the definite articles hitting showrooms next year, while all-electric hypercars from other new brands are still in their conceptual stages. 

The Evija is Lotus’ first all-new model in a decade developed under new ownership: Geely of China. Codenamed Type 130, the Evija is a two-seater whose body is made from carbonfibre to help bring the weight down to 1,680kg, a figure deemed quite impressive for a battery-electric hypercar.

The Battista, on the other hand, is the result of Italy’s famous design house, which never made a dedicated car bearing the Pininfarina nameplate.

Like the Evija, the Battista is a two-seater clothed with bodywork made from carbonfibre to reduce weight as much as possible. However, Pininfarina hasn’t disclosed an official weight figure for the Battista.

Both hypercars employ a raft of aerodynamic solutions on their exterior design, yet both have managed to look substantially different at the rear. While the Evija has an aggressive look, the Battista appears to bear a classy feel.

The same could probably be said for their interiors. The Evija resorts to minimalism with thin bucket seats, racecar-style steering wheel, one digital instrument display and electronic button-festooned centre console.

There seems to be a higher level of luxury in the Battista especially with the use of heavily padded seats with more meticulously upholstered leather. Unlike in the Evija, switches have been kept to the minimum in the Battista. Instead, the highlight of the driving cockpit is three digital screens located behind a less racy steering wheel.

Evija has minimalist cabin.

Cockpit in Battista has three digital screens.

How many electric motors have they got?

The Evija and Battista are powered by four electric motors driving all wheels via single-speed automatic transmission. Their lithium-ion batteries are located mid-ship for optimum handling balance, just like how combustion engines are situated in hypercars such as the Aston Martin Valkyrie, Bugatti Chiron and McLaren Senna. The driving range is rated at 400km for the Evija and 450km for Battista.

Power and torque figures for the Evija include 2,000hp and 1,700Nm against the Battista’s 1,900hp and 2,300Nm. This is probably why Lotus is making some noises as to why the Evija is currently the world’s most powerful car.

But that may not be exactly the case when it comes to performance. While the Evija is said to sprint from 0-100kph in under 3sec, the Battista is claimed to have a time of about 2sec. Which is why we have to wait for the final specification to see which one is actually faster in this particular acceleration time. 

As for top speed, Lotus puts it at 320kph; Pininfarina boasts over 350kph. But it’s the other way around when it comes to 0-300kph: 9sec for Evija and a slower 12sec for Battista. Lotus has gone the extra mile by indicating what the Evija can do in the mid-ranges: 100-200kph in 3sec and 200-300kph in 4sec. That’s quite remarkable.

Both have five driving modes for different conditions ranging from meek eco-style tootling up to mental thrashing around a race track. The electric motors also have torque-vectoring control to make handling as intuitive as possible.

There are no side-view mirrors in the Evija with wing-mounted cameras doing the job instead by relaying images onto door-mounted screens inside (similar to that in the Audi e-Tron SUV). The Battista relies on convention.

Rear end of Evija looks aggressive.

Overall profile of Battista feels classy,

They must cost millions…

Oh yes they do. 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. 

The Battista will be equally expensive if it landed on Thai soil and its exclusivity will be equally guaranteed with its limited production number of 150 globally. It will be made in Italy with, just like with the Evija, individualisation possibilities for the customers.

These will be exceptionally rare machines. But once their technologies become more widely used, the cost for them will drop in the future meaning that all-electric supercars will eventually become cheaper.

Thin bucket seats feature in Evija.

Battista sees cushier chairs.

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