Lotus Evija Is A Surprisingly Lightweight Electric Hypercar With 2000bhp

The Evija ushers in a new era for Lotus, with a power output approaching 2000bhp and a weight figure of only 1680kg
Lotus Evija Is A Surprisingly Lightweight Electric Hypercar With 2000bhp

It’s almost as though Lotus was sick of motoring hacks making jokes about its ability to make ‘new’ models out of thin air. You know the drill - a bit of carbon here, some suspension tweaks there, a small increase in power, and hey presto! It’s the latest Lotus!

What Hethel has just revealed, though, is such a big enough step change, we all need to shut up at take notice. It really can be described as new, without any inverted commas involved. It’s called the Evija - a name which means ‘the first in existence’ - and it’s an all electric hypercar.

Lotus Evija Is A Surprisingly Lightweight Electric Hypercar With 2000bhp

The “target” output for the car is 2000PS (1944bhp) and 1253lb ft of torque, which it’ll deliver using a quartet of electric motors - one for each wheel - and a mid-mounted battery pack supplied Williams Advanced Engineering. Lotus says the powertrain is “the lightest, most energy dense, electric power package ever fitted to a road car”.

This means helps keep the weight low - the whole shebang will tip the scales at 1680kg. For a car permanently carrying around a massive stack of battery cells, that’s an astonishingly low figure. This will make the Evija extremely fast, although Lotus isn’t yet ready to give specific figures. The 0-62mph time will be under three seconds, 0-186mph will be over in under nine, and the top speed is going to be in excess of 200mph.

Lotus Evija Is A Surprisingly Lightweight Electric Hypercar With 2000bhp

The Evija features two large venturi tunnels positioned high in the all-carbonfibre bodywork, allowing air to pass through the car. The rear exits for the tunnels are surrounded by LEDs to create what Lotus calls a “ribbon-style light signature,” making the back of the car look like a fighter jet with its afterburners on. Nice.

Also on the aero agenda is a ‘bi-plane’ front splitter, the central aera of which sends cooling air to the battery pack, while the two smaller parts channel air to cool the front motors. At the back, there’s a rear spoiler controlled by an F1-like drag reduction system. Finally, the are no mirrors, with the Evija instead using cameras to reduce drag even further. They sit just in front of the dihedral doors, integrated into the wings.

Lotus Evija Is A Surprisingly Lightweight Electric Hypercar With 2000bhp

The inboard, pushrod dampers are supplied by Multimatic - the manufacturers of the Ford GT - and there are three for each axle. The 20-inch front/21-inch rear wheels are made from magnesium, meanwhile, and are wrapped in super-sticky Pirelli Trofeo R semi-slick tyres. When it comes to slowing down, AP Racing brakes with carbon ceramic discs are on the case.

After you’ve been enjoying all of that posh chassis stuff and the near-2000bhp output of the electric powertrain, you are going to need to think about charging the Evija. Thankfully, it’s compatible with 350kW chargers. Admittedly, there aren’t many of those around right now, but the network should have come along nicely by the time the car arrives. Hooked up to one, it can receive an 80 per cent charge in 12 minutes. Stick around for another six minutes, and the battery pack will be fully juiced.

Lotus Evija Is A Surprisingly Lightweight Electric Hypercar With 2000bhp

Only 130 examples will be made, in a nod to the Evija’s Type 130 codename. The deposit is £250,000, while the full price is a hefty £1.7 million plus taxes. The hand-built hypercar will enter production at Hethel in 2020.

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Comments

A Car Guy

Hmmm. Looks good and all, but it doesn’t quite look like they’ve followed the whole “simplify and add lightness”. I get that it’s electric and its light for an electric car, but 2000PS. Nothing simple about that. It’s a cool concept but I don’t like the idea of it having that badge. 😕😒

07/16/2019 - 18:09 |
50 | 12

I agree. This thing should be super minimalist with like 500hp… But that wouldn’t justify the price tag I guess.

07/16/2019 - 18:13 |
12 | 4

Exactly my thinking

07/16/2019 - 18:27 |
4 | 0

Yeah, this thing could’ve had at least 600hp less and no-one would notice the difference. They’re just playing the numbers game to beat Rimac, very un-Lotus of them. Mind you, at £1.7m, it kinda has to be the most powerful thing out there
Though I think everything else is rather Lotus so far, 1680kg is very good for an electric hypercar, and Roger Becker’s principle of the corners of the car being visible from the driver’s seat, among others, are alive and well. It’ll be the driving experience that’ll define whether it truly is a purebred Lotus though.

07/16/2019 - 20:30 |
6 | 0

There is actually no reason to hate this car, if you think about the fact that one of the main reason it exists is to generate money for Lotus so it can continue existing. It’s beautifully done and sounds like it will be a great electric hypercar, which is all the rage right now. With the funds generated from this and future mainstream products Lotus should be able to continue doing its simpler cars as it chooses to, kind of the same way Panameras, Cayennes and Macans allow Porsche to push out as many 911s as it wants.

In todays car climate we should be thankful that lotus even exists and is trying so hard to stay alive, and especially thankful that they retained some dignity while doing it. Better alive and expirimenting than dead and gone.

07/16/2019 - 23:40 |
22 | 4

Would u like it any better if it had a Ferrari badge? What’s wrong with a company trying something different whether or not it will succeed. It looks good and if it performs as well too then great.

07/16/2019 - 23:56 |
0 | 0
Elliot.J99

Holy moly

07/16/2019 - 18:10 |
2 | 0
ThatWeirdGinger

[DELETED]

07/16/2019 - 18:10 |
0 | 0
Tgus3

Surprisingly I actually like the overall style so far.

07/16/2019 - 18:12 |
4 | 0

thanks for the tag

07/18/2019 - 16:51 |
0 | 0
Matthew Boxberger

Me: Haha Lotus is so stupid all their cars are the same.
Lotus: STFU
Me: Yup. Ok.

07/16/2019 - 18:26 |
20 | 4
LukeyWolf

Not really a lotus anymore having that much power and weight

07/16/2019 - 20:38 |
18 | 4
PorscheBoi996

The Evija is a gorgeous car, but im more interested to see what Lotus has in store for its future sports cars. Will we see a new Espirit? I hope so.

PS. Tesla Roadster fanboys have a new target to attack for the crime of being an Electric Car that isnt a Tesla

07/16/2019 - 22:52 |
10 | 0

All Tesla Fanboys are just Elon Musks seperate accounts

07/17/2019 - 13:29 |
2 | 0
AlecHuntsman

those tail lights make me moist

07/16/2019 - 23:48 |
4 | 2
Deathrow 174

It would be amazing if they can make a 350 - 400hp version that weighs around 1000kg at the Model 3 Price Range…

07/17/2019 - 01:31 |
4 | 0