Lotus Evija: Will Latest Lotus Mark Renewal Of Fabled Brand?

One thing you can say about the Lotus brand — it has an interesting past. What remains to be seen is how interesting its future will be, but if the Covid-19-delayed Lotus Evija hypercar is any indication, Lotus’s future will be a great deal like its past, studded not only with fascinating cars but also with all the drama and intrigue that typically haunt the inner workings of Formula One. And speaking of Formula One, the most recent controversy roiling around the Lotus brand concerns its rift with Williams Advanced Engineering, a spinoff of the Williams F1 racing team. That kind of thing seems par for the course for the Lotus brand, a marque that certainly has seen its share of heartache.

Very late in the development of the Evija, Lotus fired William Advanced Engineering from the project saying, “As the program entered its latter stages pre the Covid lockdown, Lotus elected to bring the project in-house due to delivery problems from Williams Advanced Engineering.”

Hmm. Not very cricket that.

The British carmaker, which is controlled by burgeoning Chinese automaker Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, essentially said it will take things from here. The final stages of development will be handled at the Lotus Advanced Technical Centre in Warwickshire, UK, and the production and delivery schedule for the Evija has been revised to accommodate it.

“The end result will be a better product as we introduce not only the most powerful production car in the world but also the world’s best electric car for the drivers,” a Lotus statement on the imbroglio said. Ouch.

Typically not blessed with overflowing resources, Lotus’s racing heritage emphasized pluck, nerve, and innovative engineering rather than high horsepower, Its founder, Colin Chapman was not only a controversial character throughout his life but also his death is steeped in controversy. In fact, there are some who would tell you he still remains among us, perhaps living on a remote island somewhere or working as a very aged chartered accountant in Leeds under an assumed name.

Of course, Chapman, alive or dead, has nothing to do with the current iteration of Lotus. Its Geely Group Chinese masters have decided to try it much like the conglomerate’s Volvo brand, emphasizing its origins rather than making it a Chinese company. Thus Lotus marketing is calling the Evija “the British all-electric hypercar,” and since the car was engineered in Britain and will be built there that seems perfectly fair.

According to Lotus its name, Evija (pronounced ‘E-vi-ya’) means “the first in existence” or “the living one,” which are two very different things, but no real need to pay attention to that. Lotus is labeling the Evija its first hypercar and the company’s first model with an all-electric powertrain. Those with medium-term memory still intact might recall that the all-electric Tesla Roadster was based on the Lotus Elise, so cars with extension cords aren’t entirely alien to the brand.

Production, when it begins, will be limited to not more than 130 examples, and that’s a number that is reflected in the car’s project code, Type 130. Throughout the brand’s history, it has assigned each car with a type number, so there’s no reason to stop that practice now.

We hope the Evija won’t be delayed too much longer because its design, engineering, and technical specs are truly impressive. With a total combined power output of 1,972 horsepower formats four electric motors, the Lotus Evija has more power driving each wheel than the total power of any other Lotus road car ever produced.

To offers its hoped-for 200+ mile range on a charge the Evija has a 2,000 kW battery that is eight times more powerful than that of a Formula E race car. To put that in context, Lotus says it is “enough electricity to boil more than 1,600 domestic kettles.” Oh.

At about 3,600 pounds the Avija does not fulfill one Lotus hallmark — light weight. But you can reason the car is “low-mass” for an EV of its capabilities. Nearly 2,000 horsepower pushing 3,600 pounds forward can do some pretty gnarly things. Lotus says the car will jet from 0-100 km/h (0-62 mph) in under three seconds and 0-300 km/h (0-186 mph) in under nine seconds. It estimates its top speed as more than 320 km/h, which is more than 200 mph on this side of the pond.

Yes, the Evija resembles a mid-engine car, but of course, it has no engine. Instead, the battery pack is placed amidships behind driver and passenger and shown off under glass as if it were a four-cam racing engine. Power goes to four independently controlled high-power density e-motors, each connected by a single-speed helical gear ground planetary gearbox to a driveshaft powering an individual wheel. Just 100mm in depth, each gearbox comes with the e-motor and inverter as a single cylindrical Electrical Drive Unit with close to 500 horsepower at its beck and call. Torque-vectoring, enabled by the four motors, should provide exceptional dynamic response and agility on the road.

Like so many, we are definitely looking forward to the Evija getting on the road. Despite the drama and the Covid-related delay, deliveries are expected to begin next year. Price for a Lotus Evija, depending upon exchange rates, will be about $2.5 million