The Evija is Lotus’s first-ever EV.
Photo courtesy of Lotus
The Lotus Evija is the most powerful production car in the world. It also just happens to be the most powerful all-electric car on the planet. Packing a massive 1973 horsepower and 1254 lb-ft of torque, the sleek Evija (pronounced ‘E-vai-ya’) dazzled the Monterey Car Week recently.
According to Lotus, boasting four electric motors (one on each wheel) the EV hypercar will accelerate from zero to 62mph in under three seconds. This time may sound quick, but when you compare that the the soon-to-be-launched Tesla Roadster’s sprint time of 1.9 seconds, the Evija appears to be behind the performance curve. The Lotus will also reach 186 mph in nine seconds on its way to a top speed clearing 200mph, but buyers will also be keenly interested in the car’s range which is claimed to be an acceptable 250 miles under the WLTP testing methodology.
The Evija’s styling was inspired by Le Mans race cars.
Photo courtesy of Lotus
The Monterey Car Week, often affectionately referred to as ‘Pebble Beach,’ is the best and most prestigious car event in the U.S. and vies with Italy’s Concorso d-Eleganza Villa d’Este as the best in the world. And it’s the ideal location to introduce the all-new Lotus to the American automotive establishment.
The Monterey Car Week is a unique motoring week of auto shows, rallies, concours and auctions, the highlights of which are The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering and the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, the two events that Lotus chose for their big launch.
Jay Leno was an avid onlooker as the Evija was unveiled.
Photo by Lotus
Even former The Tonight Show host and comedian Jay Leno, a regular visitor to Pebble Beach, could not hide his enthusiasm for the Evija. The hypercar, which requires a deposit of $310,000, will set owners back $2.1 million plus duties and taxes. But f you want one, you’d better get in early because Lotus tell us that only 130 will be produced. It is the British brand’s first hypercar and its inaugural all-electric coupe. It also just happens to be the first all-new car to be developed under the ownership of Chinese car brand Geely.
The name Evija means “the first in existence,” an acknowledgement of the brand’s first-ever electric car. And and its first EV, Lotus did not hold back on the styling front. In a word, this car oozes drama. According to Lotus, the car’s designers studied how Le Mans race cars use air flow over under, around and through, yes, through the vehicle. While the overall design maximizes downforce, the Venturi effect of utilizing airflow through a vehicle, adds to that downforce and maximizes stability by pulling air through the bi-plane front splitter and rear wheel arch louvres which counteracts the low pressure behind the car to reduce drag.
Ferrari and Lamborghini will now have to stand up and take notice of Lotus.
Photo by Lotus
The Evija is the first Lotus to employ a one-piece carbon fiber monocoque chassis which allows the car to achieve a surprisingly low curb weight (for and EV) of just 3703lbs, which in turns enables the car’s range of 250 miles.
Lotus says they plan to take the Evija to the Nurburgring for a lap record attempt, and from what we see on its spec sheet, a record could well be in sight. To achieve that aim, the car would have to beat the 6 minute 45 second lap time set by the Sino-British race team built NIO EP9 in 2017.
Production of the car will begin in 2020 at the firm’s home in Norwich, England. And with production limited to no more than 130, and a price tag exceeding $2m, we can only expect to see prices navigate north as time goes by.
