1,973hp Lotus Evija is World’s First Pure Electric British Hypercar

Lotus Evija, the world’s first all-electric British hypercar, debuted in London a few days ago with mind-blowing design and features. Pronounced ‘E-vi-ya’, which means ‘the first in existence’ or ‘the living one’, Lotus used its 71 years of experience to make it perfect for both road and track. The automaker will only produce 130 road-going units with production starting in 2020.

Lotus Cars CEO Phil Popham stated: “Evija is the perfect name for our new car because it is the first all-new car to come from Lotus as part of the wider Geely family. With Geely’s support, we are set to create an incredible range of new cars which are true to the Lotus name and DNA.”

Powertrain

Being an all-electric high-performance car, Lotus worked hard on its powertrain. They installed 2,000-kilowatt lithium-ion battery pack in the middle of the hypercar, which gives power to four electric motors (two mounted on the front axle and remaining two on the rear axle). The peak output of all the electric motors is 1,973 horsepower (495 hp each). A forceful hit on the throttle will take the car to 100 km/h in less than 3 seconds. While this is extremely fast, when we compare it with other gasoline-powered supercars or even high-performance electric cars like Tesla Model S P100d, this does not seem extra-ordinary.

However, when we see performance figures beyond 100 km/h, the Lotus Evija’s hypercar claim starts making sense. If you keep your foot on the throttle, the car takes another 3 seconds to reach 200 km/h. And if it allows you to keep your foot on the pedal, you would be able to hit 300 km/h in less than 9 seconds, which is truly incredible. The top speed is capped at 322 km/h.

Enough talking about the power figures, how about taking a look at how Lotus Evija achieves these performance figures. Lotus made the car super light using a single-piece carbon fiber monocoque chassis. It only weighs about 1,680 kilograms (3,704 pounds). Staying true to their traditions, the hypercar would drive like a Lotus owing to its shape and positioning of strategic components. To make driving smooth and allow better grip on the road, the Lotus Evija sends power to each wheel separately. Furthermore, drivers can choose among five driving modes, namely range, city, tour, sport, and track.

Drive Range and Charging Time

Being an EV, the biggest concern of buyers is the driving range and charging time. Lotus did great in both departments offering 400 km drive range (WLTP Combined Cycle) on a single charge, which would take just nine minutes. Now that’s really impressive, but hold on. You need an 800kW charger to achieve that, and it might not be available near your location. The best we get are 350kW chargers, and those won’t be bad for the new 2020 Lotus Evija, topping it up 80% in only 12 minutes.

Design

Talking about its design, the 2020 Lotus Evija looks futuristic owing to laser headlights, side cameras instead of mirrors and absence of door handles. Inside, we find dual-zone climate control, an infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and Alcantara trim.

Price

Planned, engineered and hand-built at Lotus’ popular establishment in Hethel, UK, the production won’t start until 2020 with the car leaving the assembly line wearing a hefty price tag of £1.7m plus duties and taxes (US$1.8 and US$2.5 million). The order books are open, allowing anyone with £250,000 in their pockets to book a production slot.