Lotus Evija Hypercar Unveiled

Lotus has just unveiled its new electric hypercar, the Evija – and it’s a bit of a looker.

British carmaker Lotus has just taken the wrappers of the first car fully developed since the company got bought by Chinese automotive group Geely and, to be frank, phwooooar!

Dubbed the Evija — pronounced “E-vi-ya” — this electric hypercar’s spec sheet implies that it’s more than an aerodynamic milk float. Furthermore, only 130 will be made once construction starts in 2020 and it will still rank as one of the fastest cars…. in the world.

Hypercar = Hypercash

Oh, and if you’re fancying one, get ready to put at least £1.5 million down as that’s the “starting price”.

For one-and-a-half-mill, you do get 1,972-horsepower generated by four electric motors, one at each wheel. Zero to sixty hits in under 3 seconds and the Lotus Evija will launch you to a top speed of over 200 miles per hour.

Those Top Trump specs can thank the fact that the car weighs just 1,680Kg. Lotus says it will be the “lightest production EV hypercar,” and that the Evija will also be the “most powerful series production road car” when it launches. Boast much?

Ever ready

Battery stamina will apparently be good for 250 miles of range, which is impressive considering the performance the company is touting. Additionally, if you use a 350kW charger, you can get 0-80% in just 12 minutes, with a full charge taking only 18 minutes. Naturally, Lotus is planning ahead, so when 800kW charging becomes available, the sportscar brand says a full charge will take just nine minutes.

But, enough of cold hard facts, just look at it! The Evija is every bit a 2020 hypercar. Yes, there is a touch of second-generation Tesla Roadster about it but, let’s face it, the original Tesla Roadster was based on a Lotus Elise.

Hyper tech

There are, of course, some nice touches. Firstly, the doors don’t have handles and can only be opened using a key fob or by a switch on the roof. The seats and the steering wheel are lined with Alcantara fabric. Also, the mirrors have been replaced by little cameras that jut out of the sides of the car. Best of all, though, frikken lasers! That’s what the headlights use to light up the road.

Naturally, the Evija is cloud-connected and can be updated over-the-air as well as record information about your track drives. Lotus is developing a companion app, but the car also supports Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

Geely, who bought a majority stake in Lotus in 2017, is no stranger to creating nippy electric cars as well as breathing fresh excitement into brands that were somewhat losing touch. The Chinese group now has Volvo under its umbrella and are also the reason why the Swedish auto cobbler has the neat Polestar offshoot.

We have high hopes for the much loved British sports car brand.