Lotus to go All Electric with New Supercar

[Drew Dowdell]

Lotus, aiming to rejoin the ranks of the supercars again is introducing a new limited production halo vehicle.  The Evija will be a fully electric hypercar costing $2.11 million each with only 130 copies made.

The car is said to be capable of 1,973 horsepower from four electric motors and have a range of up to 250 miles.  Electric vehicles aren't known for being lightweight with their heavy battery packs, so Lotus is offsetting the 70 kWh battery's weight with a fully carbon fiber monoque chassis.  Lotus is confident that the car will reach the 3,704 lb. target weight. 

The 0-62mph time is said to be less than three seconds with a top speed of more than 200 mph. The car can run at full power for 7 minutes on a track before the battery derates the power output.  With 350 kw chargers the Evija can be recharged from 0 to 100 percent in 18 minutes, however the battery is compatible with future 800 kw charger as they become available. 

The design of the Evija is meant to evoke a LeMans racer, and it includes two venturi tunnels to reduce air pressure and reduce drag. The rear of the tunnels are fitted with a ring of red ribbon LEDs to look like the afterburners of a jet. The interior is quite minimalist with a rectangular steering wheel and a single pod of honeycomb shaped buttons up the center stack. It lacks the traditional center screen and instead uses the driver information screen for all feedback.

Chinese auto manufacturer Geely bought Lotus in 2017 and the Evija is the first model launched since the purchase.  Lotus plans to build more models suited for the Chinese market, including an SUV. 

 

 

 

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[Frisky Dingo]

Look, as a car, it's great. If it meets the spec targets, it will undoubtedly offer incredible performance, and it will probably sell out with ease and give Lotus a nice little profit in doing so.

But if you look at it as a Lotus, this is quite a letdown. In an era when everyone is churning out 4 figure hybrid and EV hypercars, it would have been incredibly refreshing- and true to the spirit of the brand- to have forgone that with a new Esprit w/ an N/A Cosworth V8, a manual transmission, and sub 3,000lb curb weight. 

[Drew Dowdell]

This is just meant to be a halo car. I think other EVs from lotus are coming as well. 

[G. David Felt]

I have to say that I really like the looks of this Lotus Halo car and the design of the rear lights around the air flow holes to mimic afterburners on a fighter jet. Very cool.

[balthazar]

They still make Lotus’s???

[Robert Hall]

33 minutes ago, balthazar said:

They still make Lotus’s???

Lotus still has one model in the US, and it's the cheapest rear-mid engine sports car currently on sale in the US, I think..the Evora has been around for over a decade now.  They are pretty low key amongst sports car makers..

[balthazar]

Hmmmm; 1 generation/a decade old, little in the way of changes, not much effort put in? Reminds me, perhaps, of another car's eerily similar descriptions… what was it?? Oh yes.

 

The Vega. ? 

[Drew Dowdell]

Lotus has been sold around to different companies a few times. They finally landed at one with deep pockets.  Deep as in Republic of China deep.... 

[smk4565]

4 hours ago, balthazar said:

They still make Lotus’s???

Beat me to it.  

I get this is a low volume thing, but it looks too like a Ferrari 458 and 1 lap around the Nurburgring will deplete the battery.  The 130 people that buy it probably don't care about any of that, but most people don't even know Lotus is still around, and they don't really have any product that people want.  Sports cars as a segment are dying, and that is all these guys have, and they are expensive, it isn' like they are in Mustang or Supra level pricing where they might be able to get a little volume.

[Drew Dowdell]

10 minutes ago, smk4565 said:

Beat me to it.  

I get this is a low volume thing, but it looks too like a Ferrari 458 and 1 lap around the Nurburgring will deplete the battery.  The 130 people that buy it probably don't care about any of that, but most people don't even know Lotus is still around, and they don't really have any product that people want.  Sports cars as a segment are dying, and that is all these guys have, and they are expensive, it isn' like they are in Mustang or Supra level pricing where they might be able to get a little volume.

Not deplete the battery, just pull back from the full almost 2,000 horsepower. 

[G. David Felt]

17 hours ago, smk4565 said:

Beat me to it.  

I get this is a low volume thing, but it looks too like a Ferrari 458 and 1 lap around the Nurburgring will deplete the battery.  The 130 people that buy it probably don't care about any of that, but most people don't even know Lotus is still around, and they don't really have any product that people want.  Sports cars as a segment are dying, and that is all these guys have, and they are expensive, it isn' like they are in Mustang or Supra level pricing where they might be able to get a little volume.

It is in the same category of MB Vaporware Hypercar thing that has not been made street legal and keeps getting delayed, delayed, delayed and I suspect canceled and refunds issued.

If they actually do deliver the auto, it will be to people in countries that do not have emission rules and by then NO ONE WILL CARE as the hype will be gone from this hyper car as everyone will be focused on this Lotus over a petro guzzling global warming auto that cannot idle at the stop light.

[daves87rs]

I get the feeling it’s like the new “greased lightning”!

[A Horse With No Name]

On 7/18/2019 at 1:53 PM, Robert Hall said:

Lotus still has one model in the US, and it's the cheapest rear-mid engine sports car currently on sale in the US, I think..the Evora has been around for over a decade now.  They are pretty low key amongst sports car makers..

They still build some cars I like.