Insane 1470kW high-performance EV about to reach its 130 buyers – but won’t come to Australia
The long-awaited Lotus Evija electric hypercar is set to finally begin production after a long COVID-induced delay.
Development of the 1470kW monster was brought to a halt due to lockdowns and travel restrictions, but Lotus managing director Matt Windle says the program is back on track.
“We’ve been saying internally this year that [the Evija] is the best production car nobody knows about. It was the car that got impacted by COVID. We had the car out in American testing, out in Europe testing. [Then] COVID hit and we had to bring the car back and we didn’t get back underway for two years.
“The marketing car is just about to come off the line – we’ve got an amazing colour scheme on that car – and then we’ll start producing customer cars in the next month or so. We’re going to do some fun things this year with this car.”
Just 130 examples of the Lotus Evija, which was first revealed back in mid-2019, will be built at a cost of more than $3 million apiece, but the production run is not yet fully spoken for.
Initially, several cars were earmarked for Australia, but with the car now confirmed as left-hand drive only there will be no local arrivals.
Nevertheless, Windle is adamant the car will speak for itself: “Demand is strong. I think that this is a product where people do need to see it and drive it. I think it’s OK committing to an Emira without seeing it or driving it, but something at this end…”
The Lotus Evija will be one of the very fastest cars ever produced. Its 1470kW/1700Nm Williams-developed powertrain should provide virtually linear acceleration, with 0-100km/h and 100-200km/h sprint times of less than three seconds apiece, and 200-300km/h taking just four seconds.
Weight is a relatively light (for an electric car) 1680kg and there are massive carbon-ceramic brakes, while Pirelli Trofeo R tyres and Multimatic’s clever adaptive spool valve dampers should also help ensure it’s a weapon on the track.
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Keyword: Lotus Evija electric hypercar enters production