Lotus Evija: 2,000 CV for the most powerful electric supercar!

The Lotus Evija arrives with a surprise: with 2,000 CV of power, the English electric supercar becomes the most powerful production vehicle in the world. Only 130 units will be built.

Lotus has thrown down a gauntlet that will be hard to match, at least for the time being. The English manufacturer had already given us a preview in a teaser and told us why its new supercar would be called Lotus Evija. We knew it would be a high-performance electric car.

What nobody expected is that Lotus would stand out with a car that suddenly becomes the most powerful series-produced vehicle in the world. No less than 2,000 CV, no small feat. And for a weight of just 1,680 kg, which is not much considering, don’t forget, that we are talking about an electric car. In fact, it is the lightest in its category.

Here you can see how the Lotus Evija looks in video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_91pXnhdRcc

Limited edition of 130 units

Lotus is going to manufacture only a limited series of the Evija. In total, there will be 130 units, as a tribute to the Lotus Type 130. Its potential future owners are already drooling at the sight of some of the technical specifications. Although they will have to wait, as production will not begin until 2020.

Meanwhile, they must pay a reservation deposit of around 280,000 euros, which will be deducted from the final price of the car upon delivery: no less than 1.88 million euros… before taxes.

At the time of writing this article, shortly after the car was officially unveiled, the website of Lotus was out of service due to “technical difficulties”. We don’t believe it is due to the collapse of millionaires trying to get hold of some of the 130 units before they sell out, although… who knows?

To begin with, Lotus sets as its goal an acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h in under 3 seconds, and less than 9 seconds to exceed 300 km/h. Yes, you read that right, 300 km/h. The Evija claims a top speed of over 320 km/h.

Given its 2,000 CV, and a power-to-weight ratio of 0.84 kg/CV, the acceleration is not surprising. What is another matter is how the engineers at Lotus will manage to transmit such enormous power and torque to the asphalt. Because I haven’t told you yet, but the maximum torque of the Evija reaches… 1,700 Nm!

The top speed is indeed a surprise. Normally, in electric cars, even in the new generation of sports cars, it is usually limited to protect the range. And since we are talking about kilometres to cover on a single charge, for now Lotus claims up to 400 km, which is not bad at all.

Four electric motors of 500 CV each

More curiosities about the Evija. To deliver the 500 CV offered by each of the four motors located at the wheels, they need to “feed” themselves. And they do so with a battery with 2,000 kW of power. To give you an idea, that is eight times more than the batteries currently used in Formula E.

A one-piece carbon fibre monocoque chassis, active aerodynamics with DRS system inspired by the cars at Le Mans and F1, video cameras replacing the rear-view mirrors, laser headlights for high and low beams (the first car in the world with this feature)… Where do the surprises end?

Well, in the revolution that Lotus proposes for battery charging. According to the English manufacturer, thanks to the collaboration with Williams Advanced Engineering, the battery is prepared to withstand charging powers of up to 800 kW. An option that is not even being considered commercially for now, but that would make it possible to recharge the Evija in less than 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, using the most powerful fast chargers currently available, which operate at 350 kW, the Evija would be charged to 80% ready for the next fast lap in 12 minutes, and to 100% in less than 20 minutes. Do you still think electric cars are not the future? Another matter is at what price… and when there will be charging posts with that power for everyone.

Image gallery Lotus Evija