What image pops into your head while thinking of supercars? Is it one where a car features a stylish design with great aesthetics or its engine roars when it zooms past? If yes for both, then how about an electric sports car that can do the same, but without a combustible engine? While Tesla might be well known in the field of electric vehicles, Lotus Evija is the first fully British all-electric hypercar that not only features a head-turning design but packs enough clean power to give conventional supercars a run for their money. Here’s everything you need to know about it.
The design
Lotus Evija is a supercar, which means that its design is not only meant to entice customers, but the car’s design also attributes to aerodynamics, ride stability, downforce and multiple other factors. From the front, the Evija sports a streamlined look but it features pronounced Venturi tunnels on the rear, which impart a more aggressive look to it. This new design will be tweaked and is slated to appear on future Lotus cars as well.
Russell Carr, Design Director at Lotus Cars, said, “We studied how Le Mans race cars use airflow creatively to go over, under and around the vehicle, but also through it. This concept of ‘porosity’ is key to the Evija and has enabled us to create a timeless design with exceptional amounts of downforce.” The car’s exterior is completely made out of carbon fibre and it has a ride height of 105mm.
A 2000kW lithium-ion battery and Lotus’ first electrified powertrain
The Lotus Evija has a target power output of 2,000 PS, 1,700 Nm of torque and is touted to go from 0 to 100 km per hour in under three seconds. With a completely electrified drive train, it is said to attain a top speed of over 320km per hour. The new drivetrain is developed by the company’s technical partner Williams Advanced Engineering. A 2000kW lithium-ion battery pack sits behind the two seats.
In addition, the Lotus Evija is said to feature the world’s fastest charging battery, which is touted to accept an 800kW charge. While currently there are no chargers available to deliver this high amount of wattage, when they are developed, the vehicle’s battery could be completely replenished in merely nine minutes. With currently available tech, the car’s battery is said to be charged fully in just 18 minutes to deliver a range of up to 400 km.
Two high-power density e-motors draw in power from the battery pack ad these motors employ silicon carbide inverters and epicyclic transmission on each axle of the four-wheel-drive powertrain. Integral Powertrain Ltd is the provider for the motors and inverters. The four-wheel-drive is equipped with four single-speed, helical gear ground planetary gearboxes that transfer power to the driveshaft.
Interior aesthetics
The interior of Lotus Evija is inspired by cars and it shows in the ‘floating wing’ dashboard. Two handle-free dihedral doors that are controlled via the key fob grant access to the car’s interior. Inside, one will see a minimalist layout of main control panel and a switch in the roof console can be used to close the doors. The seats are made of carbon fibre and sport hand-trimmed Alcantara-finished pads, and support manual fore/aft adjustment plus electric back operation.
The steering wheel is reminiscent of the ones we see on an F1 car and it features multiple control options. A centrally mounted mode controller will enable selecting between five modes: Range, City, Tour, Sport and Track. As one would expect, every mode tunes the car to perform at a different level by activating and deactivating features. The digital display sits just behind the steering wheel and it shows all the important information like mode, battery charge and remaining range.
Price and availability
Lotus has confirmed that the production of its all-electric supercar Evija will begin in 2020. The vehicle will be manufactured out of Hethel, which is close to the historic city of Norwich in the East of England, UK. Speaking at the unveiling in London, Lotus Cars CEO Phil Popham says, “The Lotus Evija is a car like no other. It will re-establish our brand in the hearts and minds of sports car fans and on the global automotive stage. It will also pave the way for further visionary models.”
As for the pricing, the Lotus Evija is priced from €1.88 million (excluding duties and taxes) and one needs to make a €276,854.68 deposit to secure a production slot. One can also pre-order the car via www.lotuscars.com.
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