The all-electric Lotus Evija is on track to reach the hands of customers before the end of the year and it is promising to deliver mind-boggling performance.
Whereas forthcoming electric hypercars such as the Rimac C_Two, Pininfarina Battista, and Tesla Roadster promise to hit 62 mph (100 km/h) in less than 2 seconds, Lotus has engineered the Evija to provide the type of rolling acceleration to leave ICE-alternatives like the Bugatti Chiron Pur Sport for dead.
Speaking with Top Gear, Lotus Attributes Director Gavan Kershaw revealed that the Evija will hit 124 mph (200 km/h) in less than six seconds. That is quick but is no faster than the Chiron Pur Sport. Where the Evija will stand out is its ability to accelerate at even more ferocious speeds when it is up and rolling than from a standstill. In fact, whereas the Chiron needs 6.5 seconds to run from 124 mph to 186 mph (300 km/h), the Evija will do that same sprint in less than half the time.
“I’ve driven some of the Formula One cars – even the T125 with 1,000 horsepower-per-tonne – and they’re quite brutal. This has got such strength and growth – it’s a bit like going up the runway where you’re pushed back in your seat and held there. It’s a lovely sensation,” Kershaw said.
Six driving modes, dubbed City, Range, Tour, Sport, Track and Off will be available.
Quizzed if the Evija will feel like a Lotus should, Kershaw indicated that a lot of thought has gone into how the vehicle performs on the road.
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“I think the thing that’ll do it is the 50-metre test, where you sit in it, the controls are in the right place and then the way that it just reacts to a throttle input or a brake pedal [is just right]. Does it do what I want when I turn the steering wheel? And the level of roll that we allow… there’s nothing worse than feeling on the edge and not quite knowing where the limit is. And then obviously you get to the straight bits and the scenery starts coming past you quite quickly…”
Powering the Evija are four electric motors that combine to produce 1,972 hp and 1,254 lb-ft (1,700 Nm) of torque. When Lotus first announced the vehicle last year, it said it was targeting a range of around 250 miles (400 km). However, when quizzed by Top Gear about the range and asked if a figure around 150 miles (241 km) was in the right ballpark, executive director of engineer Matt Windle replied, “that’s the area that we’re looking at as a minimum. We want people to drive this car. We need to give them useful range. But then also people are going to want to see how it performs, and it needs to drive like a Lotus”.
