An attempt by Lotus to break the electric lap record at the Nurburgring with its Evija electric hypercar appears to have been ruined by mechanical gremlins.
Though Lotus hadn’t confirmed it was making an attempt on the VW ID.R racer’s 6:05.336 record, spy photographers at the Nurburgring said everything was in place to capture the event, including a camera-equipped helicopter, when the Evjia suddenly stopped mid-lap. It was left immobile and had to be recovered on the back of a truck.
We’ve all been waiting to see what the Evija’s 2,011 hp (2,039 PS) quad-motor electric drivetrain and sophisticated aerodynamics could do on the Nordschleife, but the car Lotus brought to Germany was clearly no ordinary Evija, if such a thing even exists. Described to Carscoops by Lotus as a ‘technology concept’ called the Evija X, the Nurburgring Evija’s huge front splitter, fender vents, side skirts and rear wing make it look like it’s ready for Pikes Peak.
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Those aero additions and the enormous slick tires mean we’re looking at a track-only Evija that couldn’t be used on the road, but they would certainly generate a ton of downforce to make a big difference to the car’s cornering speeds through the fastest section of the track. So it’s only fitting that the car was decked out in the classic black and gold colors most famously worn by the ground-effects Lotus F1 cars of the late 1970s. Lotus released a limited edition Evija Fittipaldi road car in similar colors last year, but minus this car’s crazy wings.
Speaking to Carscoops, Lotus declined to go into details about the mysterious car, what it was doing at the Nurburgring, what caused the breakdown or when it might be returning to the track, offering only the following statement:
“The Evija X is an all-new technology concept from Lotus. Based on the Evija road car, it is the ultimate expression of Evija and has been testing on multiple racetracks in multiple countries in the last weeks. We have made great progress, successfully meeting all our objectives, and learning about the challenges of lapping the Nürburgring Nordschleife. The Lotus engineering team continues to push the boundaries of what’s possible with the Evija and the world’s most powerful EV powertrain.”
Beyond confirming the name, Lotus doesn’t give much away there. But it seems entirely reasonable that the British automaker wants to break VW’s now four-year-old record for EVs, potentially even becoming the first electric car to lap the 12.8-mile (20.6 km) track in under six minutes. That would make it the second fastest car of all time after the Porsche 919 Hybrid Evo endurance racer, which recorded an outrageous 5:19.546 in June 2018.
Hang on… surely Lotus can’t be aiming to beat the 919, can it? The Porsche has about half the power of the Lotus, but it’s also a bespoke racecar and weighs half as much as a stock Evija. Could Lotus really cut enough weight and add enough aero to make the Evija even faster? Sounds fanciful, though what a story that would be. But as the old saying goes, to finish first, first you have to finish.
