Lotus founder Colin Chapman always stressed how much more important lightness was for sports cars as compared to power. And Lotus has remained a singularly wonderful company in an automotive industry dominated by press coverage of 0-60 mph times, horsepower stats, and top-end speed for the 72 years its been producing cars.
But now, Lotus looks to have bent to the wishes of the future and produced a car that's big on horsepower and weighs more than any other Lotus ever built. A recent video posted by the company shows the all-electric Evija in teaser form and it sure looks like fun.
Simplify, Then Add Lightness
The Evija has been a project long in the making, as Lotus has navigated the complex world of high-end sports cars and tilted more heavily in favor of legit supercars. And the Evija might just be more than a supercar, fitting into the emergent hypercar category thanks to four electric motors producing a claimed output of 1,970 horsepower and 1,254 lb-ft of torque. Critically, as with all electric vehicles, that torque will be on-demand almost instantaneously, allowing Lotus to claim a sub-three-second 0-60 time for the Evija.
Looking Good
The video posted to YouTube by Lotus Cars features a couple of Evijas in various stages of assembly and camouflage, plus some quick shots of the car accelerating and cornering on the track. Despite the clip's staccato film technique, anyone can see this car is going to be a step beyond the styling of cars like the Elise, Exige, and Evora. And the technology in Britain's first electric hypercar sounds just as impressive as its looks.
Stats For All
The Lotus Cars website boasts that the Evija will be the lightest all-electric hypercar on the market, which makes sense given the Porsche Taycan Turbo S and its 5,000+ pound curb weight. Meanwhile, the horsepower rating is the most of any car ever, though the forthcoming Rimac C_Two might have a thing or two to say about that at Geneva in March. A top speed over 200 miles per hour and an estimated range of 250 miles also sound pretty good for the company's first EV.
Sources: Youtube, Lotus