lotus unveils electric hypercar with a nine-minute charging time

lotus has unveiled a 1,900 horsepower electric supercar with a price tag that surpasses $2 million. the evija, which is pronounced ‘ev-eye-a,’ is the first all-new car from the british automaker in 11 years.

lotus claims the hypercar will weigh less than 3,700 pounds in it lightest spec, allowing it to sprint from 0 to 62 mph in under 3 seconds. its target specs also include reaching 186 mph in 9 seconds, and topping out at over 200 mph. the total driving range will be 250 miles on one charge of the midmounted 2,000kw battery—a power pack eight times stronger than that of a formula e race car.

images courtesy of lotus

under the hood, the four-wheel-drive car has five drive modes: range, city, tour, sport, and track. the car uses a 350kw charging unit that takes 12 minutes to charge the car to 80% of full and 18 minutes to get a full charge. lotus says the evija is capable of accepting an 800kw charge that when commercially available, will be possible to fully replenish the battery in just nine minutes.

another key feature of the evija’s sophisticated aerodynamic system is the bi-plane front splitter. it’s another illustration of form and function working perfectly in tandem. designed in three sections, the larger central area provides air to cool the battery pack – mid-mounted behind the two seats – while the air channelled through the two smaller outer sections cools the front e-axle. also reducing drag is a set of cameras integrated into the front wings and electronically deployed on unlock, while another camera built into the roof provides a central view.

the evija features a carbon fiber chassis that’s molded as a single piece. the underside of the body has channels sculpted into it to bring air to a massive rear diffuser. designers also created tunnels that pulls air through the rear wheel arch louvres, maintaining air quality in the diffuser.

each tunnel is edged with a red led to create a striking ribbon-style light signature. the directional indicators are incorporated into the corners of the ribbon, while the reversing light is provided by the illuminated ‘t’ of the ‘lotus’ wordmark above the integrated charging flap.

the evija is the first lotus to use handle-free dihedral doors, two of which grant access to the cabin via a key fob. inside, the dominant characteristic of the cabin is the ‘floating wing’ dashboard and carbon fibre shell seats hand-trimmed with thick alcantara-finished pads.

‘the shape is inspired by the company’s prototype racing cars of the late fifties and early sixties,’ explained russell carr, design director, lotus cars. ‘it has a beauty and an elegance to it, and represents a typically lotus approach because it performs multiple functions. it houses the instrument panel and air ducts, and is also an integral structural support. it reinforces colin chapman’s cast-iron rule that no lotus component goes along for a free ride.’

another first for lotus is a full suite of digital connected infotainment, which benefits from over-the-air software updates. a powerful on-board modem enables communication to the cloud, and the driver can interact with that data through a lotus smartphone app.

the evija will be the first entirely new car produced under lotus’s parent company, billionaire li shu fu’s zhejiang geely holding group co., which also controls volvo car group. it will be made at lotus’s hethel, england, headquarters beginning next year. pricing starts at £1.7 million ($2.1 million), with a £250,000 ($310,500) deposit required to secure a production allocation.