Lotus Evija

Lotus Evija at a glance

The Evija, code-named Type 130, was the first new Lotus since the Evora of 2008 and the first developed after Geely bought a majority of Lotus in 2017. The name derives from Eve and is linked to the Hebrew word for "living". The company presents the car as the first of its electric era, ahead of the Eletre SUV and the Emeya saloon, which are built in Wuhan, China.

The story of the brand, from Colin Chapman's first cars to the present, is in the history of Lotus.

Motors, battery and performance

Each wheel has its own motor with a planetary reduction gear and inverter, packaged as a single electric drive unit by Integral Powertrain. Each unit makes 375 kW (510 PS), giving 1,500 kW (2,039 PS) and 1,704 Nm (1,257 lb-ft). Software splits the torque between all four wheels, so the car can steer itself through corners by speeding up the outer wheels. Five drive modes run from an economy setting for range to Track.

The battery sits upright behind the cabin, where a mid-engined car carries its engine. That keeps the centre of gravity low and the weight spread evenly. It can be charged from 0 to 80% in about 18 minutes on a 350 kW DC charger. In 2019 Lotus talked about future 800 kW chargers; such chargers are not in public use.

Simple arithmetic shows how extreme the car is: 1,887 kg divided by 1,500 kW is about 1.26 kg per kW, against about 1.8 kg per kW for a Bugatti Chiron (1,995 kg, 1,103 kW). The power-to-weight calculator gives the same figure for any car, and the most powerful cars ranking shows where the Evija sits.

Aerodynamics and the Venturi tunnels

The design is built around air. Two large Venturi tunnels run through the rear of the body from the side intakes to the tail, so the air passes through the car instead of over it. Lotus first used ground-effect ideas in Formula 1 in the late 1970s. A rear wing rises from the bodywork when needed, and a large diffuser finishes the tail.

There are no door mirrors. Cameras replace them, with their images shown on screens inside the cabin. The headlamps are thin, almost vertical strips; Lotus said the laser main-beam units were supplied by Osram. The magnesium wheels measure 20 inches at the front and 21 at the rear, with Pirelli Trofeo R tyres, and the ground clearance at rest is 105 mm.

Carbon chassis, suspension and brakes

The one-piece carbon-fibre monocoque, made by CPC in Modena, weighed 129 kg according to Lotus's 2019 figures. It sits on Lotus's bespoke Extreme platform. The suspension uses Multimatic adaptive dampers with spool valves, with three dampers per axle mounted inboard: two control roll and pitch, the third deals with vertical movement. AP Racing supplies carbon-ceramic brakes.

Cabin and equipment

The cabin is a two-seater with carbon-fibre, Alcantara and leather trim, and a narrow centre console with a vertical row of switches. A digital screen behind the steering wheel shows speed, charge and mode; the camera feeds replace the mirrors. Lotus listed climate control, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, over-the-air updates and a smartphone app. Buyers could choose paint, trim materials and personal badges. Every car is assembled by hand at Hethel.

Price, production and delays

Customer cars were first planned for 2020. The pandemic, the switch to a larger battery and supplier changes pushed the timeline back. In 2022 the company said eight cars were in build; Jenson Button received the first car in August 2023, and in December 2024 Lotus's European chief confirmed that deliveries to customers were under way and would continue for about two years. Whether all 130 cars will be built has not been confirmed. A deposit was required when orders opened in 2019; a dated euro price was never published, so none is given here.

Rivals: electric hypercars compared

The Evija is the most powerful of the three electric cars on paper, with the smallest battery. The Rimac grew out of the Rimac Concept Two, and the Bugatti Chiron is the petrol benchmark. You can set any two of them side by side in the 1cars comparison tool.