New Lotus Evija X goes for ‘Ring lap record
More extreme 2000bhp track special has its sights set on smashing the Nürburgring lap record.
Electric hypercar season is in full swing. After the reveals of the Porsche Mission X and Mercedes Vision One-Eleven, Lotus has been spotted at the Nürburgring Nordschleife with an Evija X.
You remember the Evija, the all electric 1972bhp, £2 million hypercar from the company that spent over 20 years making the brilliant Elise? With first deliveries set for 2023 Lotus is looking to launch a special track only, hyper-version called the Lotus Evija X, with its eyes focussed on setting a new lap record on the north loop.
A track-only model, the Evija X has enough aerodynamic appendages to fill every F1 wind tunnel many times over. Its new track look includes a bespoke front splitter and aero-canards at both corners with a rear wing the size of a small Norfolk village secured to its rear deck. There is also a sizable pair of side sill extensions filling the open area of the car’s tapered lower waistline. The extreme nature of the bodywork add-ons suggests that under the carbon fibre body is some serious underfloor aero to suck the Evija X to the ground.
The Evija X has been seen testing at the ‘Ring with Director of Attributes and Product Integrity, Gavan Kershaw, and Managing Director Matt Windle in attendance, so it is believed Lotus is undergoing final development work ahead of a record attempt.
With the first Evija deliveries due soon and the first drives of Eletre SUV this summer, Lotus is looking to grab some Evija headlines to keep the story flowing.
The Nürburgring Nordschleife electric car lap record is currently held by VW’s ID R racer at just over 6 min 5 secs. The Evija X would need to utilise every last drop of its energy produced from its 93kWh battery and for motors, with the current target set to 1972bhp and 1323lb ft of torque, considerably more than the 670bhp and 479b ft the ID R produces. Despite the ID R weighing 1100kg and therefore giving it a power to weight ratio of 619bhp/ton, the Evija monsters it with its 1062bhp/ton figure.
TrustpilotThe ID R’s record isn't the only one in Lotus’s sights, with the outright lap record set by Porsche’s 919 Evo with a time of 5:19.55 too. Then again, Rimac might have something to say about all this.
