Lotus is making waves in the electric car industry with its latest prototype, an outlandish, track-ready version of its 1972bhp Evija hypercar. The heavily reworked prototype, developed in partnership with race engineering firm Multimatic, is an almost entirely bespoke creation aimed at breaking the electric-car lap record at the Nürburgring. Lotus has not confirmed plans to beat the Volkswagen ID R’s record lap time of 6min 05.336sec, but the track had been hired out exclusively for this prototype run, and the conditions were perfect for a practice run.
Extreme Aerodynamics and Race-Spec Chassis
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 tested on multiple race tracks in multiple countries in the last weeks. The Lotus engineering team continues to push the boundaries of what’s possible with the Evija and the world’s most powerful EV powertrain.
The prototype boasts extreme aerodynamics and a race-spec chassis to keep it planted around the 12.9-mile lap. Modifications include downforce-boosting carbonfibre side skirts, a huge front splitter, and aero-enhancing canards. The towering swan-neck spoiler at the rear is the biggest clue to this prototype’s ambition, which wouldn’t look out of place at Pikes Peak.
More Power and Lighter Weight
Beyond the race-spec makeover, the Evija X is expected to pack more power than the standard Evija, which is already one of the most potent road cars on sale. No doubt conceived to operate purely at the track, it looks to also be the recipient of stringent lightening processes aimed at bringing its kerb weight down from the road car’s 1700kg. Given that the Evija’s standard battery weighs 718kg alone, this prototype is likely to have a much smaller pack, being geared more towards pace than endurance.
The headlights, brake lights, and wing mirrors have been removed, and the centre-lock wheels – wrapped in ultra-sticky Pirelli P-Zero slick tyres – are no doubt some of the lightest available. The interior looks to have been stripped out to accommodate a full race-spec roll cage.
Lotus Advanced Projects (LAP) Division
While not confirmed, the Evija X could be the first car to emerge from the newly created Lotus Advanced Projects (LAP) division. The LAP’s purpose is primarily to develop extreme, limited-run machines far removed from Hethel’s road-car line-up.
Lotus has made great progress with the Evija X, successfully meeting all its objectives and learning about the challenges of lapping the Nürburgring Nordschleife. The company has not announced a date for any official attempt on the record, but it is clear that Lotus is going after the electric-car lap record at the Nürburgring with this track-ready prototype.