Lotus Evija starts production of the world’s most powerful car

Lotus has unveiled its Evija electric supercar in final production form and confirmed it can produce 1,500kW of power — more than the combined output of five Porsche 911 Carreras — making it the world’s most powerful production car.

On top of that the Evija (pronounced “ee-vaya”) has a truck-like 1,700Nm of torque.

Those outputs give the super Lotus the ability scorch from 0-100km/h in less than three seconds and, even more impressive, it can reach 200km/h in under nine seconds. The top speed is electronically restricted to 350km/h.

The Evija isn’t just about mind-boggling numbers, however. The factory says it should handle like a proper Lotus courtesy of its race-inspired suspension, and weight-saving magnesium wheels and carbon-fibre body. Still, the car tips the scales at a portly 1,887kg due to its heavy batteries and four electric motors — one for each wheel.

The 93-kWh battery is claimed to deliver up to 400km of range in normal driving, and an 80% charge is said to take just 18 minutes using a 350kW DC fast charger.

Lotus has unveiled a special-edition Evija Fittipaldi to mark the start of production in celebration of the 50th anniversary of Brazilian Emerson Fittipaldi’s 1972 Formula One title in a Lotus Type 72 and Lotus securing the constructors’ championship. 

The car was unveiled last week at the company’s headquarters in Hethel, UK, with Fittipaldi as guest of honour. Only eight of these units will be built.

Showcasing the iconic black-and-gold colour scheme — also 50 years old in 2022 — the hand-painted exterior and numerous other unique design features have been created to commemorate this collaboration. They include a hand-tinted plan view of the Type 72 etched on the carbon fibre roof, and Fittipaldi’s signature hand-stitched on the dashboard.

The car wears black and gold “Type 72” wheels with anodised centre-lock surrounds, as well as black-and-gold brake calipers.

Another emotive detail is the rotary dial on the floating central instrument pane, which is handcrafted from aluminium recycled from original Type 72, ensuring a genuine piece of the iconic F1 racer is part of each Evija Fittipaldi.

“I’ve really enjoyed being a part of this project and it’s been a wonderful experience revealing the car to some of the new owners,” Fittipaldi said. “Having the opportunity to drive both the Evija Fittipaldi and my championship-winning Type 72 Formula One car on the test track at Hethel has been an incredible experience.”

Lotus says the first Evijas will be delivered in 2023 with a total of 130 units to be built at a price of about £2.4m (R50m) apiece.