Lotus shows off electric hypercar

Lotus has revealed details of its new all-electric hypercar by releasing a short film showing an engineering development vehicle hurtling around a test track.

Gavan Kershaw, director of vehicle attributes, gets behind the wheel of the Evija and provides commentary during the video on the project to create the speedy electric vehicle (EV).

The film uses on-board cameras to show the Evija as it was put through its paces at the marque’s 3.5km track in Norfolk, England.

Kershaw says Lotus’ goal was to create a hypercar with everyday usability and he details the vehicle’s five drive modes.

These include range, which is limited to 1,000PS of power and 800Nm of torque, and switches the Evija from four-wheel drive to rear-wheel drive to maximise battery life.

Other modes are city, tour, sport, and track, with the latter boosting power delivery to 2,000PS and helping the car reach a top speed of more than 320kph.

The battery pack is located behind the two seats, a nod to the classic mid-mounted powertrain layout of many Lotus cars, and helps with the weight distribution. 

“Lotus cars are very nimble, inspiring great confidence when being driven, and the Evija is no different to that,” Kershaw says.

The preview footage was released ahead of the car making its public debut at Goodwood SpeedWeek in the UK on October 16, where three pre-production models took part in a number of high-octane activities during the three-day event.