2020 Lotus Evija Electric Hypercar Debuts With 1973 bhp

Say hello to the world's first fully electric British hypercar - the all-new Lotus Evija. It is of course the most powerful series production road car ever built and according to Lotus provides an 'outstanding driving experience' both on the road and the track. But let's get into those details a little later and let's come straight to the name. What does Evija mean and how is it pronounced?. Pronounced 'E-vi-ya', the name means 'the first in existence' or 'the living one'. It's an apt name them as the Eviya marks the beginning of a new chapter for Lotus. It is afterall, the company's first electrified hypercar and also under the stewardship of Geely.

Production is limited to not more than 130 examples, which exemplifies its exclusivity. It's a figure set in tribute to the car's project code, Type 130. Lotus road and race cars throughout the brand's seven decades of success have been assigned a Type number, and the Evija was no exception. Production of the Evija will kick start in the company's facility in Hethel and the company has confirmed that the Evija will roll off the assembly line during 2020.

The designers of the Lotus Evija studied how Le Mans race cars use air flow creatively to go over, under and around the vehicle, but also through it.

Lotus Cars CEO Phil Popham said, "The Evija is a true Lotus in every sense - it has been developed with an unwavering passion to push boundaries, to explore new ways of thinking and to apply ground-breaking technologies."

The Evija features a dramatic Venturi tunnel through each rear quarter, adding to its presence. The designers studied how Le Mans race cars use air flow creatively to go over, under and around the vehicle, but also through it. This concept of 'porosity' was key to the Evija provides high levels of downforce.

The Lotus Evija features a one piece carbon fibre monocoque chassis

The Evija is the first Lotus road car to feature a one-piece carbon fibre monocoque chassis. The cabin, from the fully adjustable race-style seats to the multi-function steering wheel, is all about motorsport-inspired road car design and technology.

At the heart of the Evija is an ultra-advanced all-electric powertrain. It has been developed by technical partner Williams Advanced Engineering. The battery pack is mid-mounted immediately behind the two seats and supplies energy directly to four powerful e-motors. This system is the lightest, most energy dense, electric power package ever fitted to a road car. With a target weight of just 1,680 kg, it will be the lightest pure electric hypercar ever to go into series production.

The Lotus Evija gets fully adjustable race-style seats to the multi-function steering wheel

There's 1973 bhp on offer and torque is available from the word go. It also comes with five driving modes - Range, City, Tour, Sport and Track. 0-100 kmph is done just under three seconds and it can keep accelerating till it reaches its top speed of over 320 kmph.

Now to come to what it costs. Lotus has priced it at 1.5 million pounds (Rs. 12.80 crore approximately) to 2 million pounds (Rs. 17 crore). It will be interesting then to see who picks these cars up