Lotus's First Fully-Electric Hypercar 'Evija' Makes World Debut in London

Lotus has revealed the company's very first all-electric hypercar with performance specs to compete with Tesla's upcoming Roadster and Pininfarina's recently announced Battista. On Tuesday in London, Lotus took the wraps off its, and Britain's, first purely electric hypercar, the Evija. With a power output of about 1973 hp and 1700 Nm of torque accelerating the vehicle from 0 to 100 kmph in under three seconds and to a top speed over 200 mph, the Evija presents Tesla's Roadster and Pininfarina's Battista with fierce competition.

Beneath its smooth, highly-aerodynamic body whose design was inspired by "rocks that had been carved by nature over the centuries" is a 100 per cent electric four-wheel drive powertrain. The 2,000 kW battery, which can be fully recharged in nine minutes using an 800 kW charger, delivers energy to four e-motors.

Currently, charging technology on the market maxes out at 350Wk. Using a charger with this capacity will fully charge the Evija in 18 minutes; when 800 kW chargers become commercially available, the car will be able to revive enough energy in nine minutes to drive 250 miles.

Like the Battista, only a small number of units will be produced, making the hypercar hyper-exclusive. Because each one can be massively personalized, each of the 130 models will be unique to every client, accentuating its exclusivity.

The extremely-stylized luxurious interior was inspired by Lotus racing models from the 1950s and '60s. Several cabin surfaces have been finished with carbon fiber as have the shell seats. The dash is outfitted with a digital display, the only screen found in the model.

The Tesla Roadster can sprint from 0 to 60 mph in 1.9 seconds, reach a top speed over 250 mph, and has a range of 620 miles. When the model is released next year, it's expected to put owners back between $200,000 and $250,000, a fairly modest price compared with those of the Evija (about $2.1 million) and Battista (about $2.5 million).