Lotus Evija: an earth-bound fighter jet

published 2 August 2019

"Everything about the Lotus Evija is wild, from its outlandish styling through to its extortionate price tag," says Rob Clymo on Gizmodo. It will cost £2m when it goes on sale in 2020 and all 130 of the electric "hypercars" will be made at the sports car-maker's home in Norfolk. Lotus says the car is good for 250 miles on one charge and, provided you have access to the new extra-powerful 350kW charging points, the Evija can refill its tank in just 18 minutes.

The design has some radical flourishes, so you know it's going to be fast. "Very fast." The Evija weighs just 1,680kg, even with a "beefy" battery and four motors driving the wheels, and produces 1,973bhp, powering the car to more than 200mph.

Lotus actually took its inspiration from fighter jets, says Ray Massey for the Mail Online. You can see almost all the way through its "Venturi tunnels", which generate aerodynamic downforce that helps to keep the car earth-bound. The tunnels are edged in red LED light, giving the effect of a fighter jet's afterburners. If you do see the Evija bearing down on you in your wing mirror, you'll see the logo has been cleverly designed to read "ALIVE" when read backwards. You will also notice the Evija has no wing mirrors of its own. That would slow it down. Instead, it has pop-out cameras that are integrated into the front wings.

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Norfolk residents who spot one in tests will feel like those old Navy pilots who caught glimpses of the secret SR-71 Blackbird spy plane, says Ollie Kew in Top Gear magazine. "What the heck was tha... oh, it's gone." All in all, "you've never sat in a better assembled Lotus than this. It doesn't even smell of fibreglass and panic".

Power: 1,973bhp. Weight: 1,680kg.Battery: 2,000kW. Range: 250 miles.Top speed: 250mph

Chris Carter spent three glorious years reading English literature on the beautiful Welsh coast at Aberystwyth University. Graduating in 2005, he left for the University of York to specialise in Renaissance literature for his MA, before returning to his native Twickenham, in southwest London. He joined a Richmond-based recruitment company, where he worked with several clients, including the Queen’s bank, Coutts, as well as the super luxury, Dorchester-owned Coworth Park country house hotel, near Ascot in Berkshire.

Then, in 2011, Chris joined MoneyWeek. Initially working as part of the website production team, Chris soon rose to the lofty heights of wealth editor, overseeing MoneyWeek’s Spending It lifestyle section. Chris travels the globe in pursuit of his work, soaking up the local culture and sampling the very finest in cuisine, hotels and resorts for the magazine’s discerning readership. He also enjoys writing his fortnightly page on collectables, delving into the fascinating world of auctions and art, classic cars, coins, watches, wine and whisky investing.

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