Last week, Lotus shook the automotive world with their new Evija hypercar. With 1 973 all-electric horsepower (1 471 kW) at the disposal of your right foot, the proposed figures are quite astonishing. It isn’t all show and no go from Lotus either. Not only are they sure that the Evija will be quick, but they are also saying it has a good shot at being a record-breaker.
In a recent interview with Pistonheads, principal platform engineer at Lotus, Louis Kerr, stated that the British hypercar might have an attempt at breaking the production car record at the infamous Nürburgring. The current record is held by the Lamborghini Aventador SVJ with a time of 6:44.97. While the Volkswagen ID R’s lap time is a bit out of reach, Kerr said they are confident at beating the track-only Nio EP9’s time of 6:45.90. Since the two times are less than a second apart, the production car record should be in reach too.
As it stands, no EV that has been put into production has taken on the mighty Nürburgring challenge. This is mainly due to the fact that the batteries aren’t able to deploy the power necessary for long enough periods around the track. However, according to Kerr, 70-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery in the Evija is able to deliver maximum power for up to 7 minutes before any limit is placed on it.
We certainly hope Lotus will make their statement a reality to see whether electric cars are capable of taking on the most notorious track in the world and succeed.