Batteries included: The new Lotus Evija

Lotus has unveiled the new Evija, scheduled to enter production in 2020.

A POWER output of 2,000ps — about 1,973hp. This, Lotus says, is what it aims its newly unveiled Evija to produce when the “hyper car” goes into production in 2020.

The Evija — Lotus explains the name means “the first in existence” or “the living one” — is Lotus’s first all-electric car. Its powertrain was developed by technical partner Williams Advanced Engineering, which works on Formula 1 and Formula E cars. Its battery pack is mounted behind the car’s seats (there are only two, of course) and powers four electric motors. Lotus says this system is “the lightest, most energy dense, electric power package ever fitted to a road car.”

The carmaker added it targets the Evija to weigh only 1,680 kilograms. If it manages to do this the car will be the lightest pure electric high-performance vehicle to go into series production. The car has a one-piece carbon-fiber monocoque, fully adjustable race-style seats and a multi-function steering wheel.

The Evija has five driving modes; Range, City, Tour, Sport and Track. It can sprint from zero to 100km/h in under three seconds and on to a top speed of more than 320km/h.

Lotus says the Evija is not only its first electric car, it is also its first completely new car to be launched under the stewardship of China carmaker Geely.

The Evija will be produced at Hethel, near Norwich in England, which has been Lotus’s base since 1966. Only 130 examples will be built.