Remember the insane Lotus Evija X we saw testing at the Nürburgring last year? It’s finally out. The electric beast is a one-of-a-kind track-only variant of the hypercar that holds the record for the quickest vehicle around the Nordschleife using a production car chassis. Let us explain.
It finished the lap in 6 minutes and 24 seconds, or 11 seconds faster than the Mercedes-AMG One. The F1-powered machine is the fastest street-legal automobile ever to lap the ‘Ring. However, the Lotus Evija X is not the fastest car to complete a lap around the Green Hell. The Volkswagen ID.R finished in 6:05, while the Porsche 919 Hybrid Evo still holds the record at 5:19.
Lotus can get excited about the Evija X’s performance because the ID. R and the 919 Hybrid Evo have no link to production vehicles. It is worth noting that there has been another car faster than the Lotus aside from those two. Stefan Bellof set a lap time of 6:11 in 1983 while driving the 956. In the same year and with the same car, Jochen Mass finished in 6:16.
The Evija X is expected to return to the Nürburgring and attempt to shave seconds off its already amazing lap time. The performance it achieved in October 2023 was on a rainy track, so there is space for improvement. Lotus suggests we “watch this space” for a possible better time.
The track car features Pirelli slicks, new dampers, and carbon fibre brakes in addition to its insane aerodynamics with a big wing. Under the skin is the same carbon fibre tub and quad-motor combination as the street-legal Evija, with 2,011 horsepower and 1,257 pound-feet of torque. The four electric motors are powered by a tiny 70-kWh battery pack situated in the middle of the rear seats.
Lotus claims that it can accelerate from 0 to 62 mph in less than three seconds, as well as from 62 to 124 mph in under three seconds. The 124 mph to 186 mph sprint is estimated to take less than four seconds. The road automobile has an electronically limited top speed of 218 miles per hour. The road-going Evija has begun production many years after its introduction, and just 130 vehicles will be produced.
