Friday 26th April

Lotus Evija X sets third fastest 'ring time ever

Modified one-off Evija makes Mercedes-AMG One look slow - and apparently it's got more to give

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The last time we talked about the Lotus Evija X it was based on spy pictures of it coming to a stop while testing on the Nordschleife last June. Unsurprisingly, Lotus wasn’t terrifically keen to talk about the car back then, except to confirm that it was ‘the ultimate expression of Evija’ and that it had been extensively testing at various race tracks as the team looked to ‘to push the boundaries of what’s possible with the Evija and the world’s most powerful EV powertrain.'

Well, clearly it has pushed. And the results speak for themselves: a lap time of 6mins 24.047secs is quite a statement, it being the third-fastest time ever recorded. Naturally it does not qualify for the production car record on account of it being a modified one-off (the official Nurburgring site lists it as a prototype) but being more than 10 seconds quicker than the Mercedes-AMG One illustrates just how savagely rapid the Evija X really is. 

Of course, you’d expect that from an electric hypercar with 2,011hp to call upon - significantly more power than the VW ID.R needed to blitz its way to 6mins 05.336secs back in 2019. But that car was built from the ground up to do nothing but set extraordinarily fast lap times (ditto the Porsche 919 Hybrid Evo that holds the ultimate record). The Evija X has the distinction of achieving the quickest time ever using a production chassis, and is said to be mechanically identical to the road-going model. 

Or at least it shares its 91kWh battery, quad-motor powertrain and carbon fibre tub. The bodywork and suspension have obviously been extensively modified with the former earning that colossal active rear wing and dramatic front diffuser, and the latter treated to all-new dampers and competition-grade Pirelli tyres. Lotus has not officially confirmed any partners for the project, although it’s believed that Canadian specialist Multimatic played a role in developing the Evija X. 

In a statement, Lotus said:  ‘We tested on the Nurburgring first in June 2023, then early October, and returned Friday 13 October to see what we could achieve. It was a damp day, so we weren’t expecting too much... sighting laps only in the morning and then two pacey laps in the afternoon, hitting a time good enough to take third place for a prototype. We think it has more to give…’

The prospect of more is quite something when you watch the lap and hear the scale of the wind noise being generated, which sounds like a tornado ripping through a cul de sac. Lotus did not name its driver on the day, but the Nurburgring site attributes the lap to Dirk Müller, a Ford factory driver and former Le Mans class winner. You suspect he’d like another crack at Romain Dumas’ ID.R time. Of course, that would mean finding another 20 seconds. So let’s hope Lotus gets back to pushing those pesky boundaries ahead of some better weather this year. 

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• Wild Lotus Evija targets 'ring record
• 2022 Lotus Evija prototype | PH Review

[E90_M3Ross]

Non road legal car beats road legal car time.....

Or to put it another way..... It's way slower than the fastest non road legal car....

[E90_M3Ross]

Familymad said:

What a lap. Epic job Lotus

Is it an epic job? If it was to be the fastest EV they've failed. They're almost 20 seconds down on what VW did 4-5 years ago? It's a very fast time indeed, but not entirely sure what is so special about it.

[E90_M3Ross]

GT9 said:

E90_M3Ross said:

Is it an epic job? If it was to be the fastest EV they've failed. They're almost 20 seconds down on what VW did 4-5 years ago? It's a very fast time indeed, but not entirely sure what is so special about it.

The Evija has a battery more than twice the capacity of the ID.R.
The VW has a mass of just over 1 ton and was built for one purpose only.
The Lotus is closer to 2 tons and the X's powertrain is identical to the road car.
If EV's leave you cold, no problem, but calling the Evija a failure seems a bit disingenuous.

It may well have a battery half the size, but for what purpose was this Evija X built for? You say the VW was built for one purpose only, suggesting this was built for something else, but considering it isn't road legal I'm struggling to think of something other than lap times at a track?

So it has an identical powertrain to a road car....I'm not sure the relevance of that, really? It isn't like with ICE they need to meet emission standards etc, it's just a battery and motors, very powerful ones at that.

Not sure where you got your last comment from. I merely said that I didn't this was that impressive given VW built an EV race car which was much faster 4-5 years ago

[E90_M3Ross]

RumbleOfThunder said:

E90_M3Ross said:

GT9 said:

E90_M3Ross said:

Is it an epic job? If it was to be the fastest EV they've failed. They're almost 20 seconds down on what VW did 4-5 years ago? It's a very fast time indeed, but not entirely sure what is so special about it.

The Evija has a battery more than twice the capacity of the ID.R.
The VW has a mass of just over 1 ton and was built for one purpose only.
The Lotus is closer to 2 tons and the X's powertrain is identical to the road car.
If EV's leave you cold, no problem, but calling the Evija a failure seems a bit disingenuous.

It may well have a battery half the size, but for what purpose was this Evija X built for? You say the VW was built for one purpose only, suggesting this was built for something else, but considering it isn't road legal I'm struggling to think of something other than lap times at a track?

So it has an identical powertrain to a road car....I'm not sure the relevance of that, really? It isn't like with ICE they need to meet emission standards etc, it's just a battery and motors, very powerful ones at that.

Not sure where you got your last comment from. I merely said that I didn't this was that impressive given VW built an EV race car which was much faster 4-5 years ago

You're being obtuse. As just explained to you, the Eviya X while extreme is still derived from a road car with a road car power train (designed for drivability and hundreds of miles of range). These factors right off the bat put it at a giant disadvantage to the VW, which is a purpose made prototype, exactly for this type of application, with barely enough battery to make it round a single lap. The Lotus is impressive by any reasonable standard.

It is an impressive time, but "epic" was the word used. Is it epic? Is a car with 2000bhp going 10 seconds faster than a road legal car particularly "epic"? Not in my opinion, no