Cars in Review: 2024 Lotus Evija

For this week’s blog post I was feeling to write about some expensive cars – not to say after the United States imposed tariffs that cars will get any cheaper (cough cough check out the post linked here published 2 weeks ago on this) but I mean the really nice looking ones. You know hypercars. This is where I would insert a rainbow or do the rainbow “imagination” bit from Spongebob but I digress. Ahh yes, hypercars, what are they really?

Well a hypercar is the definition of automotive performance, that represents the most extreme and technologically advanced super cars that pushes the boundaries of speed limits, acceleration, and even engineering – Thanks Google (well AI to be exact). Put simply, not street legal. 

But what is the difference between a sports car and a hypercar? Not that much actually. On the classification list, hypercars sit at the top of the pole followed by supercars then sports cars. In terms of the mechanics, the engines are really what makes this car stand out simply because hypercars use electric motors, well some at least. Other key defining features of a hypercar include: the ability to produce over 1000 horsepower helping to push top speeds higher than 350 MPH, limited car production QTYs, and its focus set on breaking records in terms of speed and acceleration. 

Sports cars on the other hand, are vehicles that are designed with legal driving capabilities in mind. They have dynamic performance features, with the focus on handling, acceleration, and top speed – you know all the things that make driving fun! Interestingly enough sports cars originated in Europe in the early 1910’s – which I guess is pretty obvious given the fact that many of the more popular brands of sports cars like Porsche and McLaren are European.   

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If you have $2M that you don’t know what to do with, why not buy a Lotus Evija? Well it’s really $2.3M but what’s the difference? We will be exploring the ins and outs of this fancy looking hypercar for this week’s edition of Cars in Review and trust me the things you will learn will be pretty incredible! So let’s get started. 

New for 2024

The Evija’s entire production run is sold out but Lotus says some of the 2024 models still need to be built and delivered. With that being said, there are no changes between this and the previous model year.  

Just to give a bit of a brief history, Lotus announced the production of the car way back in the summer of 2020, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic that happened earlier that year, everything came to a halt. Testing and supply chain issues were two of the really big factors impacting this decision. But 2 years later, in 2022, Lotus released a statement to the public advising them that the eight cars they were producing at the time were already sold with the first customer set to receive their Evija in early 2023. The first recipient of this vehicle was Jenson Button in August 2023. 

Pricing and Which One to Buy

Unlike many of the other cars I have written about, the Evija really is just 1 model. The single trim offers enough equipment to meet the demanding needs of its drivers and enthusiasts alike. The list of standard features that will be explored in a later section but we can tell you this – there are only 130 units that were produced, making this car really rare. And although this car isn’t street legal (literally anywhere in the world) just being able to own one is good enough. Use it as a model piece to go with that lovely model home! You know the ones, those fancy lottery home prizes that always feel impossible to win. Yeah, those ones. 

EV Motor, Power, and Performance

The star of this entire car has to be the electric powertrain. Four electric motors are what moves this beast and Lotus claims they have the ability to make 1972 horsepower and 1254 lb ft of torque. When compared to the Aston Martin Valkyrie hypercar (the more expensive kind) it’s actually double the horsepower in this vehicle. Talk about speed! It operates under a single speed automatic transmission that also helps to send power to the wheels. 

Evija definitely kept the overall weight of this car in mind when designing it which helped to make this the lightest Electric Vehicle hypercar ever to enter production, coming in at just over 3700 lbs overall and this was done to optimize handling. 

Top speeds in this car amount to 200 MPH and the company believes it will be able to go from 0-62 MPH in just under 3 seconds. The car’s performance can be customized through 5 different driving modes – Range, City, Tour, Sport, and Track.    

Range, Charging, and Battery Life

When thinking about Electric Vehicles in general, they typically take longer to charge, but this is where the Evija is different. Coming equipped with technology that’s designed to make charging the battery as quick as pumping gas when you go to a gas station, this car only takes 12 minutes to reach an 80% charge – 18 minutes for a full charge. Crazy I know! 

Lotus expects the 2024 model to deliver a 250 mile driving range on the European WLTP test (Worldwide Harmonized Light Vehicles Test Procedure), which is more optimistic and promising than the numbers on this side of the world.  

Just a little explanation for those who are not familiar with that term, the WLTP is a newer more realistic test method for measuring features like fuel consumption, emissions, and range of light duty vehicles. It replaced the NEDC (New European Driving Cycle) which was not only considered outdated, but didn’t accurately represent the real world driving habits. 

Fuel Economy and Real World MPG

Since this car isn’t street legal, it’s highly unlikely that the EPA will provide an estimate. However people who have the money to spend to get a car like this won’t actually care about these numbers (so to say) when they are showcasing their trophy piece to the rest of the world. 

Interior, Comfort, and Cargo

The Evija only accommodates 2 people – the driver and the passenger, so if you are lucky enough to be chosen by the driver to sit in this car, consider yourself very lucky and pray to every god you know. It’s cabin can be accessed VIA a pair of dihedral doors (also known as synchro helix actuation doors – doors that swing outward and upward allowing for a bigger space for entry and exit). And the interesting part about these doors? There’s no handles on the outside, everything is powered and operated by a button on the key fob. When inside the car, the doors can be closed by pushing a switch (located on the overhead console). Cool right? 

The Evija also features electrically powered front seats that are adjustable and made from a carbon fiber shell and thick pads covered in microfiber. The driver can manually adjust the tilt and length of the steering column and there are 2 storage spaces placed near to the occupants hips for easier access. 

The list of standard features for this car are pretty short but very different from the other cars I have written about previously. They include climate control and three point seatbelts (with a four point harness coming optional). All in all, the cabin has a look to it that screams both retro vibes and modern – something that is hard to understand until it’s seen – but not to worry, I have included pictures below. Apparently the inspiration comes from Lotus’s racing cars from the 1950’s and 1960’s.

Infotainment and Connectivity

All Evija hypercars come with infotainment and bluetooth capabilities. Placed in front of the steering wheel is a digital display that is the driver’s best friend. It provides information such as battery life and remaining range for the vehicle and is the only screen in the car. 

It also comes equipped with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto capabilities as well as an onboard modem that facilitates connection to the cloud. In addition to all of this, a smartphone app is available which really helps to give the driver a piece of mind. The driver can monitor the Evija from any location and keep up to date with battery charge status and driving range.   

Safety and Driver Assistance Features

With the rise in concern for safety across all models of vehicles being produced, it’s no surprise that Lotus has this same mentality in mind. Now, although this car isn’t allowed to be driven on the road, Lotus still made sure to add some pretty important safety features to this car. Besides the seatbelt attributes coming standard and optional mentioned earlier, there are also the following: 

• Electronic stability control 
• Available blindspot monitoring 
• Lane departure warnings 
• Lane keeping assist 

Warranty and Maintenance Coverage

This is kind of where it can be said that Lotus is lacking – they don’t offer the best limited or powertrain warranty but it’s still something. 

• Limited warranty covers 3 years or 36,000 miles 
• Powertrain warranty covers 3 years or 36,000 miles 
• No complimentary scheduled maintenance 

Final Thoughts

All in all, this car looks like it would be super fun to drive. Not safe for sure in terms of the speeds its capable of, but definitely one of those dream cars you want to be able to check off from your list. Have another hypercar you want us to write about? Let us know in the comments.