At the end of March, a freighter carrying the Lotus Eletre sailed over the River Thames, lighting up the London night sky and unveiling the mystery of the pure electric HYPER SUV for fans around the world. In fact, as early as three years ago, Lotus first integrated the concept of HYPER into its own product sequence, which is the world's first pure electric HYPER CAR - Evija.
Evija means "pioneer", which is a name that has a lot of Lotus brand spirit. Whether in sports cars or motorsport, Lotus has a reputation for setting new ground and challenging records. As Lotus's first pure electric product, Evija naturally continues this tradition. As soon as it was unveiled, it created a new peak in the field of pure electric vehicles with absolute technical advantages. The price of 21.88 million and the limited quota of only 130 units in the world make it a myth that ordinary people can not reach.
Master of the Wind Interprets the Philosophy of Pores
Like many fuel PREMIUM CARS, the most striking element of lotus Evija is its stunning appearance. The designers drew inspiration from the aircraft design, and the body appearance blended soft silhouettes and clean lines in perfect proportions, which is most evident in the front flap of the nose swooping. In addition, Lotus, who is good at "playing with the wind", this time implanted a new aerodynamic concept in the automotive field - porosity - Evija's body.
Porosity is a concept commonly used in the construction industry and fluid mechanics, embodied in the aerodynamics of automobiles, simple understanding, is to let the air pass through the holes in the body, so that the car "breathes" more freely in the wind, so as to achieve the perfect balance between lightweight, low wind resistance and handling. At the same time, the air flowing through the body can also be used, which is also the first performance indicator of Lotus.
The most exaggerated design of the whole vehicle is the two huge wind holes at the rear of the car, which is the "Venturi Tunnel" that can effectively improve aerodynamics and reduce driving resistance, which is inspired by Le Mans racing. Coupled with up to 16 pneumatic kits, the Evija can generate downforce of more than 1.8 tons at a top speed of 320 km/h. Arguably, this is the most aerodynamically designed model of any mass-produced HYPER CAR.
At the rear, the Evija is also equipped with a rear spoiler and an F1-inspired DRS adjustable tail, which is also the most attractive active aerodynamic kit in the vehicle. The rear spoiler is flush with the body when stationed, and in Track mode it can be automatically opened with the DRS adjustable rear wing for further aerodynamic performance. In the era of electrification at the fingertips, Lotus still uses innovative and extreme aerodynamic design to highlight its concept of driving the wind, and such ingenious designs also point the way forward for subsequent products.
Extreme performance Refresh production records
The pursuit of extreme aerodynamics of Lotus has never disappointed in the design of the shape, and after driving into the electrified and intelligent track, Lotus has also begun to make a big fuss about the power system. With a maximum power of 2,000 horsepower and a maximum torque of 1,700 Nm, the Lotus Evija is the most powerful production road car on the planet.
Behind the extreme performance data, lithium-ion batteries with a power of up to 2,000 kilowatts are the key. The battery pack's management system was developed by Lotus in collaboration with Williams Advanced Engineering. Williams Advanced Engineering is well-known in automotive and many other areas, specializing in advanced power technology and the award-winning top electric vehicle power battery technology derived from four-time Formula E. Mr. Craig Wilson, Chairman of the company, once said: "Williams Advanced Engineering prides itself on being able to quickly develop based on F1-derived technology and export the fruits of technological innovation to customers. ”
The battery pack is installed differently from other electric models, using a flat chassis design, but pays tribute to Lotus's traditional engine mid-mount concept, stacking the battery in a tower longitudinal stack behind the cockpit, ensuring Evija's natural advantages in aerodynamics, weight distribution, handling and other aspects. In addition, in order to make the maintenance and maintenance of the battery pack more convenient and fast, and in order to meet the needs of timely power replenishment in the track environment, the future will also introduce a replaceable battery pack specifically to optimize the performance of the track.
From the data alone, the zero hundred acceleration time takes less than 3 seconds, and the maximum speed exceeds 320km/h. As if that wasn't enough, Matt Windle, General Manager of Lotus Automotive, said: "Evija still has an amazing acceleration ability at higher speeds, with 100-200km/h acceleration in less than 3 seconds, 200-300km/h acceleration in less than 4 seconds, and less than 9 seconds to reach 300km/h from standstill, which is enough to beat any other direct competitor." ”
Thanks to the power distribution capability of the torque vectoring control system, the electric motor installed on each wheel can be controlled independently. Power can be distributed to two, three or four wheels in a fraction of a second. In track mode, it is also possible to provide more power to individual wheels to reduce the steering radius, thus making it possible to shorten the lap time.
With the world's most powerful automotive powertrain, the Evija also has the world's fastest charging capacity. In collaboration with Williams Advanced Engineering, Evija's battery packs can be adapted to an 800 kW fast charging unit. Although charging devices with this charging capacity have not yet been commercialized, once such charging devices are available, they can fully fill the Evija battery in just 9 minutes. Even with the most powerful 350 kW fast charging device available, the Evija can be fully charged in just 12 minutes and fully charged in 18 minutes.
Innovative technology Unleash the imagination of the E era
For new energy vehicles, the weight of a large number of batteries is a natural drawback, but for Lute, which has always paid attention to the concept of lightweighting, the carbon fiber monomer shell chassis is the best solution. The chassis structure of the Lotus Evija consists of multiple layers of carbon fiber, and the manufacturing process is the same as that of the F1 chassis to ensure that the Evija is the lightest, strongest, safest and most technologically advanced Lotus road sports car.
In terms of weight, the carbon fiber monocoque shell base is only 129 kg. This lightweight chassis, combined with innovative powertrain system components and clever packaging processes, creates a class-leading 1680kg curb weight. Coupled with the maximum downforce of 1.8 tons of air that weighs more than the car, the Evija can even drive upside down on the ceiling if the owner wishes.
In addition, Lotus has applied more racing engineering techniques to Evija. The "floating wing" instrument cluster combines beauty and elegance, integrates LCD instrumentation, air conditioning ventilation devices, etc., and also provides support for the internal structure. The design of the steering wheel resembles the Le Mans LMP group or F1 racing style, further enhancing the Evija's high-performance supercar characteristics. The steering wheel is coated in Alcantara and can be customized in leather. Intuitive and simple button distribution on the steering wheel, including telephone, cruise control and DRS tail control. The elegant carbon fibre track seats are handcrafted and made of Alcantara. A three-point seat belt is standard, and a four-point seat belt can be selected to remind the owner that this is a performance weapon that can get off the track at any time.
At the same time, the Evija is also the world's first road sports car to be equipped with laser light sources for both low and high beam lights. Whether you're on the street or on the track, you can enjoy excellent driving views. The headlights are shaped in a slender strip with "wing-like" elements of daytime running and turn signals integrated inside, a design inspiration that was also carried over to the later Emira and Eletre models.
Each airflow channel in the rear part of the Evija is also decorated with red LED lights, and the eye-catching light band is lit up, producing a visual effect similar to that of the fighter engine when it is burned, especially recognizable at night, and also shows the combat attributes and high-tech design of the sports car to the fullest.
epilogue
Through the pure electric supercar Evija, we not only see lotus's track gene precipitation in the past 74 years, but also see the impact and change of innovative technology on the pure electric market. Evija has become a benchmark in the field of pure electric supercars, and at the same time, it has also brought exciting new opportunities to the field.
Lotus, as an important participant in this change, will not only continue to deepen the sports car market, but also extend its tentacles to the field of domestic cars that have never been involved before. As the world's first pure electric HYPER SUV, Eletre has provided the industry with new thinking and new imagination with a dazzling posture, and we firmly believe that Lotus's transformation and rejuvenation plan will shine all the way.