World’s most powerful supercar revealed

There is a new contender for the world’s most bonkers supercar, signalling the revival of a famous badge. But the price will make your eyes water.

Lotus Evija all-electric hypercar.

There is a new contender for the world’s mightiest hypercar.

British maker Lotus has unveiled its new Evija all-electric sports car.

The sleek two-seater has some mind-bending performance features and a price tag to match.

Limited to just 130 examples worldwide the Evija will cost 1.5 million pounds ($3m) before taxes, which in local currency after LCT, GST, stamp duty and import tariffs would place the machine at about $4.53m. Buyers will need to stump up 250,000 pounds ($445,000) immediately to secure their production spot.

The Lotus Evija would cost almost $5m in Australia.

But despite the eye-wateringly high price tag there are some keen Aussie buyers who have already expressed interest.

Lotus says the Evija will be the most powerful production road car in the world.

Four electric motors combined with a 70kWh battery produce a warp-drive like 1471kW and 1700Nm.

This surpasses even the lofty numbers from the cutting-edge Mercedes-AMG One (745kW) and Aston Martin Martin Valkyrie (865kW/752Nm) hybrid hypercars.

Lotus claim the Evija will hit 100km/h in under three seconds and have a top speed of more than 340km/h. The maximum range is claimed to be about 400km.

Lotus chief Phil Popham is hoping the Evija will reinvigorate the brand and make it more of a household name.

The Lotus Evija all-electric hypercar is the most powerful production vehicle in the world.

“The Lotus Evija is a car like no other. It will re-establish our brand in the hearts and minds of sports car fans and on the global automotive stage,” he says.

“The Evija is a true Lotus in every sense — it has been developed with an unwavering passion to push boundaries, to explore new ways of thinking and to apply ground-breaking technologies.”

Lotus is known for its low-slung lightweight sports cars and the brand has attempted to maintain that trait despite the extensive use of heavy batteries. One weight reduction method is the use of a carbon fibre chassis and body.

Lotus Evija design draws inspiration from Le Mans racers.

The brand says the vehicle should weight about 1680kg, about the same as the upcoming Model 3 sedan or a standard mid-size SUV.

Lotus has mounted the batteries in the middle of the vehicle to best match the driving characteristics of a mid-engined sports car. The battery will supply power to four motors, two on each axle providing all-wheel drive grip.

The company worked extensively with Williams Advanced Engineering, which provides engineering and technology to the Williams F1 team.

The Williams F1 team helped with the engineering for the Lotus Evija.

One of the major breakthroughs provided by the Williams team was that the Lotus’ battery can accept a charge of up to 800kW. This would charge the battery in just nine minutes.

However, there is no commercially available charger to distribute that amount of charge.

The highest capacity available today is a 350kW charger. This would add 80 per cent charge in 12 minutes.

There are few vehicles that can accept even a 350kW charge. The coming Porsche Taycan is one, while Tesla’s latest Version 3 Superchargers are capable of delivering a 250kW charge.

The car’s sleek and curvy styling has drawn inspiration from Le Mans racers where aerodynamics are a leading design focus.

Production is due to start next year.