Watch: Why is the Evija a fighter jet in a world of kites?
The new Lotus Evija, which made its Middle East debut late last year, is not just stunning in its looks, it is also the world’s most powerful road car.
The Hethel carmaker’s first full-electric hypercar will be limited to 130 units and will cost around Dh7.5 million each. Based on a bespoke carbon-fibre monocoque chassis and fleshed out with carbon-fibre bodywork, its drivetrain includes four electric motors (one on each wheel) producing a total output of 1,972bhp and 1,700Nm of torque. It can do the 0-100kph sprint in less than three seconds and hit a top speed of over 320kph.
Now, Lotus has released a new animation video that explains how the hypercar’s aerodynamics work. Richard Hill, chief aerodynamicist who has worked at Lotus for more than 30 years says comparing the Evija to a regular sports cars is “like comparing a fighter jet to a child’s kite.’’
He says the Evija’s aerodynamics transforms the whole car into an inverted wing to produce that all-important dynamic downforce. “Most cars have to punch a hole in the air, to get through using brute force, but the Evija is unique because of its porosity. The car literally ‘breathes’ the air. The front acts like a mouth; it ingests the air, sucks every kilogram of value from it – in this case, the downforce – then exhales it through that dramatic rear end.”
Watch the animation above to get a visual idea of what Hill says.
