Remember that wild Lotus Evija X we saw last year testing at the Nürburgring? It's now finally out. Strictly a one-off, the electric beast is a track-only version of the hypercar that holds a very specific record for being the fastest vehicle around the Nordschleife with the chassis of a production car. Allow us to explain.
It completed the lap in 6 minutes and 24 seconds, or 11 seconds less than the Mercedes-AMG One. The F1-engined machine is the fastest street-legal car ever around the 'Ring. However, the Lotus Evija X is not the fastest car overall to complete a lap of the Green Hell. The Volkswagen ID.R took 6:05 while the Porsche 919 Hybrid Evo remains unbeaten, at an incredible 5:19.
Because neither the ID. R nor the 919 Hybrid Evo has any connection with production models, Lotus can brag about the Evija X's performance. It's worth noting that there has been another car faster than the Lotus beyond those two. In 1983, Stefan Bellof drove the 956 to a 6:11 lap. In the same year and with the same car, Jochen Mass crossed the finish line in 6:16.
The Evija X is likely to return to the Nürburgring and try to shave off seconds from its already impressive lap time. The performance it achieved back in October 2023 was on a damp track, so there's room for improvement. Lotus says we should "watch this space" regarding a potentially better time.
Aside from the crazy aero with a massive wing, the track car has Pirelli slicks along with new dampers and carbon fiber brakes. Underneath the skin is the same carbon fiber tub and quad-motor setup with 2,011 horsepower and 1,257 pound-feet of torque as found in the street-legal Evija. The four electric motors draw their juice from a relatively small 70-kWh battery pack mid-mounted behind the seats.
Lotus touts a 0 to 62 mph in less than three seconds and a 62 to 124 mph in under three seconds as well. The 124 mph to 186 mph sprint is said to take less than four seconds. Flat out, the road car is electronically capped at 218 mph. The road-going Evija has entered production many years after its debut, and only 130 units will be assembled.
