Lotus has released a video of its Evija electric hypercar lapping the Nürburgring in a time of only 6:24.047.
Lotus set the time during some runs last fall. Incredibly, the automaker said it thinks the car has more to give, especially since the previous attempt was made on a damp surface.
The car wasn’t stock, though. It was a one-off time-attack special known as the Evija X, which Lotus said it built to demonstrate what’s possible when pushing the Evija and its electric powertrain to extremes.
The automaker hasn’t said what modifications it made to the Evija to turn it into the Evija X. However, the photos and video point to a high-downforce aerodynamics package and stripped-out cabin. The car was also fitted with racing slicks from Pirelli, and likely ran the same 2,011-hp peak power rating as the stock Evija X. Any more horsepower would just be overkill.
The record for an EV around the ‘Ring is the time of 6:05.33, which was set by the Volkswagen ID.R time-attack special in 2019. That’s the second fastest time for any vehicle around the ‘Ring. The fastest is the blistering 5:19.55 that was set in 2018 by the Porsche 919 Evo Hybrid, a time-attack special based on the 919 Hybrid LMP1 race car.
Lotus notes the Evija X is based on the platform of a production vehicle, while the ID.R uses a bespoke platform and the 919 Evo Hybrid the platform of a race car.
The lap record for a production EV at the ‘Ring is the time of 7:05:298 set last year by the Rimac Nevera, while the production car record regardless of powertrain goes to the Mercedes-Benz AMG One which in 2022 set a time of 6:35.183.
