This is where the Lotus Evya hypercar was born.
Lotus' Eviya electric hypercar is one step closer to reality. Lotus has opened production of this car at its base in Hessell, UK.
Prototype cars are currently being assembled at the facility, but mass production and first deliveries to customers will begin this summer, Lotus said.
Work on the Evija production complex began last summer with the installation of gantries dividing the production space into assembly stations. An overhead gantry crane, several vehicle elevators and a wheel alignment station were also installed. More than 30,000 LEDs were used for lighting.
The finished cars pass through a light tunnel for visual inspection and are driven onto the adjacent Lotus test track.
The Evya is Lotus' first production electric car, but the company isn't going to slow down: four electric motors develop a combined 1,973 hp and 1,254 lb-ft of torque. Lotus claims these motors will allow the car to accelerate from 0-60 mph in less than 3.0 seconds, from 0-186 mph in less than 9.0 seconds, and a top speed in excess of 200 mph.
Lotus is so confident in the Evya that it could challenge for the lap record at the Nürburgring. This would mean breaking the 6:44.97 record set by Lamborghini in the 2018 Aventador SVJ.
The Evya boasts carbon fiber construction and race-style suspension, with three spool dampers per axle (one for each corner) and a third mounted inboard for roll control.
Lotus founder Colin Chapman's famous phrase, "Keep it simple and add lightness," proved impossible in the case of the Eviya. Even with a carbon fiber monocoque and magnesium wheels, the Eviya weighed more than 3,700 pounds. This was attributed to the heavy battery pack.
According to Lotus, a battery pack with a capacity of at least 70 kilowatt-hours provides a range of 225 miles on the EPA test cycle. The company also claims that the battery can be charged to 80 percent in 12 minutes from a 350 kilowatt DC fast charging station.
Only 130 will be produced, and the first year of production has already been filled.
