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Lotus says the electric Evija is a trailblazer that will influence future cars

Lotus, a company known for making nimble sports cars, is stepping outside of its comfort zone to develop a 2,000-horsepower electric hypercar named Evija. Battery technology is heavy, so the limited-edition coupe won't be a featherweight like the Elise, but the firm's chief engineer told Autoblog it will be imbued with Lotus-ness. Keeping weight in check is easier said than done when you're dealing with four individual electric motors and a 70-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack. Matt Windle, the man in charge of the company's research and development department, explained the widespread use of composite materials like carbon fiber helps offset the mass. He cited clever packaging as another weight-saving measure. The part the steering column is mounted to is also used as a ducting for the HVAC system, for example. "We try to combine many requirements into one part to keep the weight down," Windle said. All told, the Evija (pictured) tips the scale at about 3,700 pounds. That's remarkably light for an electric hypercar, but it's heavier than any Lotus model in recent memory. And yet, Windle assured us it will still feel like a Lotus behind the wheel. That's partly because the battery pack is where the four- or six-cylinder would be in a mid-engined car rather than directly under the passenger compartment. This configuration gives the two passengers the impression of being wrapped in the cockpit while lowering the center of gravity. "We have the ability to deliver the driving dynamics and the performance that customers expect from a Lotus. It's the same dynamic setup, but with a different propulsion system," Windle pointed out. Lotus will initially cap Evija production at 130 examples, so there likely won't be enough units to fill demand, but that's par for the course when it comes to halo models. The numerous lessons learned from the project will trickle down into other models in the coming years, however, and the company has several products in the pipeline. "People do not understand that Lotus is still going. We want them to know we're still here, that we can still innovate," Windle said. "[The Evija] is not just a standalone product. The design language and the content that's in the car will give us direction as we shape future products that are coming. You'll see it as a trailblazer."

Race Recap: For the 2013 Monaco Grand Prix, NASCAR comes to the principality

Lots of contact, debris cautions, trips into the wall, full-course yellows and a red flag - these are the kinds of racing terms you unbox when you want to have a conversation about NASCAR... or the Formula One grand prix of Monaco. In this case we're not talking about the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte, we're talking about 78 laps in the South of France that even featured a fallen camera cable just like that stock-car race.
This year, Mercedes-AMG Petronas drivers treated their chassis' like busses instead of F1 cars, Romain Grosjean treated his Lotus like a battering ram, Sergio Perez kept sticking his McLaren's nose in places and eventually got it smacked, and maybe the size of the drivers' mirrors should be changed instead of the tires as there were almost as many firsts as there were crashes. Plenty of F1 fans wish Monaco were removed from the calendar, yet even though it doesn't specialize in traditional thrills, that doesn't mean nothing happens during the parade through - and into - the barriers.

Lotus is giving the electric Evija a V8-inspired soundtrack

Sound is a big part of the Lotus experience, whether it comes from a four- or a six-cylinder engine, so the company doesn't want its first electric car to be completely silent. It enlisted the help of music producer Patrick Patrikios to remix the Type 49 Formula One car's V8 into a series of sounds that will be programmed into the upcoming Evija. Patrikios comes from the music industry, he has notably worked with artists like Sia and Britney Spears, but he welcomed the collaboration with Lotus because he's been a fan of the brand since his father showed him an Esprit when he was a kid. He set out to create a new range of sounds that fits the Evija's character while honoring the carmaker's heritage, a task that's difficult to accomplish. Luckily, Lotus has several sonorous engines on its resume. "There's a purity to that V8, a raw edge and an emotion that stirs something in your soul, just like the best songs," summed up the producer when asked why he chose the eight-cylinder that powered the Type 49 to victory. Lotus Evija and Lotus Type 49 View 3 Photos After recording the Type 49's exhaust note, he began digitally remastering it and realized that slowing it down put it on a frequency similar to the natural driving sound emitted by the Evija. "I adjusted the replay speeds and digital filtering of the Type 49 to generate a soundscape for the Evija – it was a very organic process," he said. You can listen to the sound created by Patrikios in the video above; it's what pedestrians will hear when the Evija speeds by. He also developed the various chimes and tones that will resonate through the cabin, like when the turn signals are activated or when a seatbelt isn't fastened. Lotus previously confirmed that the Evija will influence future cars, and we know additional EVs are in the pipeline, so the sound could spread to other models.