A one-off example of the Lotus Evija electric hypercar built as a time attack special was spotted at the Nürburgring on Tuesday in a likely attempt at setting a new lap record for an electric vehicle.
According to the photographer, Lotus had the racetrack booked to itself for the whole day and a notary on hand to time any runs. The automaker also had on hand a helicopter to film the run from the air.
But during a lap, the car came to a stop and needed to be transported out on the back of a flatbed truck. It isn’t clear what the cause of the breakdown was.
Known as the Evija X, the one-off car is described by Lotus as the “ultimate expression of Evija.” It isn’t intended for production. Instead, it was built to demonstrate what’s possible when pushing the Evija and its electric powertrain to extremes, the automaker said.
Lotus Evija X during Nürburgring lap record attempt – Photo credit: Baldauf
The standard Evija is already the most powerful production car in the world thanks to a four-motor powertrain rated at a peak 2,011 hp. The Evija X further boosts performance with a high-downforce aerodynamics package and stripped-out cabin. The car also appears to ride on a set of bespoke racing slicks from Pirelli.
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.
The lap record for a production EV is the time of 7:25.231, which was set earlier this month by a Tesla Model S Plaid equipped with its available Track Package.
Lotus Evija deliveries are scheduled to begin later this year. Just 130 examples are destined to be built, including eight special Evija Fittipaldi editions.