Lotus Evija Fittipaldi hypercar debuts with stonking power
It was exactly 50 years ago when Emerson Fittipaldi, the young Brazillian racer, cemented his place in F1 history books at the helm of the Lotus Type 72 racing vehicle.
In the same year, Fittipaldi won five of that season's 11 races while also securing the Drivers' Championship and Constructors' Championship for Team Lotus. As a special tribute to his victories, Lotus has unveiled a limited-edition Evija Fittipaldi hypercar that promises to become one of the world's most powerful production cars.
As the latest product to come out from Lotus Advanced Performance launched this year, only eight units of the limited-edition hypercar will be hand-produced in Hethel and sadly, all are already spoken for.
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On the outside, the Lotus Evija Fittipaldi wears the iconic black and gold colour scheme which is also 50 years old this year. The scheme features a hand-tinted plan view of the Type 72 etched into the carbon fibre roof as well as Fittipaldi's signature on the dashboard.
The Evija sits on black and gold 'Type 72' wheels with anodized centre lock surrounds finished in red on the left and green on the right. The wheels are home to brake callipers finished in the same colour combination.
The exterior is further complemented by decals that celebrate the Type 72's race victories and are all etched on the active rear wing. The number 8, which nods to Fittipaldi's racing car, is printed on the B-pillar.
The interior also gets a hand-crafted rotary dial on the floating central instrument panel which has been made from recycled original Type 72 aluminium. There's also black leather with gold contrast stitching, exclusive roof liner stitching and gold finishes on the air vent surrounds, centre rotary dial, start/stop button and pedals.
Lotus treated its customers and other VIP guests to an experience day at Hethel to celebrate the launch of the new car and legendary Type 72. In presence at the event were all eight surviving examples of the Type 72 lapping the Hethel test track.
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"It's fantastic to be back at Hethel for such a special occasion. I've really enjoyed being a part of this project and it's been a wonderful experience revealing the car to some of the new owners. Having the opportunity to drive both the Evija Fittipaldi and my championship-winning Type 72 Formula 1 car on the test track at Hethel has been an incredible experience," says Emerson Fittipaldi.
Unlike the ICE-powered model it pays homage to, the Evija hypercar is fully electric, and spawns four electric motors with a total power output of 1,500 kW and an earth-shaking 1,704 Nm of torque. It hurtles from a standstill to 100 km/h in under 3 seconds before maxing out at 350 km/h, thanks to a weight of 1,887 kg.
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The Evija hypercar can travel silently up to 402 km on a single charge.
Lotus says production of the limited-edition hypercar is earmarked to start this year with customer deliveries scheduled to take place in 2023.
