Type 130 - Lotus Evija

[PAR 267]

How weird ! The reason I did not buy a McLaren F1 was that they refused to make me a LHD!

[Bibs 11,163]

 

[C8RKH 6,254]

They've actually done a lot of marketing on the Evija to be fair. Probably 10 times more than for ALL the other cars in the last 10 years....

[NedaSay 835]

By the look of it the skeleton building outer shell was almost complete at the time of filming this piece and so is the new gallery, museum, cantina, offices next to Factory 1, and As planned the watch tower is gone as is the old motorsport building. However the new customer experience centre is nowhere  to be seen, only a green mound  with an excavator stands near where it should be... Interesting considering that building was supposed to be delivered this summer, and was the first to have its building permit granted.

 

Other than that Gavan doing his thing and doing it well. Gosh this car looks good.

Edited September 21, 2020 by NedaSay

[Spinney 709]

I know it said in the intro that some features, including cabin noise, will not appear in production models and I do so hope they are right. For me, that cabin noise is forever associated with a milk float rather than a 2000hp performance car! 

Ok, I’m a dinosaur but give me the sound of a luvverly well tuned multi cylinder internal combustion engine every time. 

[C8RKH 6,254]

I'm a dinosaur too @Spinney and see no reason to apologise for it.

The sound of ICE is as much a part of the experience to me as anything else.

I can appreciate EVs for what they are but...

A glider is a sleek and beautiful thing but it's seeing and hearing a spitfire that sparks every neuron I have...

[electro_boy 205]

Yep as much as we look to advance technology and make cars lighter, faster, better and as much as the data and testing shows the future may well be EV.  Theres just something about an old fashioned internal combustion engine that gets me going!  I'm excited about the future and what it will bring us but it wont be the same as what we have now.  

[Spinney 709]

I guess part of the problem for us oldies is in our minds that sound never fails to conjure up the traditional electric milk float. A lot of potential younger buyers of electric vehicles, my own 35 year old son included, probably have no preconceptions about that sound at all. We haven’t seen electric milk floats around here for well over 30 years.

Ah well at least, thanks to my obsession I imagine, my son is still a petrolhead like his old dad and drives the rudest sounding F150 ‘Raptor’ where he lives in the US. He’s even considering, again, looking at an Evora after seeing one last week from his local Michigan Lotus dealer. He almost went for one a couple of years ago but stopped short over concerns about the dealership. 
 

[LotusLeftLotusRight 1,246]

That development Evija does sound awful doesn’t it? I saw that video at the Lotus Silverstone launch, but the speaker volume was set so low that you could barely hear Gavan speak, let alone the sound of the car. Now I know why. It’s not its greatest selling feature is it? It sounds as pleasant as a dentist’s drill.

[C8RKH 6,254]

I think the main problem for us oldies @Spinney is that we have grown up with the sound of glorious V6, V8, V10 and V12 engines roaring around race tracks. We've marvelled at the mechanical delights etc.  The new generations are more "electric", more digital than analogue. I find them though, in the round to be like fcuking vegans and the the "woke" generation - complaining about anything and wanted to ban everything that does conform with their view of what is right. ICE is dying and electric is emerging. Great. But it doesn't need to happen overnight.

[Giniw 288]

2 hours ago, Spinney said:

A lot of potential younger buyers of electric vehicles, my own 35 year old son included, probably have no preconceptions about that sound at all. We haven’t seen electric milk floats around here for well over 30 years.

Well I had no idea what a milk float is a minute ago but a roaring noise from a nice ICE is part of the experience, really. It's one of the senses used to enjoy the experience. One may drive blinded too or with a hypothetical acceleration suppression contraption too and it would be even blander.

For instance I find electric vehicles videos quite boring to be honest.

1 hour ago, C8RKH said:

We've marvelled at the mechanical delights etc.  The new generations are more "electric", more digital than analogue.

I think the youngest (I mean the masses) have no interest in car at all. At least here in France.
I think diesel (=slow revving engines and dreadful noise) plastic boring cars, speed bumps and absurd speed traps may have killed all the fun of driving a car. It's so boring to drive at 80kph with the constant fear of going just a few kph over the limit and being heavily fined that driving in France has really become a tedious chore.

Edited September 22, 2020 by Giniw

[C8RKH 6,254]

@Giniw a milk float, along with the milk that was delivered in reusable glass bottles that were recycled back every day (washed, cleaned and refilled) was so far ahead in terms of it's "green" credentials, so ahead of it's time in terms of environmental impact, that it shames the current "young eco warriors" for their lack of awareness!

As you can see from the old image below, very much a forerunner of the Evija - composite body over a low flat chassis with the batteries stored low to reduce centre of gravity to improve handling and power unit mid mounted right over the rear wheels for extra traction. Like the S1 Elise though they did suffer from a degree of understeer due to the lighter front end, but they both shared the same climate control system (open windows) and surprisingly neither had a cup holder! 

Given the similarities with the Lotus cars of the time (steel chassis and composite body with direct steering) it's surprising that Lotus didn't commercialise a Milk Float back in the 60's. They'd have had the production expertise, tooling etc all to hand. The one below was a tribute to the old Lotus Gold Leaf F1 team cars I believe. 

 

 

[TdM 168]

Small wording around the same video on Pistonheads as well

 

https://www.pistonheads.com/news/ph-ev/lotus-evija-on-track---time-for-tea/43112

[C8RKH 6,254]

Bizarrely. In a Trekkie sort of way I liked the sound of it.

"Mr Zulu. Course set" 

Aye Aye Sir

"Engage Warp drive...  Hit it Zulu...."

[Buddsy 1,622]

Only downside for me in the vid in the closing shot as it drives into the distance he should have booted it.

It sorta trundled away like a Nissan Leaf or something. 

 

buddsy

[mdavies 74]

3 hours ago, C8RKH said:

Bizarrely. In a Trekkie sort of way I liked the sound of it.

"Mr Zulu. Course set" 

Aye Aye Sir

"Engage Warp drive...  Hit it Zulu...."

A mode relatively briefly used, as I recall...........else "she canna take it"?

But always that whining soundtrack?  I'm expecting an option of a "real car noise"* system. And that it will be a popular option.

* (Yes, that's what I meant!)

 

Edited September 22, 2020 by mdavies

[Bibs 11,163]

[mg4lotus 136]

Just thinking about when I hand wash the Evora and the curves and corners of the surfaces particularly on the rear quarters. Sometimes it is difficult to be methodical. It must be really hard to hand wash the Evija. I'd have to come to terms with that.

[tim_marra 472]

You need to use these to clean the rear @mg4lotus

[Bibs 11,163]

From - https://www.lotuscars.com/en-GB/100-hours-behind-the-wheel-of-evija/

Quote

100 HOURS BEHIND THE WHEEL OF EVIJA

The engineering development programme for the Lotus Evija all-electric hypercar is continuing at pace. Just last month Lotus premiered a new film of the car on track at its Hethel headquarters, with Gavan Kershaw explaining for the first time the Evija’s five drive modes and how it’s a true Lotus.

As the brand’s Director of Vehicle Attributes, Gavan leads the team which ensures the Evija has all the outstanding dynamic performance the world has come to expect from a Lotus car.

But he’s not the only one getting behind the wheel – there is a team of highly experienced engineers involved on the project.

James Hazlehurst is the Lotus test driver who has spent the most time driving the Evija prototypes, both at Hethel and at other locations around the world. James has logged almost 100 hours in the hot seat, and here explains what it’s been like…

“Vehicle dynamics is an amazing mix of creativity and engineering science, and comes with a lot of responsibility – you are building on the work of everyone that’s come before you in the development programme, and have to bring together the output of so many different departments to get everything working in harmony on the car.

After countless hours of calculations, computer analysis, component design and engineering by hundreds of people, you get given a car and are tasked with making it ride, handle and steer the way it needs to, to be a true Lotus.

Increasingly vehicle tuning is supported with computer simulations and modelling but ultimately it comes down to you – the guy in the hot seat – to make judgement calls about spring rates, damper valving, bush stiffness, tyre compound, tyre pressure, rear wing position and countless other settings. And you’re relying on nothing more than what you feel through your hands, through the seat and your ‘inner gyro’. When you get a car fresh from its prototype build it’s just a car, but by the time you’ve finished it has a character of its own, and with a little piece of you in it too. I think that’s what makes every Lotus a Lotus, and the Evija is 100% a Lotus.

Of course, people want to know what it’s like to drive the Evija. From a standing start, that initial force you feel as you’re pushed back into the seat is hugely impressive. It’s what you expect to feel; what you’re not expecting is the push in your stomach as you keep accelerating just as hard. The Evija will hit more than 180mph in nine seconds. A launch start in a Lotus Exige 430 is a pretty savage experience, and the Evija just takes it to another level.

The Evija’s performance through the bends is just as impressive and we’ve stretched its legs extensively already to validate the aerodynamics. That feeling when the steering weights up and the car claws into the tarmac as the aero load builds is a pretty special experience.

I’ve been a Vehicle Dynamics engineer for 10 years, and the chance to join Lotus was not an opportunity I could turn down. Lotus is so closely linked with ride and handling excellence that it’s a privilege to be a part of it. I’ve driven many cars during my career, and I can say the Lotus Evija is like nothing else.

All Lotus vehicles perform well on both road and track. Some are biased more towards road, such as the Elise, and others are biased more towards the track, like the Exige. The Evija’s exceptional dynamic performance means it can only be fully experienced on a track, but it has been designed and engineered to be just as rewarding and engaging on the road.

It’s not just about going fast and let me give you an example of that. A key marker for any Lotus is the ’50-metre test’, where within the first 50 metres of driving any of our cars you can feel the immediacy of the steering response and the connection to the road, the damping that’s perfectly balanced between handling and ride comfort, and a powertrain that responds directly and proportionally to your throttle demand. And all of this should be before you’ve travelled faster than 30mph or above 0.1g acceleration in any direction.

It’s a complicated thing to get right, something that can only be achieved through tuning vehicles ‘the Lotus way’ – to fully understand which part to tweak or adjust to get that extra little something from the car no matter how fast it’s going. It’s being able to deliver that special magic that’s difficult to distill, but easy to recognise when it’s there.”

 

 

[LotusLeftLotusRight 1,246]

I bet the leccy bill has gone through the roof.

[21gg 401]

I bet theyve tapped it into the nearest lampost in the road 

[Giniw 288]

@21gg

I gather they have a bunch of big diesel generators for the factory anyway, it would be a shame not using them for once!

Edited October 2, 2020 by Giniw

[PAR 267]

On 29/09/2020 at 15:20, mg4lotus said:

Just thinking about when I hand wash the Evora and the curves and corners of the surfaces particularly on the rear quarters. Sometimes it is difficult to be methodical. It must be really hard to hand wash the Evija. I'd have to come to terms with that.

Yes, big concern for people who can afford one. They don’t want their staff to find it to hard to clean their car!  

[yeller77 98]

On 01/10/2020 at 06:52, Bibs said:

From - https://www.lotuscars.com/en-GB/100-hours-behind-the-wheel-of-evija/

 

Waiting to see how they're going to do a "Rome run" in one...