Lotus Evija Development Prototype Hits the Track, Handling Looks Impressive

Of course, this is not the first time we see the Lotus Evija on video, though seeing the model that embodies the future of the brand out on the historic Hethel racing circuit is always something worth celebrating. That, alongside the fact that Kershaw, the company’s boss in terms of what they call “vehicle attributes,” is also enjoying the day out.

He doesn’t forget that he is out there with a specific job, though. So, the epic shots with the Lotus Driving Academy track and the EV hypercar are cleverly interspersed with a few explanations.

Namely, the British brand wanted to give us more details on specific features... though we have to admit that we rolled past them the first time watching the video, captured by the eerie point of view presented by the on-board cameras.

For example, we recommend checking up the engineering development vehicle’s battery pack sitting just behind the driver, which has been nicknamed “Omega Pack 003.” British automotive humor at its finest, it seems.

Only during the second (or possibly third) viewing we start focusing on the things Kershaw explains, namely the Evija’s five driving modes. These are designed to enable everyday usability and feature particular settings.

For example, Range focuses on intelligently achieving the highest efficiency possible, while power is limited to 1,000 ps and just 800 Nm (590 lb. ft.). City is self-explanatory, and Tour enables automatic switching between RWD and AWD while also upping power to 1,400 ps. Sport and Track are reserved for the performance sessions, switching to 1,700 and 2,000 ps, respectively - with full use of the maximum 1,700 Nm (1,254 lb. ft.) and the highest level of torque vectoring.