Building the Lotus Evija – how to test an electric hypercar

“I’ve got big smile on my face,” says Gavan Kershaw, long-serving Lotus driving guru and

the man charged with ensuring the Evija lives up to its billing as the most dynamically accomplished Lotus ever. Why so smiley? “It’s the latest tech, it’s a Lotus and we’re at the forefront again.”

The Evija, or Type 130, you will remember is first fruit of new top brass and new (Chinese) money at Hethel, with the aim of putting the Norfolk sports car firm firmly back on the map. The Evija is the first new model since the Evora in 2008 and comes with the loftiest of performance targets, as befits a car with a price tag of around £2 million for each of the 130 cars planned to be produced.

As Lotus has already confirmed, the Evija’s four motors, 2,000PS (1,973bhp), advanced aero and signature light weight (for a battery-powered car) of 1,680kg aim to deliver performance at the very top of the market  – 0-62mph in under three seconds and a top speed past 200mph. The electric drivetrain has been developed with technical partner Williams Advanced Engineering.

Lotus claims for the Evija include the first fully-electric British hypercar and the most powerful series production road car – claims that Lotus engineers are currently beavering away validating with dynamic testing of prototypes. Gavan Kershaw, officially Lotus’s director of attributes and product Integrity, took time off from testing to answer our questions…

How close to showroom-ready is the car you have been testing?

“It is engineering prototype #2 and the most advanced of three on test. It has customer-specification suspension, EV powertrain, brakes and full carbon-fibre body panels. It also features the most complete interior yet, with production seats and ‘ski slope’ floating centre console.”

So is it just as an owner will experience it?

“The car is in a completely pure state at the moment, with no stability control or torque-vectoring. This is so we can evaluate the fundamentals of the chassis, to create the mechanical advantage before the other layers, such as the electronics, are added. It means we can really read the car. It’s the Lotus way – get the fundamentals right from the start.”

What part of the car’s development is currently occupying you?

“Stability, agility, torque split, acceleration and tyre grip and response are all being assessed. Through testing like this we can work on how connected you feel to the car, the driving position, location of the primary controls and visibility. It’s all about validating the thousands of hours of computer simulations, proving they were the correct targets in the first place and that they are accurately translating into the car.”

We’re sure it will be fast and capable but how involving a drive will it be?

“Lotus has always been about ‘input equals output’, so if you do something you get a response, and that’s what we’re balancing. It’s all about the detail so, for example, we’re validating the progressive response from the pedals. We know there’s an enormous amount of torque but drivers will only want it when they ask for it with their right foot. And we are assessing steering-wheel angle versus vehicle response at different speeds to ensure the car feels nimble at 30mph as well as 200mph.”

Have current Lotus models had an influence in how the Evija is to drive?

“It’s about bringing in experience from other vehicles – what we know from driving Exige and Evora, and the Lotus GT race cars – and making sure that core Lotus DNA is at its absolute best in the Evija.”

Sounds like you’re having fun…

“It’s really exciting for me. I love this part of developing any Lotus because it’s proving the mechanical design and the physics are right, and then working with our engineers to enhance the experience and give the car a true Lotus character. It’s the step-by-step stuff we do with every Lotus – Evija is no different.”

You have worked at Lotus a long time, how significant a moment is this for you?

“It’s another chapter in my 30 plus years at this company. Yes, I’ve got a big smile on my face because it’s the latest tech, it’s a Lotus and we’re at the forefront again. The car is really driveable and I very much feel at home in it.”