New one-off version of Lotus Evija sets very specific record

Depending on how good your memory is, you may recall a wild Lotus Evija X testing at the Nürburgring last year.

Well, the electric beast – a track-only version of the hypercar – is finally out.

And it holds a very specific record for being the fastest vehicle around the Nordschleife with the chassis of a production car.

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The Lotus Evija X completed a lap in six minutes and 24 seconds.

To put that into perspective, that’s 11 seconds less than the Mercedes-AMG One hypercar.

By the way, Erling Haaland recently bought an exclusive limited-edition Mercedes-AMG One.

Meanwhile, in other Lotus-related news, footage recently emerged of the new Lotus Emeya whipping about in the snow – and it’s a sight to behold.

But back to the Lotus Evija X: technically speaking, it’s not the fastest car overall to complete a lap of the Nürburgring.

The VW ID.R managed it in six minutes and five seconds, while the Porsche 919 Hybrid Evo remains unbeaten at an incredible five minutes and 19 seconds.

However, neither the ID.R nor the 919 Hybrid Evo has any connection with production models, so Lotus is well within its rights to brag about the Evija X’s performance.

For those of you with a really good memory, you may recall Stefan Bellof driving the 956 to a six-minute and 11-second lap back in 1983.

Then, in the same year and with the same car, Jochen Mass crossed the finish line in six minutes and 16 seconds.

We fully expect the Lotus Evija X to return to the Nürburgring to try to shave seconds of its already impressive lap time.

Especially considering the time it achieved back in October 2023 was on a damp track, so there’s definitely room for improvement.

Lotus has said as much itself, saying we should ‘watch this space’ regarding a potentially better time.

And its impressive performance is down to the hypercar’s aero courtesy of its massive wing.

The track car also has Pirelli slicks along with new dampers and carbon-fiber brakes.

Underneath the skin, it’s the same carbon-fiber tub and quad-motor setup with 2,011 horsepower and 1,257 lb-ft of torque as found in the street-legal Evija.

Those four electric motors draw their power from a 70-kWh battery pack that’s mid-mounted behind the seats.

According to Lotus, its 0-62 mph (0-100 km) time is less than three seconds, and, flat out, it’ll reach an electronically-capped 218 mph (351 km/h).

Years after making its debut, the road-going Evija has entered production, with only 130 units set to be produced.