WATCH | Lotus Evija X sets fourth fastest time around Nürburgring
The 6:24.047 posted is a minute slower than the record-holding Porsche, but unofficially the Lotus is the fastest car there with a licence disc
British sports car brand Lotus has set the fourth fastest time around the Nürburgring Nordschleife in Germany ina Lotus Evija X.
The Evija hyper car was the first model the company unveiled when announcing a new era of purely electric cars in March 2021. The range has now grown to include the Eletre four-door coupé and the Eletre SUV.
In standard trim the Evija, with a limited production of 130 cars, weighs 1,887kg and kicks out 1,471kW and 1,700Nm from four electric motors placed inside each wheel. They are fed electric power by a mid-mounted set of batteries. Active aerodynamics included, the Evija can sprint from 0-100km/h time in under three seconds with top speed electronically limited to 350km/h.
However impressive the outputs, the racetrack that snakes 20.8km through a forest, presenting hectic blind rises and endless turns requires racing grit if you want to break records.
Extra equipment ordered for the Nurburgring-tackling Evija X included racing slick tyres, upgraded brakes, special dampers, a large rear spoiler, and the skill and bravery of Ford works driver Dirk Müller behind the wheel. He put in a blazing time of 6:24.047, settling for the fourth fastest time ever at the track nicknamed the “Green Hell”.
Notably, it's the fastest production-based car to yet lap the Nordschleife, beating the Mercedes AMG-One time of 6:35.183 set in 2022.
Ahead of Muller's time in third place is the 6:11.13 set by Stefan Bellof in a racing Porsche 956 from 1983. Volkswagen's purpose-built, all-electric ID R is in second place with a time of 6:05.336 set in 2019 by French racer Romain Dumas.
Dumas's former teammate at Audi Sport, Timo Bernhard, set the fastest time ever at the Nürburgring in 2018 in the Porsche 919 Evo. The Le Mans winner was modified for the exercise and blitzed the track in a still-unbeaten time of 5:18.546.
The winning ticket
The trio ahead of the Evija X were bespoke track specials. The pair of Porsches are Le Mans prototypes, and the one-off ID R was born to set the fastest time for electric cars. Lotus engineers can celebrate that the Evija X is the fastest production-based car to go around the storied track.
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