Type 130 - Lotus Evija

[jep]

The reason I did not buy a McLaren F1 was they refused to make me a RHD. 

Justin 

[PAR]

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

[Spinney]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

@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]

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]

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...."

[mdavies]

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]

[mg4lotus]

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]

You need to use these to clean the rear @mg4lotus

[Bibs]

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]

I bet the leccy bill has gone through the roof.

[21gg]

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

[Giniw]

@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]

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]

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... 🧐

[C8RKH]

12 minutes ago, yeller77 said:

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

They have one of these that they send ahead

[C8RKH]

I have to admit, it looked fantastic on track. It looked planted and the "eyes" tell all with regards to the speed that thing was going at.

I don't like electric cars. Not a fan at all of the current offerings. But, if I win £50m on the lottery I WOULD place an order for one of those on the proviso that they never spoil it like they did the Evora by putting two frigging seats in the back lol.  I could actually even live with the noise as at speed, it sounds a bit like a jet!

[Barrykearley]

@C8RKH

 

can I have that knackered worn out old 410 you’ve got when you take delivery of the Evija - I promise to extol the sheer brilliance of the 2+0 config 👍