CARS OF THE WORLD

Lotus Evija Fittipaldi 2023.

Lotus Evija Fittipaldi: a special version of the world’s most powerful supercar signed by the champion.

The British company Lotus Cars, the controlling interest of which belongs to the Chinese holding Geely, has presented a special version of its flagship model Evija, dedicated to the legendary Brazilian racer Emerson Fittipaldi and the 50th anniversary of his first championship title in Formula 1.

Emerson Fittipaldi started in Formula 1 in 1970 in Team Lotus, and already in 1972 became champion, having won in addition for the team the constructors’ cup — Emerson was only 25 years old then.

Fittipaldi won his second championship title in 1974, already for the team McLaren, followed by two wins in the legendary Indy 500 race and many other successes, Fittipaldi finished his racing career only in 1997, and even then forced — because of the injury received by the back as a result of an accident and a fall on a private plane.

Now a veteran of motorsport 75 years old, he is in excellent for his age and experience form and even participated in the presentation of a special version of the Lotus Evija named himself — just a pity the press-service of Lotus did not attach photos with the legend to the news.

But Evija Fittipaldi is generously decorated by historical Easter eggs eggs: black-gold livery directly refers to formula cars Lotus from the seventies, wheels, brake callipers, and interior are executed in the same color scale.

Painted on the rear spoiler, the medals list the achievements of Team Lotus and Fittipaldi in the 1972 championship: five won races and two champion titles — in the team classification and in the drivers’ classification.

The number 8 on the side pillars refers to the license plate of the Lotus Type 72 race car in which Fittipaldi drove in 1972.

The same number can be seen on the embroidered outline of the Lotus Type 72 on the headliner. There is an embroidered Fittipaldi autograph on the front passenger compartment panel.

The rotary-push washer on the hovering center console is made from recycled aluminum from one of the Lotus Type 72 cars.

No technical features have been announced for the Fittipaldi version. Recall that the electric hypercar Evija was introduced in 2019 and marked the revival of the British brand under the wing of the Chinese holding company Geely, it also became the first road model Lotus with a carbon fiber monocoque.

Small-scale production began only last year, and the final specification differs for the better from the presentation one.

Lotus Evija Fittipaldi is equipped with a four-engine power plant (one engine per wheel) with a total output of 1500 kW (2039 hp) and 1700 Nm — it is the most powerful road passenger car in the world today.

The battery capacity is 92 kWh, a full charge is enough for 402 km of travel on the WLTP cycle. The maximum charging capacity is 350 kW.

Acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h takes less than 3 seconds, to 300 km/h — less than 9 seconds, the maximum speed is limited at 350 km/h. Curb weight is 1,887 kg.

Lotus will release only 8 Evija Fittipaldi to make 130 Evija units.

The price has not been announced, since all Evija Fittipaldi copies were sold out before the presentation. The standard Lotus Evija costs from £1.7 million.