Lotus has unveiled a special edition of its Evija electric hypercar, celebrating the 50th anniversary of F1 driver and constructor titles Emerson Fittipaldi and Team Lotus in 1972.
The Lotus Evija Fittipaldi, which sports a retro-themed black and gold livery, will be produced in a limited number of eight units, all of which have already been sold.
Lotus Ejiva, tribute to Lotus and Fittipaldi titles
The Evija features black and hand-painted gold stripes, reminiscent of the iconic John Player Special livery of the Lotus 72. The two-tone look is also present on the alloy wheels, brake calipers and special Lotus badge in carbon and gold on the front. A series of decals on the active rear wing commemorate F1 victories from the 1972 season, with Emerson Fittipaldi’s name and number 8 sticker on the profile.
The interior gets the same treatment with gold accents (on the pedals, around the air vents, start-stop button, steering wheel and seatbacks) and gold stitching that goes well with the leather black and carbon fiber. Special touches include Fittipaldi’s hand-stitched signature on the dashboard, a Type 72 blueprint on the roof, and the rotary dial made from recycled aluminum from the single-seater.
Mechanically there is no change, the Evija (1,900kg) retains the four-motor powertrain with over 2,000hp and 1,700Nm of torque delivering stunning performance. Note that it can accelerate from 0 to 300 km/h in just nine seconds (0-100 in less than 3″), before reaching an electronically limited top speed of 350 km/h (217 mph).
The limited edition of the hypercar was created by the Lotus Advanced Performance division, which carries out special projects. Lotus hosted a premiere event at its home in Hethel, UK, with Emerson Fittipaldi as guest of honor and 2009 F1 champion Jenson Button. Both drove the Evija and Type 72 on the track. 2.2 mile test from Lotus.
Emerson Fittipaldi
It’s fantastic to be back in Hethel for such a special occasion. I really enjoyed being part of this project and it was a wonderful experience to show the car to some of its new owners. Having the opportunity to drive both the Evija Fittipaldi and my championship winning Lotus 72 F1 car on the Hethel test track was an incredible experience.
At the wheel of the Lotus team, Emerson Fittipaldi won the driver’s and manufacturer’s titles in the F1 championship in 1972, with five victories out of eleven races. During his illustrious career, the Brazilian driver won two F1 titles, the Indianapolis 500 twice and a CART championship. Interestingly, the Evija Fittipaldi isn’t the first hypercar to bear the racing driver’s name, after the V8-powered Fittipaldi FT7 Vision GT concept designed by Pininfarina in 2017.
Production of the Lotus Evija Fittipaldi has already begun, with first customer deliveries scheduled for early 2023. Lotus has decided to build eight examples of the special edition in reference to the eight surviving Type 72 racing cars. The price has not been revealed by the manufacturer… but does it really matter?
