► Special edition Lotus Evija Fittipaldi
► Marks 50 years since 1972 F1 titles
► See it on video with the man himself
Friday 14 October 2022 was a landmark day for Lotus. The customer-spec Evija electric hypercar was revealed, in a special limited-edition trim: the Evija Fittipaldi. Now Lotus has released a short film, that brings the new electric car together with the man it’s named after, three-time Formula 1 champion Emerson Fittipaldi, driving at the Hethel test track alongside the Lotus Type 72 F1 car.
As well as marking the first public project by the company’s Lotus Advanced Performance (LAP) division, the Evija Fittipaldi also commemorates the 50th anniversary of the 1972 F1 season, where 25-year-old Emmerson was the surprise winner with Lotus, bringing home the constructors’ championship for Team Lotus in the process.
As part of the event, the Hethel test circuit also echoed to the sound of Cosworth DFV engines, as all eight surviving Type 72 F1 cars were gathered together for the first time. Seven of the 72s ran together on the circuit, led by Emerson Fittipaldi, in further celebration of the victories 50 years ago.
The 1972 F1 season also saw the debut of the now famous black and gold JPS livery, which is echoed on the new Evija Fittipaldi. Production of the 2011bhp all-electric hypercar is now underway, with first deliveries to customers – some of whom were lucky enough to get passenger laps with Fittipaldi himself on the day – expected in 2023.
CAR was there to soak up the atmosphere and to get up close to the new Evija Fittipaldi, having previously been lucky enough to drive an Evija prototype alongside a Type 72 for our Electrify, then add greatness feature earlier in 2022.
Lotus Evija Fittipaldi spec and details
Eight Evija Fittipaldi editions will be built, priced at £2.3m to the ‘regular’ Evija’s circa. £2.2m. All eight have been sold.
Each is finished in a black and gold colour scheme, referencing the famous John Player Special livery on the 1972 Type 72 Grand Prix car. A plan view of the Type 72 is etched into the roof, and the black/gold wheels’ centre-lock fasteners are red on the left, green on the right, as they were on the F1 cars. The number eight – Fittipaldi’s race number in the ’72 season, in which he won five of the 11 races – is on the B-pillar, and Fittipaldi’s signature is stitched into the dashboard.
The interior echoes the black and gold scheme too, with the predominantly black leather interior lifted by gold-contrast stitching (and further unique stitching in the headlining) and gold finish to the air vents (part of the Evija’s distinctive floating blade-shaped dash arrangement) and pedals.
The most distinctive feature is the rotary controller, made from repurposed aluminium sourced from an original Type 72 by Classic Team Lotus, the independent historic motorsport operation based opposite the Lotus Cars factory, run by Clive Chapman, son of Lotus founder Colin Chapman.
Technical details and performance are the same as the other 122 Evijas scheduled to be built, with up to 2011bhp and 1257lb ft from four electric motors, advanced torque vectoring and clever aerodynamics via its channelled, ‘porous’ body design. Target range is 250 miles from a full charge and it will reach 300km/h (186mph) from rest in less than nine seconds. Top speed is limited to 217mph.
What is Lotus Advanced Performance?
LAP is a division of Lotus Cars looking after bespoke design projects, limited-edition cars (from derivatives of existing models to special, few-off halo projects), tailored options for production cars and all of Lotus’s motorsport activities, including the Emira GT4 which makes its race debut in 2023.
It’s headed up by Simon Lane, previously head of Aston Martin’s Q division, who has masterminded the Evija Fittipaldi edition, one of LAP’s first publicised projects.
LAP will also expand Lotus’s operation into special experiences and events for customers, and the Evija Fittipaldi customers and their families experienced a day where they met the design team behind the Evija, one of the original designers and team-members behind the Type 72 and Emerson Fittipaldi, who took each customer for a series of laps around the Hethel test circuit in the Evija.
CAR had a view of Fittipaldi at work from the new offices in the new Chapman Production Facility where production of the Emira sports car is underway. The offices directly overlook the circuit and judging by the speed and precision with which he sliced through the sweeping S-bends at the beginning of the lap, he’s lost little of his F1 and Indy 500-winning pace at the age of 75.
‘The performance and handling of the Evija is incredible,’ he said, later. ‘It’s too good for road tyres – it needs slicks,’ he smiled. Once a racing driver…
The great Type 72 reunion
Fittipaldi was not there only for the Evija. He was also reunited with ‘Old Faithful,’ Lotus 72 chassis no.5, his favourite car from his career in which he won his first Grand Prix in 1970 and continued winning races in the same chassis all the way into 1973. This is also the very car that stars in our Evija vs Type 72 feature.
For the event, Fittipaldi took to the track in 72/5, chased by Lotus’s latest products including the Emira GT4 car, and then by almost all of the surviving Lotus Type 72s. The sight and sound of seven 72s and 56 Cosworth cylinders in motion around the circuit, in JPS and Gold Leaf liveries was quite stirring.
‘What we’ve got here, it’s just very special, isn’t it?’ said Lotus Cars managing director Matt Windle, watching on. ‘You can see the DNA that’s here, and the energy and the positivity it brings out in everybody. Simon and I have been absolutely adamant about embracing Lotus’s history and heritage and we have a good relationship with Classic Team Lotus. We have a lot happening next year and it’s very exciting.’
Has anyone else been driving the Evija Fittipaldi?
It turns out that one Evija customer has been allowed behind the wheel of the Evija Fittipaldi himself: 2009 F1 champ, Jenson Button.
At Hethel earlier in the same week, finalising the spec of his personal car, Button drove the Evija Fittipaldi as part of the shakedown process ahead of the reveal event – including several standing starts, apparently.
‘It sounds like a jet engine!’ he said. ‘You think of an EV as quiet but it’s not. The torque is astronomical. It’s amazing, it puts a big smile on your face. It feels like a spaceship, the drivability and direction in the steering certainly lets you know you are driving a Lotus; I am amazed by the agility of it.’
Watch Emmerson Fittipaldi and the Lotus Evija on video: