Lotus’ long-awaited entry into the fast and nutty world of exotic cars is finally taking shape. The first order of business? Finding a name for said exotic. Well, it looks like Lotus can cross that off its list. The model that we know today as the “Type 130” will eventually be called the “Evija.” The name revelation comes by way of Auto Express, which discovered a trademark filed by Lotus earlier this month pertaining to the supposed name. A quick look at the U.K.’s Intellectual Property Office reveals that the Evija trademark covered a number of classes, including “land vehicles, parts and fittings for land vehicles included in Class 12,” “Repair and maintenance of vehicles, custom built construction of vehicles” (Class 37), and “Engineering services, vehicle, and engine design services” (Class 42). If that doesn’t scream like a trademark for a future vehicle, I don’t know what does. Group Lotus Limited filed the trademark on June 18, 2019.

How Does Lotus Evija Sound to You?

The Lotus Evija. It has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it? Given all the information that’s come out, it does seem like this will be the name of Lotus’ upcoming hypercar. Not only does it roll off the tongue easily — at least if the “j” is pronounced like an “h” or a “y” — but it fits into the automaker’s current nomenclature strategy of using names that start with “E.”

The information we gleaned from the U.K.’s Intellectual Property Office also points to the plans Lotus has for the Evija if that ends up being the name the automaker uses on the hypercar. The Class 12, Class 37, and Class 42 terms I mentioned above are pretty self-explanatory. They all point to a specific vehicle and the engineering and maintenance aspects related to that same vehicle. What I found more interesting was Lotus filing a trademark for the Evija name and including Class 16, Class 25, and Class 28 terms that touches explicitly on “Printed material, periodical publications, books, photographs, instructional and teaching materials, decalcomania,” “Clothing, footwear, and headgear,” and “Pedal operated vehicles, toys, games, model vehicles.”

Clearly, Lotus has big plans for its upcoming hypercar beyond actually launching it in the market. Granted, it’s the smart thing to do to file trademarks for anything that could potentially be a source of revenue for the company, but for Lotus to cover all of these suggests that we could be seeing the Evija in other forms in the future. Perhaps a starring role in a future Gran Turismo or Forza Motorsport game? Maybe a collaboration with a fast-fashion brand like Uniqlo? There are countless possibilities for Lotus to monetize the Evjia beyond actually selling models of the hypercar to eager-beaver customers. Well played on Lotus’ part.

These avenues are important for Lotus, especially since the automaker only plans to build 130 units of the Evija. Once all those models are scooped up, the British automaker would still have other opportunities to earn money out of the model by monetizing it. They could sit on mountains and mountains of revenue doing nothing by taking that approach.

As far as the Evija itself is concerned, Lotus has done a great job keeping official details under wraps. That’s three weeks from now, which isn’t that long of a time to wait for a model that’s kept us on our toes since Lotus first bared its plans late last year under the “Secret Omega” project. As mysterious car projects go, Lotus has done a great job keeping its own project shrouded in mystery.

That said, a few details have slipped through the cracks, and while previous little of these details have been confirmed — or denied — by Lotus, there are indications that Lotus is preparing a hypercar that’s going to blow all of our minds away. One of the details that have been confirmed is the hypercar’s length. Lotus design director Russell Carr bared that information to Autocar, saying that the Evija will measure 4.4 meters (14.4 feet) long, which would be around the same length as the Evora sports car. For comparison’s sake, the Lotus Evija would be shorter than some of today’s hypercars, including the 4.59-meter (15.05 feet) McLaren P1 and the 4.7-meter (15.4 feet) Ferrari LaFerrari. Outside of its length, the Evija will also measure two meters (6.5 feet) wide. That means that it could offer more room than, say, the 1.78-meter (5.3 feet) wide Ford GT40. The Evija will also sit closer to the ground than any of Lotus’ existing models, which isn't all that of a surprise considering its purpose and identity as a bonafide hypercar.

Specific details on how it looks is another source of mystery, but the Evija will be made up largely of a carbon fiber structure. It’s been suggested that the hypercar’s overall proportions will follow a teardrop-like design similar to the look of some of its exotic-car brethren like the Ford GT40. Predictably, Lotus is taking this design approach with aerodynamics in mind. A teardrop design invites a more efficient airflow to pass around the car’s body, and when you combine that with other important aspects of the Evija’s design — two air tunnels in the rear bodywork that’s inspired by venturi tunnels used in LMP race cars — it’s hard to imagine the hypercar looking anything other than a sexy piece of machinery.

Lotus is smartly now saying anything of substance at this point, but it’s been established that the Evija will be an electric car. That distinction not only affords the automaker certain aesthetic liberties, but it also paints a somewhat clear picture of what we can expect it from a performance point of view. If it’s electric, it’s definitely going to be powered by a battery pack. How big of a battery pack will it have is yet to be answered, but said pack will be placed entirely behind the passenger compartment. If Lotus wants to establish the kind of output I think it wants, I’m expecting a big battery pack, possibly the biggest the segment has ever seen. It’s certainly something that’s well within reach of Williams Advanced Engineering, which is a big part of the “Secret Omega” project, in part because it’s developing the actual powertrain that the Evija will eventually use. Knowing what Williams knows, an output exceeding 1,000 horsepower is easy-peasy for the automotive and racing tech outfit. Oh, and if Aston Martin and Red Bull Racing can play the Formula One collaboration game, Lotus and Williams can do it, too. Sets up quite an interesting rivalry, don’t you think?

All this talk of expectations is making me wish for July 16 to arrive sooner than its current pace. It’s exciting times, not only for Lotus but for everyone who believed that the British automaker could rise from where it was earlier this decade to a company that’s about to hit the hypercar segment with a full-force sledgehammer. It’s time to get ready for what’s shaping up to be one of the most significant debuts of 2019.



Further Reading

Read our full review on the 2020 Lotus SUV.

Read our full review on the 2018 Lotus Exige Sport 410.

Read our full review on the 2017 Lotus Exige Sport 380.