The Lotus Type 130 Electric Hypercar gets a name – Lotus EVIJA

The new electric Lotus Hypercar we’ve known as the Lotus Type 130 until now will be the Lotus Evija when it’s revealed later this month.

Now Lotus has Geely money behind it, they have plans. Big plans. Not Dany Bahar plans, but real plans with real money. And the start – and the halo – will be the new Lotus Type 130.

Lotus began teasing the Type 130 properly back in April as a limited run electric hypercar designed to show Lotus is back and means business, and in May we learned the Type 130 will be revealed on 16 July.

But the new Lotus was never going to arrive with the Type 130 moniker – making it the 130th car Lotus has created since the 1948 Austin 7–based sports car – so what will it be called?

Geely or not, a road Lotus really has to begin with an ‘E’ as that’s been the case since the Lotus Elan arrived in 1962 – followed by Europa, Elite, Eclat, Esprit… – and it does. Although it’s a name that’ll get mangled in every language – Lotus EVIJA.

No, it’s not the E-Vee-Ja but, according to Lotus, it’s the Lotus ‘ev-eye-a’, a name which supposedly means ‘the first in existence’ or ‘the living one’. 

Lotus boss Phil Popham said:

Evija is the perfect name for our new car because it’s the first hypercar from Lotus, our first electric offering and is the first new model under the stewardship of Geely. The Evija is a Lotus like no other, yet a true Lotus in every sense. It will re-establish our brand on the global automotive stage and pave the way for further visionary models.

The 1000bhp electric Lotus Evija will be revealed on 16 July.