Hopes were high for the Lotus Evija X at this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed. The 2,000-horsepower electric hypercar ran the third-fastest lap in Nürburgring history, giving it great odds of dusting the field at this year’s Goodwood hill climb. That all went up in smoke—literally—when the Evija X straight-up lost it within seconds of leaving the start line.
The Evija X took part in the first day of the timed shootout at this year’s Festival of Speed, which kicked off Thursday. It’s not stated on the entry list who drove the Lotus, though both of the other two runs by Evijas involve Canadian-born British GT driver Scott Maxwell. As soon as it got the green flag, the Evija X left the line in a cloud of smoke, its 2,000 hp lighting up all four tires. It didn’t last, as after just a couple seconds, the Evija X speared straight into the hay bales lining the course, crushing its front end and taking the car out of the event.
It’s unclear what caused the car to yaw so suddenly, though a few factory could be at play. The Lotus likely uses an alignment with extreme negative camber, which would lend traction to the outer wheels as soon as the car began to spin. Combined with traction management not optimized for these kinds of speeds, and a visible crown to the road, even a pro racing driver could be caught out. Not that the Evija X’s driver was completely—they visibly applied countersteer. It simply came too little, too late.
Odds are the car can be rebuilt, as McLaren F1s have been so many times after being crashed. But doing so in time to return to this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed is another matter. By no means was it a hard crash, and into mere hay bales, no less. But with a car as powerful and expensive as the Evija X, one wouldn’t want to overlook damage that could cause a far more serious wreck if the car’s rushed back to the track. Maybe next year?
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