Meet the Lotus Evija X, a Nürburgring specialist version of Hethel’s electric hypercar. On Friday 13 October 2023, it set the third fastest ever lap of the Green Hell, and Lotus has just released the on-board footage of its 6min 24.044sec run. That compares to the Volkswagen ID.R’s time of 6min 05.336sec and the Porsche 919 Evo’s 5min 19.545sec.

The difference here, though, is that beneath the Evija X’s highly developed aero lurks the standard chassis and running gear of the road-going version available to customers. Well, available to those with the funds for a £2million car. What’s more, Lotus reckons it can improve on its 6min 24.044sec lap time, so watch this space for a return trip to the Nürburgring.

Chief among the X edition’s revisions is that towering rear wing that wouldn’t look out of place on a Pikes Peak front-runner. It’s certainly more extreme than anything usually seen in conventional circuit racing. The bare carbonfibre bodywork had also been optimised for aerodynamic efficiency, with nips and tucks to its form throughout. Underneath, though, is the same more-than-adequate 2011bhp quad-motor set-up found in the road legal Evija.

The video is wonderfully raw. There’s no lengthy introduction, no unnecessary drone footage and no music. It’s just two views of the same on-board footage of Dirk Müller expertly circulating one of the world’s most challenging stretches of tarmac. Somehow the lack of engine noise amplified the sense of speed, the absence of an exhaust note making the pace seem all the greater. Not that it’s silent: the whine of the electric motors, wind noise and occasionally vocal tyres see to that. But it’s the speed that makes the lasting impression.

Who says electric cars can’t be exciting?