Now I don’t know about you, but for me the Lotus brand is special, thanks to its blend of history and the engineering behind its latest models. That’s why when the Norwich-based sports car maker announced it was making an all-electric hypercar with 2,000 PS (1,973 horsepower), it peaked my interest more so than other manufacturers’ announcements for similar projects, and I still think it's going to be pretty special.

The Evija is now undergoing the final stages of testing, being dialled in and fine tuned before production starts. Only 130 examples will ever be made, but since it is going to be the most expensive and exclusive Lotus car ever, you can expect the manufacturer is careful to get it just right (especially since it’s projected to cost around £1.7 million.

And while it may be completely uncharted territory for Lotus (its first EV and its first hypercar), it has stayed true to its ethos to keep its cars as light as possible. The Evija reportedly tips the scales at just 1,680 kg (3,705 pounds), thanks in part to its carbon fibre tub (the biggest of its kind in any car).

One area that is less impressive, in spite of all the very positive and promising stats, is its claimed acceleration. Lotus says the all-wheel drive Evija will sprint to sixty in under 3 seconds, which doesn’t seem that impressive considering other (heavier) potential rival models can do it in around 2 seconds. But maybe it’s just a conservative estimate which will be improved upon by the finished car.

The Evija is set to enter production this year, but until it’s out and it gets thrashed on track, you can check out this static but detailed preview courtesy of carwow. It shows off the car’s cool exterior and interior features, it shows how the doors will operate (albeit quicker than they do in the video) and many other unique design touches.