Lotus unveils new £2m electric hypercar set to bring hundreds of jobs to Norfolk
Norfolk car-maker Lotus has launched Britain's first all-electric hypercar which will cost £2 million and have a top speed of 200 mph.
Only a maximum of 130 of the new Lotus Evija will be built when production starts next year.
The company, based at Hethel south of Norwich, has already recruited an additional 250 engineers this year and is expected to create more jobs in the future.
The electric car is expected to have a driving range of 250 miles on a single charge. It will take around 20 minutes to re-power it on a 350 kW charger.
The Lotus Evija is the most powerful series production road car ever built but will have a limited market with a price tag of £1.5 million to £2 million before sales tax.
You can reserve one with a £250,000 deposit.
Click to watch a report by ITV News Anglia's Sascha Williams
Lotus Cars says the Evija is faithful in concept and detail to the pioneering principles which company founder Colin Chapman used to build his first car in 1948.
In common with every new Lotus, the Evija has been seen by members of the Chapman family.
At a private viewing, Colin's widow, Hazel Chapman said: “It’s very beautiful and I can’t wait to see it on the road.”
The car is designed to go from a standing start to 100 km/h (62 mph) in under three seconds and speeding up to 300 km/h (186 mph) in less than nine seconds.
It will be made from an ultra-lightweight carbon fibre.