Monterey Car Week didn't take place last year because of - surprise! - the coronavirus pandemic and the heavy restrictions it caused. Things are slowly getting back to normal this year, thus enabling this year's event, held at Pebble Beach like usual, to take place. And Lotus is gearing up for an incredible showing.
The UK sports car maker has just announced its final combustion-engined model, the Lotus Emira, will make its US debut later this week at the event. Lotus also wants to give audiences a proper presentation showing this slick coupe's capabilities, so it's hosting a separate event at Laguna Seca Raceway "for a very special celebrity track day." Further details will be revealed later this week in regards to that.
Also coming to Pebble Beach is the Evija all-electric hypercar, only this particular example has its own unique livery aimed specifically to satisfy American audiences. How so? Well, the yellow with blue accents color scheme (pictured here) is directly inspired by the 1987 Lotus Type 99T driven by Formula 1 legend Ayrton Senna at that year's Detroit Grand Prix. And yes, he won that race.
This is actually the second time the Evija has been shown at Pebble Beach. The first was back in 2019 only a few weeks after it was unveiled online. California was also the first stop of its world tour that took it to Japan, China, and the Middle East.
For its latest American trip, the Evija will be on hand for another very special live reveal, the Radford 62-2. If you recall, this ultra-limited high-performance machine has Lotus underpinnings. Both the Evija and the 62-2 will be displayed at the Lyon Air Museum in Santa Ana.
Lotus proudly reminds us that the Evija is the world's most powerful production car with its 2,000 metric horsepower rating. Limited to only 130 examples priced at over $2 million a pop, the Evija's battery-electric powertrain is essential to the brand's future. Still, we'll greatly miss models like the Evora and the Elise/Exige. All three will rightfully take their places in Lotus history.