The lack of multiple gears and the instant throttle response from the electric motors mean that performance guises can barrel on to ludicrous top speeds often only seen in ICE vehicles. Here’s our pick of the fastest electric cars
McMurtry Spierling
For a whopping £820,000, you can have a road-going version of the mighty McMurtry Spierling: a 1100bhp twin-motor single-seater that’ll do 150mph and return 300 miles if you tread lightly on the go-quiet pedal.
It was first presented at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in 2021 and it returned in 2022, setting a new hill climb record and completing the 1.16-mile course in 39.08sec. It also snatched the record for the quickest accelerating road car using GPS timing gear with 0-60mph arriving in just 1.4sec and 0-100mph in just 2.6sec. This is thanks to a fan fitted to the underside of the car which sucks it into the road to better downforce.
Tesla Model Y Performance
Available in various forms, the performance version of Tesla's family SUV offers a 155mph top speed while 0-62mph arrives in 3.5sec. In real-world testing, the Model Y Performance has been known to beat the factory figures, with tests showing a 3.3sec 0-62mph time, and 0-100mph was achieved in 8.1sec, a second quicker than Tesla claims.
The Performance costs from £59,990
Porsche Taycan Turismo Turbo S
If you have a spare £149,300, then you could have the 162mph Taycan Turismo Turbo S. In this form, its acceleration figures aren’t far from the 918 supercar’s, with 0-62mph sprint dealt with in 2.8sec with launch control engaged.
Power comes from two electric motors that produce an output of 751bhp and 774lb ft, allowing it to reach 124mph from rest in 9.6sec, while 49mph to 74mph is dispatched in 1.7sec.
Kia EV6 GT
It’s not like Kia to give us a car capable of rivalling a Porsche on a top speed run, but the EV6 GT will manage 162mph flat out. Tread lightly and it’ll return 263 miles on a single charge.
Power lands in at a Lamborghini-rivalling 577bhp with 545lb ft of torque - this means a 0-62mph time of 3.5sec. Prices start from £61,895.
Tesla Model X Plaid
When Tesla teased the Plaid, it gained instant popularity on social media due to its rapid acceleration - 0-60mph in 2.5sec and a quarter mile time of around 10sec. 1020bhp is enough to shove this 2.6-tonne SUV to a top speed of 163mph and it’ll deliver 311 miles on a single charge.
More so, buyers also get the yoke-style steering wheel in the UK as nowhere does it state that a steering wheel has to be round. Prices start from £125,000.
Lotus Eletre R
Most sports car manufacturers have brought out an SUV now and Lotus has followed suit with the 905bhp 726lb ft Eletre R. It’s said to be the world’s fastest dual-motor all-electric SUV, delivering a top speed of 165mph and a 0-60mph time of 2.9sec, all while being capable of returning 304 miles of range and storing up to 688 litres of cargo in its boot.
Lotus says that the Eletre R will cost £120,000, £30,500 of a difference versus the base Eletre.
Lucid Air Performance
1097bhp and 1025lb ft are the power figures produced by the Air’s dual-motor set-up and, because it’s mated to a 118kWh battery, it’ll return 471 miles. When it comes to straight-line performance, the Air will smash 0-62mph jaunt in just 2.7sec (thanks to the four-wheel-drive), and it’ll continue to 168mph.
Base models come with rear-wheel-drive, and cost a fair bit less at £69,000, versus £188,100 for the current range-topping Dream Edition Performance.
Volkswagen ID.R
Although not available as a road car, the ID.R is Volkswagen’s first pure electric racer. It began setting records in 2018 when it climbed Pikes Peak in just under 8min with an average speed of 94mph, beating the previous electric car record by a full minute.
In 2019, it took to the Nürburgring and broke the electric car record with a time of 6min 5sec, reaching speeds of up to 170mph. And in the same year, the ID R raced up the Goodwood hill climb and completed the course in a then record-beating time 39:90sec.
Hispano Suiza Carmen Boulogne
While this company doesn’t often get a mention alongside Ferrari or Lamborghini, Hispano Suiza has been making cars since 1904 and even made aircraft engines for WWI aircraft.
The Carmen Boulogne is the brand’s first car in 74 years and it packs 1114bhp and 845lb ft — this means 0-62mph in 2.6sec and a 180mph top speed. Five Carmen Bolougnes will be made costing £1.4m each, £120,000 of a difference over the standard car, of which only 19 will be produced.
Nio EP9
Marketed as one of the fastest electric cars in the world is the Nio EP9, having lapped the Nürburgring in just 6min 45sec and the Circuit of The Americas in 2min 40sec.
Each wheel has its own electric motor producing 335bhp - together, this generates 1340bhp. 0-62mph happens in 2.7sec, 124mph arrives in 7.1sec and 186mph - in 15.9sec, whilst flat out it’ll hit 194mph. Only a few have been made and cost £2.5m each.
Tesla Model S Plaid
2016 was a good year for Tesla as it sold more than 50,000 Model S cars globally, making it the world’s best-selling plug-in electric car. While all the Tesla models get a Performance version, the Model S received the Plaid treatment, with the American saloon developing 1020bhp and a £120,000 price tag.
From rest, it would crack 0-62mph in 2.5sec and hit a top speed of 200mph, if given enough room. The 100kWh battery is said to return 373 miles and give 3.3mpkWh.
Lotus Evija
With two competitors in its sights, the Rimac C Two and the Pininfarina Battista, the Evija comes with 1972bhp and 1253lb ft. Lotus believes the car is capable of 200mph-plus and that it’ll accelerate from 0-186mph in just 9.1sec, making it the fastest car ever produced by the marque.
Flat out, Lotus says that 5680 litres of air will move through the two large venturi tunnels each second which gives it 1680kg of downforce. There’s no set price just yet but it’s said that it’ll cost around £2.3m.
Maserati GranTurismo Folgore
Maserati’s step into the electrified world kick-started last year with the GranTurismo Folgore, a 750bhp 995lb ft EV with one motor in the front and two in the rear, driving all four wheels.
Lightweight materials, such as aluminium and magnesium, keep weight at 2260kg which gives it a 0-62mph time of 2.7sec and a claimed top speed of 202mph. Its 92.5kWh battery is said to give a range of 279 miles and accept charging up to 270kW. Prices are claimed to start from £195,000.
Lucid Air Sapphire
Lucid gains another place on our list with its ultra-high-performance Sapphire, which delivers over 1200bhp to all four wheels thanks to its three-motor powertrain. Its sculpted bodywork helps to deliver a drag coefficient of just 0.21 which will help it on its way to 205mph and go from 0-100mph in under 4sec.
Carbon ceramic brakes sit on all four corners and the body has been widened in comparison to a standard Air by 21mm at the front and 25mm at the rear to accommodate larger wheels. There’s no definitive price just yet but it’s said to cost around £194,000.
Drako GTE
American sports car brand Drako started in 2013 and revealed its 206mph GTE model six years later. It shares its underpinnings with the Karma Revero GT (Fisker Karma), from which it also gained its looks, such as the long bonnet, large wheel arches and short rear.
Underneath, it has four 302bhp electric motors, giving an output of 1208bhp and 6491lbft. A 90kWh battery means that’ll also cover 250 miles on a single charge. Upon its 2020 release, Drako had made just 25 cars that were listed at £1m each.
Pininfarina Battista
Teased at the 2019 Geneva Motor Show was the 222mph Battista which started production in 2022 with just 150 units to be made. Power comes from four electric motors which produce 1900bhp and 1691lb ft, meaning it’ll manage to hit 186mph from rest in the time that it takes some modern hatchbacks to hit 60mph — 10.5sec.
Pininfarina equipped it with a carbon fibre monocoque chassis and aluminium panels, giving it a weight of around 2200kg. Most of the examples, costing £1.96m, have already been sold.
Tesla Roadster
Apart from the one that’s been sent into space, Tesla claims that the new roadster is the fastest production car ever made, with a claimed top speed of 250mph. While it’s not confirmed how much power the Roadster has, Tesla has communicated a 7375lb ft figure which will get the four-seater sports car to 60mph from rest in under 2sec and onto 100mph in 4.2sec thanks to four-wheel drive.
It’s also said to return 620 miles on a single charge. It’s expected that prices will start from £155,857.
Aspark Owl
Japanese company, Aspark, is behind the 256mph Owl, a car that aimed to take on Rimac. Weighing in at 2000kg, the Owl accelerated from 0-60mph in 1.72sec and 0-124mph in 4.7sec, giving a quarter mile speed of 8.73sec.
Power came from four electric motors producing a total of 1980bhp. Aspark claimed that the Owl returned 248 miles of range and that just 50 vehicles were made.
Rimac Nevera
Holding the trophy for the world’s fastest electric production car is the 1888bhp Nevera. In a top-speed run using GPS at the Automotive Testing Papenburg track in Germany, the Nevera managed to hit 256mph.
At the same track, the Nevera went on to break more acceleration records: 0-124mph in 4.4sec, 0-186mph in 9.2sec and 0-248mph in 21.3sec, covering the quarter mile in 8.2sec. In gear, it was timed from 62-124mph in 2.59sec and 124-155mph in 2sec. It’s limited to just 150 examples, costing £1.7m each.
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