The fastest electric cars in the world in 2024
The fastest electric cars in the world aren’t just fast by EV standards, they’re among the quickest road-going vehicles on the planet.
While a lot of talk around EVs centres on efficiency and maximising range, there are plenty of companies out there trying to make the most of an electric motor’s potential power and instantaneous, linear power delivery. For those considering upgrading to a high-performance electric vehicle, responsibly disposing of your current car is an important step. Services like Car.co.uk’s Scrap My Car offer an environmentally friendly way to recycle your old vehicle, making the transition to a new EV seamless.
Even fairly ordinary family SUVs are now capable of the kind of acceleration that used to be the preserve of turbocharged hot hatchbacks and at the sportier end of car makers’ ranges there are some breath-taking figures to be found.
However, even in the world of electric cars there are fast cars and then there are really fast cars. The kind that put most petrol-powered supercars to shame, boggle the mind with their vital statistics, and can quite possibly rearrange your insides with their raw speed.
This is one of the reasons why EV’s have gained so much popularity in such a short time. If we look at how many electric cars in the US, we can clearly see that the trends shows no slowing down and will continue rising in the future. EV’s are the future, and not only in the US market, but globally as well.
And that’s what we’re rounding up there. The 10 fastest EVs in the world based on acceleration (although their top speeds are all also among the highest). We’ve tried hard to limit our list to road legal cars that you can actually buy, so there’s no Tesla Roadster with its as-yet-unproven statistics and no McMurty Spéirling since it’s a track car. If you can’t find these models near you, you can always use a car shipping company, like one of these, to have one delivered to you from another area.
10. Audi RS e-tron GT
Power: 637bhp
0-62mph: 3.3 seconds
Top speed: 155mph
Audi has rather lucked out with the e-tron GT, borrowing all the best bits from Porsche and wrapping them up in an arguably even more attractive skin.
At its heart, the e-tron GT is a high-tech luxurious long-distance cruiser, with space for four, a range of up to 305 miles, and ultra-rapid charging. But it’s also shockingly quick, especially in range-topping RS guise.
Even regular e-tron GTs have all-wheel-drive, 523bhp and a 0-62mph time of 4.1 seconds. But the RS e-tron GT takes things to another level. Its 637bhp is enough to get it from 0-62mph in just 3.3 seconds and take it on to an electronically limited top speed of 155mph. Want even more from the same platform? Read on to find out what Porsche has to offer.
9. Lotus Eletre R
Power: 905bhp
0-62mph: 2.95 seconds
Top speed: 165mph
Lotus’s wild Evija hypercar isn’t on the list partly because it’s hard to get an official 0-62mph time and partly because you can’t order one right now. But the Norfolk brand is still represented with the Eletre and the Emeya.
The Eletre is the first ever SUV from Lotus but one that the brand insists maintains its reputation for dynamic, engaging vehicles. To help with that, the Eletre benefits from modern systems such as active air suspension, active anti-roll bars, four-wheel steering and smart torque vectoring.
Even the most basic Eletre offers 603bhp from its all-wheel-drive powertrain, and a respectable 0-62mph time of 4.5 seconds. However, to make it onto this list, we need the Eletre R, which comes with two motors putting out a total of 905bhp. That’s enough for a 0-62mph time of 2.95 seconds and a top speed of 165mph.
8. Lotus Emeya R
Power: 905bhp
0-62mph: 2.8 seconds
Top speed: 159mph
The Emeya’s figures are going to sound very familiar, given that it’s based on the same platform and powertrain as the Eletre. While the Eletre R is for those looking for a high-performance SUV, the Emeya is for those more interested in something to compete with the Taycan.
Thanks to its lower-slung, more aerodynamic body work, all versions of the Emeya are slightly quicker than their Eletre counterparts. In the case of the top-spec R that means the 905bhp/726lb ft powertrain gets it to 62mph in just 2.8 seconds. However, top speed is slightly down – to a mere 159mph. Like the Eletre, four-wheel-steering, active suspension and smart torque management are designed to bring a Lotus flavour to the segment.
7. Maserati Granturismo Folgore
Power: 751bhp
0-62mph: 2.7 seconds
Top speed: 202mph
Folgore is Italian for lightning and it’s a fitting badge for Maserati to attach to its all-electric models. Even the Grecale Folgore SUV can crack the 0-62mph sprint in just over 4 seconds but that pales in comparison to the Granturismo Folgore.
This stunning two-door supercar will complete the benchmark sprint in a mere 2.7 seconds and carry on to a top speed of 202mph. That’s thanks to three motors – two at the rear, one at the front – which produce a total of 751bhp and 996lb ft. It’s the most powerful car in the Maserati range, and the fastest accelerating, making a clear statement of how the Italian brand intends to embrace an electric future.
6. Porsche Taycan Turbo GT
Power: 1,093bhp
0-62mph: 2.2 seconds
Top speed: 190mph
The Porsche Taycan was a bit of revelation when it was launched, proving that EVs weren’t simple one-trick ponies. It brought levels of engagement and agility that had been missing from quick EVs until that point and showed that there was more to electric performance than straight line speed. That said, it is still phenomenally quick in a straight line, especially since the updates to the 2024 model. Even entry-level Taycan 4S models will now crack the 0-62mph sprint in less than 5 seconds.
Until recently, the Turbo S was the quickest Taycan, with a 0-62mph time of 2.8 seconds and top speed of 162mph. Then someone in Stuttgart decided to build the Turbo GT which turns everything up to 11, almost literally. The Turbo GT produces just 7bhp shy of 1,100bhp. With the optional Weissach pack, that gives the Taycan a 0-62mph time of 2.2 seconds. Even without the pack, it’ll only take 2.3. The bigger difference is in the top speeds – 180mph for regular cars and 190mph for Weissach models.
5. Tesla Model S Plaid
Power: 1,006bhp
0-62mph: 2.1 seconds
Top speed: 155mph
Tesla has made all sorts of ludicrous claims about the performance capabilities of the long-delayed Roadster but since there’s still no sign of that car actually entering production, we’re ignoring it. Nonetheless, the US EV specialist does still build one of the quickest electric cars on the planet.
The Model S Plaid uses three motors to produce its outrageous 1,006bhp, which is enough for a 0-62mph time of just over 2 seconds. Pay for some hardware upgrades and you’ll be able to unlock a claimed 200mph top speed. And that’s all in a large family saloon with a huge boot and ultra-fast charging. The only catch is that Tesla isn’t building right-hand-drive versions any more, so you’ll have to buy a left-hooker from its European stock.
4. Lucid Air Sapphire
Power: 1,217bhp
0-62mph: 1.95 seconds
Top speed: 205mph
Tesla isn’t the only brand that can produce large, luxury saloons that will almost tear your face off. Fellow US brand Lucid has entered the EV arms race with the performance version of its gorgeous Air.
The regular Air is no slouch – 430bhp means a 0-62mph time of under five seconds – but the Sapphire is in another league. Like the Model S Plaid, the Air Sapphire uses three motors to generate its 1,217bhp, which translates to a 0-62mph time of 1.95 seconds and a top speed of 205mph. It also features track-tuned suspension, a unique aero package and carbon ceramic brakes to shave off all that speed.
Lucid claims, you’ll still get more than 420 miles of range and efficiency of 3.6m/kWh, although presumably not if you keep testing that 0-62 time.
3. Pininfarina Battista
Power: 1,873bhp
0-62mph: 1.86 seconds
Top speed: 217mph
You’ll recognise the Pininfarina name as the design house behind iconic cars such as the Ferrari Testarossa and Alfa Romeo Spyder but, until now it hasn’t tried its hand at building and selling its own models.
The Battista, then, is a bit of a gamble but Pininfarina is taking it very seriously. While it has focused on creating a stunning looking hyper-grand tourer, it has turned to EV powertrain specialist Rimac for the running gear.
Under its wild exterior, the £2m+ Battista uses the same hardware found in the Rimac Nevera (more on that in a moment). That equates to four motors producing a total of 1,873bhp for a mind-bending 0-62mph time of 1.86 seconds and a top speed of 217mph. Allegedly, driven carefully, the massive 120kWh battery is good for 300 miles of range.
2. Rimac Nevera
Power: 1,888bhp
0-62mph: 1.81 seconds
Top speed: 258mph
It’s almost difficult to get your head around the numbers involved in the Rimac Nevera. For a start, there’s the price – £2m+ – and the fact that just 150 will ever be built.
Then there’s the performance. Total output of 1,888bhp makes the Nevera flat-out one of the most powerful cars on the planet, regardless of fuel type. It’s also just about the fastest accelerating production car in the world, with a 0-62mph time of just 1.81 seconds.
In addition, it is the world’s fastest car in reverse. In November last year, it hit the Automotive Testing Papenburg Facility in Germany and ran in reverse at a speed of 171.34mph (275.74 km/h). It was astonishingly fast beating the Guinness World Record (102.58mph) created by a Caterham 7 Fireblade in 2001.
If that’s not enough for you, it has the highest top speed of any road-legal EV and its V-max of 258mph puts it among McLarens, Koenigseggs, and Bugattis in the list of the 10 fastest production cars on earth.
Not bad for a tiny Croatian firm that most people have never heard of.
1. Aspark Owl
Power: 1,953bhp
0-62mph: 1.78 seconds
Top speed: 256mph
Japan is largely famous for mass-market white goods-type cars but it’s also the country that gave us the Nissan Skyline GT-R and the twin-turbo Toyota Supra. So it should be no surprise that it is playing its part in the world of ludicrously quick EVs.
The Aspark Owl has a ridiculous name, bizarre styling and mind-boggling performance. Like our other top performers, the Owl is a wild looking two-door, two-seater sitting on a purpose-built four-motor platform with a bespoke 64kWh battery. It’s the most powerful car on our list – at 1,953bhp – and recently set the fastest 0-62mph time, a staggering 1.98 seconds. “This is just over a half second faster than the fastest motorcycle on earth, the Y2K MTT 420RR, though the MTT has a top speed of 274 mph,” according to Mattew Engelage of Chin Mounts.
What’s more, an evolution of the Owl, named Owl SP600, has also set the highest speed for an EV, at 272mph, although that’s not a road-legal car, so the Rimac holds onto its crown as the fastest production EV (for now).
