The 8 fastest electric cars you can buy now, ranked by top speed and 0-60
Though speed limits in the US max out at 85 mph, but these EVs are way faster.
In early November, I rode in a 1,400-horsepower electric drift car. The inventively named Ford Mustang Mach-E 1400 is a one-off demonstrator built to show how fun and exciting electric racing can be.
And boy, does it work. There was smoke. There was noise. There was giddy laughter. It was incredibly exciting. While many folks might still equate EVs with practical, boring cars like the Nissan Leaf and the Chevrolet Bolt, that’s not so true anymore.
Now there are far more exciting sporty cars than there are boring ones. And some of them can go over 200 miles an hour. So we’ve rounded up the fastest EVs you can buy today (and a few that you’ll be able to buy soon).
And, of course, don’t try this at home.
8. Porsche Taycan Turbo S - Top speed: 161 mph
Zero to 60 mph in just 2.6 seconds.
The Taycan Turbo S is Porsche’s flagship electric car, able to go from 0 to 60 mph in just 2.6 seconds and sporting a maximum of 750 hp. It only has a 201-mile EPA-estimated range, but with performance like this, who cares?
The Taycan Turbo S starts at $185,000 and its two-speed transmission maxes out at 161 mph, good for number 8 on our list.
7. Tesla Model 3 Performance - Top speed: 162 mph
Zero to 60 in 3.1 seconds.
Elon Musk loves building very fast electric cars. He seems to believe — correctly! — that showcasing EV performance is a necessity when selling the cars to a public skeptical of this new technology.
That’s why, ever since the Model S, there have been increasingly speedy performance variants of all Tesla’s cars. In this case, the boringly named Model 3 Performance can rocket from 0-60 in 3.1 seconds, thanks to its dual electric motors, and continue all the way up to a maximum top speed of 162 mph.
The Tesla Model 3 Performance starts at $58,990.
6. Tesla Model X Plaid - Top speed: 163 mph
Zero to 60 mph in 2.5 seconds.
But Elon doesn’t use boring names for all his performance cars. The ludicrously-named Model X Plaid is the fastest version of the big seven-seater SUV yet. The X Plaid makes a maximum 1,020 hp and is able to go from 0 to 60 mph in 2.5 seconds and continue on to complete the 1/4-mile in a mind-boggling 9.9 seconds.
That’s in an SUV that’s closing in on three tons, and that has crazy falcon-wing doors that open up like... well, like a falcon. And, with a 333-mile EPA-estimated range, it has enough juice to take care of day-to-day driving needs as well. Tesla says the X Plaid is the most powerful and fastest-accelerating SUV in the world, though we doubt most buyers are ever going to test the 163 mph top speed.
The Tesla Model X Plaid starts at $119,990.
5. Lucid Air - Top speed: 168 mph
Zero to 60 in 2.5 seconds.
The just-released Lucid Air is the latest luxury EV competitor, and it promises impressive — if wildly ambitious — specs. Lucid is following the Tesla model of releasing expensive luxury cars before expanding down-market into more affordable wares.
The Air starts at $77,400 for the Pure trim, but rises up to the sold out, launch-exclusive $169,000 Air Dream Edition that makes as much as 1,111 hp. Lucid says it can make the 0-60 mph run in 2.5 seconds and continue on to a 9.9-second quarter-mile.
Only a handful have been delivered and we haven’t been able to test it, but Lucid says the Air Dream Performance Edition will top out at 168 mph.
4. Tesla Model S Plaid - Top speed: 200 mph
It can also do the quarter-mile at a scarcely believable 9.23 seconds.
Leaving Ludicrous far behind, the Tesla Model S Plaid takes enormous electric sedans to a whole different planet. Using every bit of battery and electric motor know-how Tesla possesses, the Model S Plaid has 1,020 peak hp and an equally impressive 396-mile EPA-estimated range.
That’s good enough for a mind-boggling Tesla-quoted 1.99-second 0-60 mph run, and a 200 mph top speed (“when equipped with the appropriate with the proper wheels and tires”, Tesla says in a footnote). It can also do the quarter-mile at a scarcely believable 9.23 seconds.
The fact that a car, weighing nearly 4,800 pounds and with seating for five, can sport hypercar performance while starting at $129,990 really shows how far EVs — and Tesla — have come.
3. Lotus Evija - Top speed: 200+ mph
Expect the Evija to cost more than $2 million, with just 130 models being produced.
Famed British sports car maker Lotus is jumping into the electric car game, thanks to an infusion of cash from Geely, its new owner. That’s the same Chinese firm that owns Volvo and Polestar, lending some significant cred to the company’s operations.
The Evija is Lotus’ first electric car and it looks very impressive. At a quoted 1,972 hp and 3,700 lbs, the Evija’s four electric motors should propel it to a max speed of more than 200 mph.
As this is a sports car aimed straight at the track, it won’t have an amazing range, however. Lotus says it is targeting 215 miles on the more generous European WLTP cycle, which means it’ll likely have a sub-200 EPA-estimated range.
Expect the Evija to cost more than $2 million, with just 130 models being produced.
2. New Tesla Roadster - Top speed: 250+ mph
The new Tesla Roadster isn’t actually a real car yet, but its promised specs are impressive enough to mention here. That’s especially true given how wild Tesla’s performance variants already are, and it’s not too much of a leap too expect the Roadster to get close to what is claimed.
Tesla says the new Roadster will be the quickest car in the world, running 0-60 mph in just 1.9 seconds. The company also claims a ludicrous range of 620 miles and a top speed in excess of 250 mph. Whether it’ll actually be able to achieve all that, with a starting price of $250,000, remains to be seen.
Still, I would hope most folks have learned not to count Elon out.
1. Rimac Nevera - Top speed: 258 mph
Expect the Nevera to cost more than $2.4 million.
After a merger with hypercar-maker Bugatti, Rimac is ready to conquer the world with the new Nevera. It’s poised to be the greatest EV of them all, making 1,914 hp and 1,740 lb-ft of torque. Rimac says it’ll go from 0-60 mph in 1.85 seconds and 0-180 mph in 9.3 seconds. The quarter-mile? That’ll be over in 8.6 seconds, and it’ll continue on to a top speed of 258 mph.
These are ridiculous numbers that would seem absurd in a video game, but given what the Rimac Concept One (the concept-car predecessor to the Nevera) was capable of... well, as they say, it ain’t bragging if it’s true.
Expect the Nevera to cost more than $2.4 million.
