FASTEST ELECTRIC CARS FROM 2023, RANKED BY TOP SPEED

The EV revolution has been in full swing for a few years, with nearly all automakers transitioning their vehicles. What started years ago as an industry that aimed to build efficient daily commuters is now building some of the fastest, most powerful vehicles in the world. While some are launching new electric cars brimming with state-of-the-art features, other automakers are phasing out their gasoline engines to make space for the new EV versions.

In an industry which is changing by the day, the fastest and most powerful EVs are being dethroned with modern innovations. Going into 2024, we already have a wide range of electric supercars that have a top speed of more than 200 mph, and the 0-60 mph time keeps decreasing in this competitive segment. Tesla is often credited for bringing the electric revolution into the mainstream automotive industry, and its cars like the Roadster and Model S Plaid have set speed records. However, with new and old players partaking in the segment, all such records have either already been broken or seem to be under threat.

Such performance comes at a price, often in the ballpark of over a million dollars. But it is competitions of this nature that pave the way for constant innovation, and the biggest beneficiary is the customer. In this list, we count down the fastest electric cars from 2023.

TLDR: Fastest Electric Cars

Rimac Nevera

Top Speed: 258 mph

After establishing the record in 2022, the Rimac Nevera remains the world's fastest electric car to this day. The record of a top speed of 258 miles-per-hour was achieved at the Automotive Testing Papenburg track in Germany, with Miro Zrnčević, Rimac’s chief test and development driver, behind the wheel.

As if that wasn't enough to announce this Croatian-built electric supercar onto the scene, the Nevera set 23 world records in a single day in 2023. Boasting a 0 to 60 mph sprint in a mere 1.5 seconds, it is powered by four electric motors that deliver a combined 1,914 horses and logic-defying 1,741 pound-feet of torque.

Rimac Nevera Specifications

(Specs sourced from Rimac)

With production limited to only a scarce 150 units, the Rimac Nevera has a price tag of around $2.2 million, which makes it much rarer than we'd want a car of such caliber to be. For the 2024 model year, Rimac has launched a Nevera Time Attack model costing over $3 million but production is limited to just a dozen.

Aspark Owl

Top Speed: 257 mph

Japan's first full-electric hypercar ever, the Aspark Owl, is an electrifying force to be reckoned with. Aspark claims the Owl is the 'fastest-accelerating car in the world', with a whopping 1,980 horsepower produced by four electric motors. To put it in context, that is nearly twice the power of a Formula 1 car.

Built on a carbon fiber chassis that weighs only 264.5 pounds, the Owl is powered by four permanent magnet synchronous motors that deliver a whopping 1,475 pound-feet of torque. The electric supercar runs from 0 to 60 mph in 1.72 seconds and can hit a top speed of 257 mph, and all this while delivering a range of 280 miles.

Aspark Owl Specifications

(Specs sourced from Aspark)

A price tag of $4.2 million makes the Aspark Owl one of the most expensive electric hypercars in the world. And, its decision to build only 50 examples makes it even rarer. With 200 kW 800V fast charging, the Owl takes only about 40 minutes to charge to the maximum.

Tesla Roadster

Top Speed: 250+ MPH

Tesla's first attempt at the electric market was the Roadster, when the first generation arrived in 2008. But it was never the amazing supercar the American automaker was hoping it would be. Later, the second generation of the Roadster was announced in 2017, which at least on paper, seems to match Tesla's ambition for this model.

Although the horsepower isn’t revealed, the electric car will make 7,376 pound-feet of torque at wheels, thanks to the three electric motors - two on the rear axle and one on the front. This will ensure the Roadster launches from 0 to 60 mph in only 1.9 seconds, and if that sounds like a long time, the optional SpaceX package Roadster will perform the same feat in 1.1 seconds.

Tesla Roadster (2nd Gen) Specifications

(Specs sourced from Tesla)

The new Roadster 2.0 was supposed to go on sale a long time ago, but a range of problems including the pandemic and supply chain problems delayed it by quite a few years. Elon Musk promises 2023 will be the year, but as of March 2024, the wait continues.

Lotus Evija

Top Speed: 218 MPH

The electrification of the automobile industry is worldwide. After seeing the first-ever Japanese and Croatian electric hypercars, we have the first British all-electric hypercar, the Lotus Evija. Powered by four electric motors - one placed on each wheel – the Evija's powertrain delivers a combined 1,973 horses and 1,257 pound-feet of torque.

The all-wheel-drive supercar can hit 62 mph in under three seconds, with an electronically limited top speed of 218 mph. Lotus is targeting a range on a full charge of 250 miles, although that's based on the WLTP cycle and will realistically be lower by EPA standards. To add to its feats, the Lotus Evija is the lightest hypercar in the world with a curb weight of 3,704 pounds.

Lotus Evija Specifications

(Specs sourced from Lotus)

Built out of lightweight carbon fiber, the Evija is lighter and more powerful than the Rimac Nevera, but still slower in comparison. But make no mistake, at over $2 million and only 130 units in production, the Lotus Evija is one of the most expensive cars in the world, but it’s also one of the most powerful.

Pininfarina Battista

Top Speed: 217 MPH

The Pininfarina Battista needs no presentation: it is one of the best-looking, fastest, and most powerful electric cars in the world. This Italian hypercar boasts a 0 to 62 MPH sprint time of 1.86 seconds, and to put that into perspective, it is faster than an F-22 fighter jet which accelerates from 0-60 mph in 2.15 seconds.

Automobili Pininfarina claims the Battista delivers a level of performance that is unachievable in any road-legal sports car with an internal combustion engine. With a powerful 120 kWh battery and four motors sending power to each individual wheel, Battista produces 1,900 horses and around 1,725 pound-feet of torque.

Pininfarina Battista Specifications

(Specs sourced from Pininfarina)

Pininfarina claims a top speed of 217 mph for the Battista. But curiously, Renuka Kirpalani, the Indian Motorsports champion and Consulting Editor for Autocar India pushed the Battista up to a top speed of 222 mph in March 2023. With only 150 copies, each priced at $2.2 million, this mind-melting hypercar has a charge time from 20- to 80-percent in less than 22.5 minutes on a high-power DC charger.

Drako GTE

Top Speed: 206 MPH

It was in 2019 when Drako Motors, the hypercar manufacturer based in San Jose, California, launched the Drako GTE, an all-electric sedan with a top speed of 206 mph. Powered by four individual magnet hybrid synchronous motors (225 kW each) that deliver a combined 1,200 horsepower, the GTE is nearly as powerful as the Lucid Air Sapphire.

The Drako GTE’s 90-kWh battery pack can supply up to 1,800 amps continuously, and up to 2,200 peak amps. The Drako GTE boasts a logic-defying torque of 6,490 pound-feet, and is a world record holder at the Corkscrew Hillclimb with a blistering time of 37.0 seconds.

Drako GTE Specifications

(Specs sourced from Drako)

The GTE is Drako's first production vehicle and was joined late in 2022 by the Dragon hyper-luxury SUV which also made it to this list. With the GTE's production limited to only 25 units, it is one of the rarest and most expensive EVs on the market, with the cost of owning one starting at $1.2 million.

Lucid Air Sapphire

Top Speed: 205 mph

Lucid announced the Air back in 2020, and the top-of-the-line model, the Sapphire, arrived two years later at Monterey Car Week. While the base Lucid Air delivers "only" 480 horsepower, for the Sapphire, Lucid took things to extremes. The EV is powered by the company's most advanced trimotor powertrain yet, which delivers a combined 1,234 horsepower and 1,430 pound-feet of torque.

The model was built with the intention of competing with the likes of the Tesla Model S Plaid, so the Sapphire goes from 0 to 60 mph in just 1.89 seconds (0.1 seconds faster than the Plaid) and up to a top speed of 205 mph (five mph more than the Plaid).

Lucid Air Sapphire Specifications

(Specs sourced from Lucid)

Like nearly all the cars on this list so far, the Lucid Air Sapphire is built in limited numbers, and the 2024 model has a starting price of $249,000. Air Sapphire has an EPA-estimated range of 427 miles on a single charge, as well as an efficiency of 3.61 mi/kWh, representing an extraordinary fusion of capabilities.

Maserati GranTurismo Folgore

Top Speed: 202 MPH

At the end of 2022, Maserati unveiled the new generation GranTurismo, including its first-ever all-electric sports trim, launched with the gasoline-powered models. What's interesting is that all of Maserati's EVs will bear the Folgore moniker, which means “lightning” in Italian.

The GranTurismo Folgore is powered by a trio of electric motors that route up to 761 horsepower and 995 pound-feet of torque to all four wheels. According to Maserati, the car has a 0 to 60 mph time of 2.7 seconds, and can reach a top speed of 202 mph. It's most-powerful gasoline counterpart offers only 543 horses.

Maserati GranTurismo Folgore Specifications

(Specs sourced from Maserati)

Powered by a 92.5-kWh battery pack, it offers a range of around 240 miles, and benefits from fast charging speeds too. Maserati claims the Folgore can add up to 60 miles in only five minutes when charged at up to a 270-kW connection. With a price tag of $215,000, it was expected to go on sale in the fall of 2023, but as of March 2024, we are yet to see it out in the open.

Tesla Model S Plaid

Top Speed: 200 MPH

Who would have thought that the car that once was the fastest EV in the world, the Tesla Model S Plaid, would now be at the bottom? But, with constant innovation, it is clear that the giant Tesla faces stiff competition.

Powered by three mighty electric motors, two in the back and one up front producing a total of 1,020 horsepower and 1,050 pound-feet of torque, the Model S Plaid remains an electric vehicle that can hit more than 200 mph, when fully equipped. It can sprint to 60 mph from a standstill in 1.99 seconds, which makes it one of the fastest electric sedans you can currently buy.

Tesla Model S Plaid Specifications

(Specs sourced from Tesla)

With up to 402 miles of estimated range and access to Tesla's mighty fast charging network, the Model S Plaid stands as the most practical and available car on this list, for an average customer. Tesla slashed prices heavily in 2024, and so, with a starting price of $89,990, the Model S Plaid is relatively cheaper.

Drako Dragon

Top Speed: 200+ MPH

Drako Motors first teased the Dragon SUV in 2022, showing off its dramatic gull-wing doors and its wild 2,000 horsepower output produced by four electric motors. Their second vehicle after the GTE, this luxury SUV hypercar, is one of its kind.

With a 0-60 mph acceleration time of 1.9 seconds and a top speed of over 200 mph, Drako Motors claims the Dragon is the most powerful, quickest and fastest production hyper-luxury SUV in history. It boasts some ground-breaking features as well.

For instance, all of Dragon’s physical driver controls are mounted directly to the steering wheel, including those for the turn signals, windshield wipers, headlights, and even the horn.

Drako Dragon Specifications

(Specs sourced from Drako)

Interestingly, the Drako Dragon is also the world’s first production SUV with a full carbon fiber structure. With a range of EPA-rated 420 miles, the Dragon has a base price of $290,000. The Dragon's battery pack, designed and built in-house, has a 500 kW fast-charging capability that allows for an 80 percent charge in 10 minutes.

2023-03-31T12:11:41Z dg43tfdfdgfd