Thought the Yangwang was fast? These are the 32 fastest EVs on the planet

Volkswagen’s ludicrous electric racer was built with the intention of smashing the Pikes Peak record. It did it in under eight minutes, a time that hasn’t been beaten since, and also went on to break records at Goodwood and the Nürburgring. The recipe? An ironing board of a wing, 670bhp, a kerbweight under 1,100kg… and a 170mph vmax for that ‘Ring run.

When Formula E launched back in 2014, the cars had a maximum output of 270bhp, a 0-62mph time of 3.0secs and could reach a top speed of 140mph. The arrival of the Gen 2 cars saw power increased to 335bhp, two tenths shaved off the zero to 62mph sprint (for 2.8secs) and the top speed increased to 174mph. The Gen 3s are quicker yet…

Drop-top electric sports cars are few and far between, but the Maserati GranCabrio Foglore is undoubtedly one of the prettiest. Did you expect anything less? It’s got the performance to match the looks too, with three electric motors making 750bhp, and is capable of accelerating from 0-62mph in 2.8 seconds on to a 180mph vmax.

The Taycan Turbo GT with Weissach Package smashed the four-door lap record at the Nürburgring back in 2024 when it recorded a time of 7m 07.55s, although that time has since been beaten by another car on this list. Still, the Weissach sheds 75kg in weight compared to the ‘standard’ Turbo GT and shaves a tenth off the 0-62mph time (2.2secs), while topping out 10mph faster.

The Chinese built Nio EP9 made headlines back in 2017 when it smashed the ‘Ring lap record with a time of 6m 45.9s. Developed with assistance from its maker’s Formula E racing division, it was built to Le Mans LMP1 regulations, had quad motors outputting 335bhp each and weighed in at 1,735kg. Just 16 were ever made.

Yep, crazy as it seems given the close-quarter battles around city centres where the races primarily take place, the latest Formula E cars will top out at 200mph. Not that the cars ever really get close: the fastest speed recorded during a race was 152mph at Portland, with the fastest average speed – recorded at the same circuit – 104mph. 

Canadian startup Damon Motorcycles’ HyperSport Premier has the easiest on paper specs to remember: 200hp (197bhp), 200Nm (148lb ft) torque, a 200mph vmax and a 200-mile range. It’s also got people talking for its innovative CoPilot protection system, including front and rear cameras and distance sensors, plus its adjustable race/road riding position.

You’ve already seen the drop-top, now here’s the tin-top version. Like its sibling, the GranTurismo Folgore gets three electric motors outputting 750bhp, only it’ll see you from zero to 62mph a tenth quicker – in 2.7 seconds – and will keep going all the way to 202mph. In other words, it should see you to the Côte d'Azur in no time.

Another luxury saloon to come from a Silicon Valley-based carmaker – no, not that one – the Lucid Air Sapphire is the toppiest version available thanks to its tri-motor setup. Behind its sleek body it gets 1,217bhp, a 0-60mph sprint time of 1.89 seconds, a speed of 205mph… and seating for five. Seriously, who needs that much performance in a family car? Recipe for car sickness if there ever was one.

Connecting the UK to Europe through the Channel Tunnel, the Eurostar’s fastest recorded top speed is 208mph, set just prior to the start of public services in 2003. The top operational speed with passengers aboard is 186mph, though this is limited to 100mph through the tunnel, because safety. Some 19.5 million passengers used it last year. 

It’s not just on the ground where electric propulsion is having its moment: the Extra 330 LE aerobatic plane set three new records when it managed a top speed of 213mph, reached an altitude of 3,000m in 4mins and 22secs, and became the first electric aircraft to tow a glider from ground to sky back in 2017. Only issue was, it could only sustain a 20-minute flight…

Remember the four-door lap record at the Nürburgring we mentioned above? Yep, that honour is now held by the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra, which beat the Porsche Taycan Turbo GT Weissach by 2.5secs. The super saloon sheds 500kg in weight compared to the ‘standard’ SU7, sees off the 0-62mph sprint in just 1.97secs, and will keep going all the way to an astonishing 217mph.

The Lotus Evija has been a long time coming, having first broken cover back in 2019, such is the development work required to build the thing. It claims to be the most powerful production car ever built, with 2,011bhp and 1,257lb ft supplied by four electric motors, a 0-62mph time of 2.9 seconds and an electrically limited top speed of 217mph.

American bikemaker Lightning is no stranger to electric motorcycle speed records – we could probably fill half this list with its achievements at Bonneville over the years. But for both our sakes, we’ll just include the current champ: the Lightning Superbike managed 218.637mph in 2011, with the firm renaming it the LS-218 in its honour. It has held the title of the world’s fastest street legal production electric motorcycle ever since.

Africa’s first high speed railway opened in November 2018, with the 201-mile route linking Casablanca and Tangier in Morocco. Phase one of the country's planned 900-mile high speed rail network, during testing Al Boraq (named after a mythical creature) hit its highest top speed of 222mph, though in public service the trains run at a maximum of 199mph. 

The first road car to ever wear the Pininfarina badge and the most powerful Italian car ever made, the Battista was the world’s first electric hyper GT to market. Officially it produces 1,874bhp and will see off 0-62mph in 1.86 seconds on its way to its 217mph limited top speed… but in testing it’s proven to go beyond that, topping out at 222.4mph.

In the late 1990s the Italian State Railway decided it was time for a new high speed railway network. The new ETR 500 managed 225mph in testing in the Monte Bibele tunnel line between Bologna and Florence – a new ‘indoors’ world speed record. Special mention to the Frecciassora class in operation today, which translates as Red Arrow.

The Eliica (or Electric Lithium-Ion Car) was a bonkers eight-wheeled electric prototype designed by a team at Keio University in Tokyo back in 2004. With an 80bhp motor in each wheel, giving a combined total of 640bhp, it managed a top speed of 230mph at the Nardò Ring in Italy. We’re not sure why it never caught on either.

Austrian firm DEUS Automobiles revealed its Vayanne all-electric hypercar back in 2022, developed in collaboration with Italdesign and Williams Advanced Engineering. The numbers were certainly impressive, with a claimed 2,200bhp, a 0-62mph time of under 1.99secs and a top speed of over 248mph. It also said it would arrive in 2025, but we’re still waiting…

The Intercity Experimental, later renamed ICE V, was an experimental train developed by the Deutsche Bundesbahn for research into high speed rail in Germany – and the first train to beat the 400km/h mark when it managed 406.9km/h (252.8mph) in 1988. It formed the basis for Germany’s state railway Intercity Express trains of today, which run almost as quick as this, but we’re only including top dogs on this list. 

Another experimental train, this time from South Korea, the HEMU-430 – short for High-Speed Electric Multiple Unit 430km/h eXperimental – was designed to achieve a maximum speed of… you guessed it, 430 km/h (267mph). Which, uh, makes it all the more awkward that it only managed 421.4km/h (261.8mph). Still, mighty impressive all the same, and it’s technically a Hyundai having been built by Hyundai Rotem.

Picture credit: Hyundai Rotem

Croatian upstart Rimac’s fastest car is currently the 2,078bhp Nevera R, with a verified top speed of 268.2mph. On its way it’ll see off the 0-60mph sprint in 1.66secs, hit 125mph in 3.95secs, steamroll past 186mph in 7.89secs – and hit the quarter-mile barrier a tenth of a second later. If we know its founder Mate, he won’t be finished there, either.

Sweden’s Eva Håkansson registered a top speed of 270.224mph in her self-built three-wheeled electric motorcycle called KillaJoule at the Bonneville Salt Flats in 2014. She went on to claim several official records including the world’s fastest three-wheeled electric motorcycle, the world’s fastest sidecar motorcycle and the world’s fastest female motorcyclist, before KillaJoule was retired in 2019. Not bad for a garage project…

Up until recently, the fastest electric production car on our planet was the Aspark Owl with a top speed of 272.6mph. It first emerged in 2017 before a video of it doing 0-60mph in 1.9 seconds in a car park went viral in 2018, and we’re told it’s even quicker now. A run of 50 vehicles is planned, each with a list price of €2.5 million.

We’ve seen a few bikes on this list, but the current top speed champ is this, the Voxan Wattman. It set a maximum speed of 292.204mph and an official average speed of 283.182mph over two runs at the Kennedy Space Center back in 2021, piloted by Italian motorcycle racer Max Biaggi, who it’s safe to say has bigger cojones than us.

BYD’s luxury electric sub-brand Yangwang blew everyone’s minds when its U9 Xtreme – with no less than 2,978bhp – reached a top speed of 308.4mph at Papenburg’s high speed test track earlier this year, surpassing the Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+ to become the fastest production car on the planet. We’re told it could go quicker too…

The Shanghai Maglev doesn’t run using traditional electric motors, but works by magnetically levitating above the track, using a linear motor for forward propulsion. It managed a top speed of 311mph in testing back in 2003 and now runs between Shanghai Airport and the city. China also operates a rapid traditional railway network, but we won’t cover them all off in this list because we (and you) would be here all day.

Back in the world of conventional trains, the fastest ever recorded speed comes from France, when a specially modified TGV (train à grande vitesse), known as Project V150 and weighing 265 tonnes, broke the 357mph barrier during a test run in 2007. Three hundred and fifty-seven miles per hour on steel rails. Mental.

Again, there have been many electric car land speed records set at Bonneville Salt Flats over the years – too many to include on this list – but in pole position currently is the Buckeye Bullet 3, built by engineering students at Ohio State University with input from manufacturer Venturi back in 2016. On its very first run it hit 358mph, with the officially recorded speed 341.264mph over a two-way flying mile as per FIA rules.

Japan’s L0 Series uses a different type of magnetic levitation wizadry to the Shanghai Maglev, and it smashed all previous train land speed records (including the country’s 275mph bullet train, we hadn’t forgotten) when it managed 375mph back in 2015. While still in development, 311mph is the aim when in commercial service, meaning a journey time of just over an hour between Tokyo and Osaka.

Rolls-Royce (the aerospace company, not the car side) smashed the electric plane top speed record when it recorded 387.4mph in 2021. Capable of climbing to 3,000ft in just 202 seconds, the plane uses a 536bhp electric powertrain and the most “power dense propulsion battery pack ever assembled in aerospace”, according to its maker.

Yep, the fastest electric vehicle on the planet is… a Scalextric car. Sort of. This 1/32 Honda F1 replica reached a scaled speed – calculated proportionate to its real world counterpart – of 983.33mph in a stunt for The Gadget Show back in 2008. In the here and present, it managed 30.94mph, but bending the truth slightly never hurt anyone, did it?