The 12 fastest EVs to 62mph
The Porsche Taycan Turbo GT has debuted as an orgy of facts and figures normally the preserve of half-baked vapourware that never passes the render stage. It even comes within two seconds of besting the Rimac Nevera at the Nürburgring, while giving it a good chase (and beating the Bugatti Chiron SuperSport in the process) from 0-62mph.
That got us thinking. Where does it sit in the all-time EV performance stakes? Acceleration is after all the bread and butter of electric cars, with them for now at least able to offer little in the way of ceiling-smashing top speeds or personality to set petrolhead hearts fluttering. So, here’s our 2024 breakdown of the fastest accelerating EVs from 0-62mph, including the Porsche Taycan Turbo GT. Let the borderline meaningless, almost certainly pointless, slightly unpleasant traffic light grand prix begin…
12. Faraday Future FF91 – 2.39 seconds
Speaking of will-they won’t-they cars, Faraday Future and the FF91 have been promising to shake up the EV world for a good half-decade now. As yet, world domination has yet to come to fruition, though the car has endured as an amorphous luxurious pod that has no business being as ruinously accelerative and powerful as it is. It gets to 62mph in 2.39 seconds, thanks to a 1,050PS (772kW) triple-motor setup and a fairly enormous 142kWh battery.
11. Yangwang U9 – 2.36 seconds
China’s next great hope for European (car market) domination, BYD, is pushing into all sectors, if not always going by its own name. Leaving the executive cars and hatchbacks to BYD is its subsidiary YangWang, which made headlines with its striking U9 supercar. Judging by the figures, the focus isn’t actually on outright power and performance, rather as close to a holistic supercar experience as an EV can manage. Nevertheless, it’s unsurprising that 1,305PS (959kW) from two electric motors yields the side-effect of 62mph arriving in 2.36 seconds.
10. Porsche Taycan Turbo GT – 2.2 seconds
One of we think three, or possibly two cars on this list that you can buy right now, is the new Porsche Taycan Turbo GT. A jack of all trades that comes close to mastering a few, this thing will chase a certain Croatian hypercar from bridge to gantry leaving the multi-million-pound machine with only a two-second lead. It’ll also crank its monster motors to deliver 0-62mph in 2.2 seconds (with Weissach Pack) and use its 1,100PS (809kW) punch to hit 190mph. There aren’t many EVs that deliver acceleration, track performance and top speed in near-equal globs. What a thing, even for close to £200,000…
9. Tesla Model S Plaid – 2.1 seconds
Of course, this thing was the target. Elon Musk’s bird flip to the Porsche Taycan is the Tesla Model S Plaid, which directly inspired Porsche to turn up the wick on its already-impressive EV super GT. It still beats the Turbo GT to 62mph by 0.1 seconds but there are a few caveats. For instance, are we sure it doesn’t need a one-foot rollout? Are we sure it can do it repeatedly, at least to the extent the Porsche can? All very good questions. What it can do is out-drag the potent Porker, pushing its 1,020PS (750kW) to deliver a 200mph top speed. Then again, it doesn’t have any track-aimed aero, or reportedly, much track competence. At just over £130,000, though, it is a bit of a bargain comparatively.
8. Deus Vayanne – > 2 seconds
It’s utterly fascinating that the majority of this list gets the 62mph sprint done from zero in under two seconds. The Austrian Deus Vayanne, which doesn’t have specifics on how far under two seconds it manages, comes in at a lofty eighth, albeit behind four other cars that say ‘under two’. Why did we put it last? It’s arguably at this point the furthest of the four away from actually existing and actually putting in the numbers. Pudding, proof, etc. Still, it shouldn’t struggle, with over 2,200PS (1,618kW) to work with. It’s also very pretty which is unsurprising given it’s an ItalDesign job, though a bit 'Koenigsegg' at the front and a bit 'P1' at the rear.
7. HiPhi A – > 2 seconds
The HiPhi A meanwhile, though being no more tangible as of yet, has big Chinese bucks behind it and comes from a company that produces other cars. So while it hasn’t the verifiable heft of BYD behind it like the YangWang U9 does, we’re inclined to believe these claims aren’t spurious. A note too for how mental it looks, with a sort of Renault Avantime meets Nissan GT-R Nismo vibe, but with specs and acceleration performance to humble a Bugatti Veyron SuperSport. That’s 1,305PS (959kW) and 0-62mph in under two seconds.
6. Tesla Roadster – < 2 seconds
Is the Tesla Roadster closer to existing than the HiPhi? Eh, it’s a tough call. We’ve been waiting for it for longer, that’s for sure, so how less real can it be? Elon’s been hyping it up recently, following a few allusions to flight ability and all other madness. He reckons “there will never be another car like this” claiming it’s a collaboration with SpaceEx and, via a Tweet at least, claiming it’ll hit 60mph in under a second while saying that’s the least interesting part. Elon’s words aren’t Tesla’s, though, even if he’s CEO, so we’ll stick to the original ‘under two seconds’ claim and wait on bumping it to the top of the list.
5. Lucid Air Sapphire – < 2 seconds
The Lucid Air Sapphire, meanwhile, is very much on sale and performing as claimed. This gorgeous luxury saloon has enchanted critics and owners alike over the last few years and with the debut of the ballistic Sapphire, is one of the fastest-accelerating cars money can buy. The official claim is 0-60mph in 1.89 seconds, so we’re inferring 62mph in under two seconds. This absolute rocket ship does its good work thanks to 1,234PS (907kW) from three motors, while also offering up to 427 miles of (EPA-estimated) range. That’s a cool thing that might just be more appealing than any of the carbon-tubbed exotics on this list.
4. Aion Hyper SSR Ultimate – 1.9 seconds
A random supercar you’ve probably never heard of, from China? Surely more vapourware bait? Nope. The Aion Hyper SSR is very real and very much in production. The Ultimate is the quick one with 1,242PS (913kW) going to all four wheels, allowing for a 1.9-second 0-62mph sprint. That said, like with the Taycan, the ‘standard’ model isn’t exactly slow, with a claimed 2.3-second time to 62mph, even with rear-wheel-drive only. Dare we say compared to some of the myriad supercar upstarts we’ve seen over the last few years, it’s actually quite pretty, too?
3. Aspark Owl – 1.9 seconds
We’ve always had a bit of a soft spot for this thing. The Aspark Owl’s stunning design is Aston Martin Valkyrie and Nissan R390 meets Bullet Train. Appropriate references given this is a Japanese car. With four electric motors this car sports 2,012PS (1,479kW) and a 0-62mph time of 1.9 seconds. Aspark also reckons it’ll hit 260mph. What a wild and wonderful-looking machine and all the cooler given it’s actually in production, with the car first appearing as a concept as far back as 2017. Why we don’t hear or see more about it is a little confusing.
2. Rimac Nevera – 1.9 seconds
Of course, we hear plenty about this. The Rimac Nevera is the EV hypercar king, with Mate Rimac all but monopolising high-performance automotive electrification. You’ll find wares bits in everything from the Aston Martin Valkyrie and Koenigsegg Regera to the Pininfarina Battista, with which the Nevera shares some underpinnings. But the Nevera is Rimac’s best work, the ultimate showcase of what it can do, with 1,914PS (1,407kW) from four motors. It has more acceleration and speed records than you can shake a Guinness at and by all accounts, is a supremely capable, well-rounded, well-resolved and high-quality product. We’ll need a go ourselves in order to verify (pretty please, Mate). One record it doesn’t have, though, is acceleration. It acquiesces to…
1. Pininfarina Battista – 1.86 seconds
… one of Rimac’s esteemed clients, as mentioned above. Without doubt the most classically beautiful car on this list, as well it should be given the name. It’s of course the Pininfarina Automobili Battista, the all-electric hypercar named after the man himself and styled to carry the baton of the design house’s titans bygone. What it also has, however, is substance, with four motors and 1,900PS (1,397kW). It lunges to 62mph faster than any car you can buy today, in just 1.86 seconds.
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