The 7 EVs with the Fastest Top Speeds

While the most important specs for an electric vehicle tend to be its price and range per charge, there are some EVs with a truly remarkable top speed to boot. This particular spec is something of an underdog compared to price and range, as it’s not nearly given the kind of attention these two get.

Nevertheless, having a seriously fast top speed is as impressive as an affordable price or a long range. To highlight some of the fastest electric vehicles, we’ve assembled a list of the 7 EVs with the fastest top speeds.

Top speed is an important measure of a car’s true performance. More than simply looking at basic horsepower or 0-60 mph speed, examining a car’s top speed lets you know the kind of true power the car actually has.

For instance, you can be certain that an EV with a top speed of only 100 mph is going to begin struggling around 70-75 mph. To illustrate this point, we’ve brought together seven EVs with the fastest top speeds. Across different brands, countries, manufacturers, and more, these are the fastest EVs money can buy today.

EVs with the Fastest Top Speeds

From Tesla and Lucid Motors to Lotus, Rimac, and various other electric vehicle brands in between, these are the 7 EVs with the fastest top speeds. We’ve ranked them from lowest to highest, but don’t be mistaken; even the vehicles on the lower end of the list are far faster than many of the most popular EVs on the market today. Here are the top contenders.

• Porsche Taycan Turbo S: 161 mph
• Tesla Model 3 Performance: 162 mph
• Tesla Model X Plaid: 163 mph
• Lucid Air Dream Edition Performance: 168 mph
• Tesla Model S Plaid: 200 mph
• Lotus Evija: More than 200 mph
• Rimac Nevera: 258 mph

7. Porsche Taycan Turbo S

The Porsche Taycan, first introduced by the German automobile manufacturer in 2019, is one of the most luxurious and impressive electric vehicles on the market today. This is no surprise, given the Porsche name attached to it.

First introduced to consumers in 2019, the Porsche Taycan comes in a variety of different powertrain options: the Taycan 4, the 4S, the GTS, the Turbo, and the Turbo S. The last of these, the Porsche Taycan Turbo S, proves to be one of the 7 EVs with the fastest top speeds.

With a 0-60 mph speed of just 2.6 seconds and a top speed of 161 miles per hour, the Porsche Taycan Turbo S blows past dozens upon dozens of rival EVs with ease. Its starting price of over $185,000 sets it above and beyond just as many EVs, too.

The Turbo S’s range leaves a lot to be desired — coming in at just under 225 miles per charge — but everything about the Porsche Taycan Turbo S just screams peak performance. Its top speed of 161 miles per hour secures this #7 spot with relative ease.

6. Tesla Model 3 Performance

There’s a lot about the Tesla Model 3 Performance that pales in comparison to the Porsche Taycan Turbo S. From its horsepower to its 0-60 mph speed, it trails the Turbo S in more than a few key areas. However, the Tesla Model 3 Performance still manages to have a leg up on the Turbo S where it matters most: price, range, and, most importantly, top speed.

As it stands, the Tesla Model 3 Performance has a top speed of 162 miles per hour. That’s just one single mile per hour faster than the Porsche Taycan Turbo S. Combine this with the Tesla Model 3 Performance’s price and range, and you can see why it deserves to rank just above the Turbo S.

Its range is more than 90 additional miles per charge, while its price is more than $130,000 less. Even with a horsepower 300 hp lower than the Taycan Turbo S and a 0-60 mph speed half a second slower, the Tesla Model 3 Performance easily bests the Porsche where it makes the most difference.

It comes in at #6, just barely outside of the top 5. (Fans of the brand should fear not, though; two of the top 5 are Teslas, as well.)

5. Tesla Model X Plaid

The Tesla Model X Plaid was first brought to the market in 2021 after years of anticipation. (Its name derives from the movie Spaceballs (1987), which includes a joke about a spaceship’s super speed being dubbed “Plaid.”)

Super speed was the goal when developing the Model X Plaid, and it’s safe to say that Tesla went far and beyond success here. The Tesla Model X Plaid is so much more than just one of the EVs with the fastest top speeds. It’s also the most impressive and highest-performing SUV to ever hit the streets.

Looking at the horsepower, the 0-60 mph speed, and the MSRP of the Tesla Model X Plaid, it’s a lot easier to see why this particular EV earns a spot in the top 5. That’s not even mentioning the top speed, either; 163 miles per hour, one mile per hour over the Tesla Model 3 Performance and two miles per hour over the Porsche Taycan Turbo S.

Its price sits comfortably between the Model 3 Performance and the Taycan Turbo S, coming in at $130,590 — much more than the former, but far cheaper than the latter.

4. Lucid Air Dream Edition Performance

The Lucid Air Dream Edition Performance is a truly jaw-dropping electric vehicle, and that’s before taking a look at its specs. Based on the look of the EV alone, it deserves to be considered alongside some of the very best to hit the market to date.

This only becomes more true once you begin looking at its actual specs: 471 miles per hour of EPA estimated range per charge, a 0-60 mph speed of just two and a half seconds, and 1,080 horsepower. The Lucid Air Dream Edition Performance really stays true to its dreamy name.

What else is there to mention? Oh, right. The actual top speed of the Lucid Air Dream Edition Performance, which reaches 168 miles per hour. Forget about the number 5 through 7 spots that only increase top speed by one mile per hour.

The Lucid Air Dream Edition takes a significant step up from the Tesla Model X Plaid’s top speed of 163 miles per hour. (Five steps up, to be precise. Its top speed is a whole five miles per hour faster at 168 mph.) Though its $169,000 price tag makes it the second-most-expensive EV on the list, its top speed secures it at #4.

3. Tesla Model S Plaid

Remember everything that put the Tesla Model X Plaid at the #5 spot? The Tesla Model S Plaid is everything great about that model…plus more. Greater range, greater horsepower, greater 0-60 mph speed, and — most importantly — better top speed.

It’s a drastically improved vehicle across the board, delivering 390 miles per charge, 1,035 horsepower, and a 0-60 mph speed of 1.9 seconds. It’s astonishing, and honestly a little difficult to even fathom without being behind the wheel of the thing.

Just wait until you hear the top speed, too: 200 miles per hour. More than 30 miles per hour faster than even the Lucid Air Dream Edition Performance. You’d be hard-pressed to find a better 0-60 mph speed anywhere else on the market, EV or not.

That’s only reaffirmed by the Tesla Model S Plaid’s range, horsepower, and top speed. Suffice it to say, it more than earns its nearly $140,000 price tag. It’s a lot of money, to be sure, but it’s more than reasonable for all the spectacular specs you’re getting for it.

2. Lotus Evija

It’s interesting, the Lotus Evija is a $2.3 million dollar car, but many of its specs actually come out to be less impressive than other EVs’ with the fastest top speeds at a fraction of the price. Of course, Lotus is one of the — if not the absolute — most luxurious car manufacturers on the market.

The car’s seven-figure price tag is representative of this status, even if its 0-60 mph speed and its EPA estimated range alone would put it much lower on this list. Nevertheless, the Lotus Evija has that coveted fast top speed we’re looking for, which puts it at #2 here.

Currently advertized as reaching speeds of more than 200 miles per hour (with nothing more specific than that just yet), the Lotus Evija can safely be locked in here at #2. While we don’t know its exact top speed — and probably won’t until it hits streets in 2023 — its estimated top speed places it above the Tesla Model S Plaid by a slim margin.

Still, no matter how slim that margin may be, it’s still higher than the #3 spot. Expect an update when the Lotus Evija officially drops.

1. Rimac Nevera

Limited to a production of just 150 vehicles per year, it’s not super likely you’ll see a Rimac Nevera out on the streets any time soon. They’re about as rare as rare can be. And not just because of that seven-figure, $2.05 million price tag either.

The Rimac Nevera first hit the streets in 2021, which means there are probably well under 500 cars out there today. Still, in spite of its rarity, the Rimac Nevera is the best of all the EVs with the fastest top speeds. Frankly, it could win based on its horsepower and 0-60 mph alone. Its top speed takes it over the edge.

Boasting an EPA estimated range of 340 miles per charge, a total horsepower of 1,914, and a 0-60 mph speed of 1.9 seconds or less, the Rimac Nevera is absolutely astounding. It has the top speed to match, too: 258 miles per hour, well over the #2 Lotus Evija, and more than 100 miles per hour faster than the #7 Porsche Taycan Turbo S.

It’s going to be a long, long time before any other EV brand can topple the Nevera from this #1 spot. There’s no question why it tops the list of EVs with the fastest top speeds.

The image featured at the top of this post is ©d1sk/Shutterstock.com.