Rimac
- Traditional luxury carmakers like Aston Martin and Porsche are creating bonafide fully-electric supercars.
- Smaller companies, such as Dendrobium and Aspark, have also been entering the field with four-digit horsepower cars.
- Here are 11 of the most powerful electric supercars you can buy, including the one that James Bond may be driving in the next "007" film.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
Though it gets a lot of attention, Tesla isn’t the only company creating electric cars.
Some traditional carmakers like Aston Martin and Porsche are exploring the rapidly-growing electric car field with super powerful new models which add their own flair for luxury and speed to the market.
Meanwhile, other much smaller companies are exploring the high-end electric sector, such as the relatively unknown Aspark — which hasn’t even released a production vehicle yet.
Horsepower is measured a little differently for electric cars, as an electric motors’ full torque is deployed as soon as the driver steps on the accelerator. That means an electric car can feel more powerful than an internal-combustion-engined (ICE) car with the same horsepower rating at the low end, but start to lose some of its gusto at sustained high speeds unlike a gas-powered car.
With that crucial difference in mind, here are 11 of the most powerful electric cars money can buy, including some that are setting world records.
Nio EP9
REUTERS/Aly Song
Nio has been called the "Tesla of China." With the EP9 supercar, it’s obvious the company means business.
The car has a top speed of 195 mph and horsepower rating of 1,341, giving it a zero-to-60 time of only 2.7 seconds. Nio boasts the car has double the downforce of a Formula One racecar and delivers a F-22 fighter pilot experience by cornering at 3G.
The EP9 has a range of 265 miles before needing a new charge, and a full charge takes 45 minutes. The car also has an interchangeable battery system that takes 8 minutes to swap.
The Nio EP9 is also self-driving and set a record in 2017 for the fastest lap driven by an autonomous car at the Circuit of Americas track.
At least six of the 16 produced units have been sold to investors at $1.2 million each.
Tesla Model S Performance
Bryan Logan/Business Insider
Tesla no longer boasts the horsepower ratings for its cars, but the $99,990 Tesla Model S Performance is plenty powerful. It can propel its nearly 5,000-pound frame to 60 mph in just 2.4 seconds. Tesla says its top speed is 163 mph and it carries an average range of 345 before complete discharge.
Owners can recharge at the company’s Supercharger locations, where 15 minutes is good for 130 miles in optimal conditions.
Rimac’s Concept One and C_Two
Rimac
Rimac’s Concept One, which debuted in 2011, has a rating of 1,224 horsepower, allowing it to reach top speeds of 220 mph and hit 62 mph from a standstill in just 2.5 seconds. The nearly $1 million supercar’s 90 kWh battery pack gives it a 310-mile range.
Rimac made only 88 units of the supercar, and British TV personality Richard Hammond famously crashed one in 2017.
In 2018, the Croatian company unveiled Concept One’s successor, the C_Two. With a 1,914 horsepower rating and a 403-mile range, the newer sibling is able to go from zero-to-60 in 1.85 seconds and a 256 mph top speed
The supercar can be charged 80% in 30 minutes when it’s connected to a 250 kW fast-charging network. It also includes a list of driver assistance systems, such as facial recognition to open doors and start the engine. It can also scan your face to determine your mood, and if the C_Two determines emotions such as stress or anger, it will start playing soothing music.
The planned 150 units of the $2.1 million car were nearly all purchased within three weeks of orders opening. The cars will be delivered in 2020.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
See Also:
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- Tesla just announced a giant new battery
- A top Lyft exec has left after less than 18 months on the job, and the stock is dipping
Source: Business Insider – bchang@businessinsider.com (Brittany Chang)