EVs shift up a gear

Nine of the 30 fastest cars in the world over a quarter mile (0.4km) are now all-electric or hybrids.

That’s according to Select Car Leasing which has created an interactive drag race between the 30 fastest cars on the planet to see just how far they have come.

The two cars with the fastest 0-60mph (96.5km/h) sprint times are all-electric or hybrid.

Electric hypercar the Pininfarina Battista will do that in less than two seconds, making it the fastest production car in the world when it hits showrooms in 2020, Select Car Leasing adds.

Electric cars accelerate quicker than petrol cars but lack the top speed to win over a quarter mile, it reports.

“Tesla produces five of the quickest 30 cars to reach 60mph, and they’re all-electric.

“The myth that electric cars are slow and boring to drive is eroding by the year, beating the performance of traditional petrol cars.”

Select Car Leasing points to its interactive drag race as showing how electric cars have now caught up and, in some cases, surpassed the performance that petrol cars offer, “and the gap is only going to grow”.

“The innovation focus in motoring is firmly set on electric cars and it’s quite possible that we’ve already seen the peak that petrol cars will ever get to with the likes of the Dodge Challenger SRT Demon and Ariel Atom 500.”

The report also highlights the increasing popularity of electric racing like Formula E and the rise of Tesla in showing people how quick EVs can be.

The five fastest cars over the quarter mile are listed, in order, as the Dodge Challenger SRT Demon (petrol), Bugatti Veyron Super Sport (petrol), Faraday FF91 (all-electric), Maclaren P1 (hybrid electric) and Porsche 918 Spyder (hybrid electric).

In the 0-60mph stakes, the top five were, in order, the Porsche 918 Spyder (hybrid electric), Tesla Model S P100D (all-electric), Dodge Challenger SRT Demon (petrol), Ariel Atom 500 (V8 – petrol) and Lamborghini Huracan Performante (petrol).