Mat the go pedal in almost any electric vehicle and you’ll surely be surprised by how quickly it accelerates. That’s because EVs are inherently quick in a straight line thanks largely to their motors’ instantaneous torque. With enough power, these EVs aren’t just notably quick off the line, they’re also insanely quick up to 60 mph and then some. It’s why really powerful electric models exist in an even higher-performance stratosphere alongside supercars.
We’ve tested a number of EVs to date, and out of those, only a handful have rocketed to 60 mph in less than 3.5 seconds. Don’t confuse quick for fast, though, as the two terms mean different things.
Quick refers to a vehicle’s acceleration, whereas fast refers to its top speed, and they’re not mutually exclusive. For instance, the GMC Hummer EV is quick but not fast. The electric pickup truck hits 60 mph in 3.3 seconds but tops out at 106 mph. On the flip side, the Lucid Air is quick and fast, with the 1111-hp Dream Edition Performance from 2022 hitting 60 mph in 2.6 ticks on its way to a 173-mph top speed. Make sense?
Now that we’ve established the ground rules, let’s take a look at the models we’ve tested that hit 60 mph in 3.5 seconds or less. For some of the EVs mentioned below, we’ve tested multiple versions, but for the purpose of this list, we’re only including the quickest variant.
