BERLIN: An Italian-Japanese hypercar has shaken the electric car world by streaking to a record 438.73 kph at a track in Germany.
The blistering run by the wild-looking Aspark Owl SP600 took place on the 1.8km straight in northern German racetrack at Papenburg.
The Owl has dethroned the Rimac Nevera (412kph) from Croatia as the world's fastest electric speed machine. That car had set the previous benchmark at the same place in March this year.
Most talk around electric cars centres on maximising range and battery efficiency, but engineers around the world have been working for years on getting the vehicles to reach mind-boggling speeds.
Electric vehicles designed for everyday use speed limiters which help conserve battery energy and brakes, preventing rapid drain and wear at high speeds. The weight of batteries is also a limiting factor.
Some electric hypercars now put petrol-driven performance cars to shame and nearly all boast jet fighter-style acceleration like the Owl, which needs a mere 1.98 seconds to bound from 0 to 100kph.
The third fastest electric car is the Pininfarina Battista which was clocked at 358kph and uses Rimac technology. The number four slot goes to US brand Lucid for its Sapphire (330kph).
Tesla more or less invented the electric performance car and its family saloon, the Model S Plaid, can top 328kph to secure fifth place providing road rules allow.
Germany is about the only country in the world where such speeds are permitted on some public roads.
The 320kph-fast Maserati Granturismo Folgore (the last word in the name means lightning in Italian) takes sixth place and is also the most powerful car in the manufacturer's range.
Not far behind is Porsche Taycan, which has a respectable top speed of 305kph for the number seven slot.
Not quite in the same league is the Lotus Electre R (260kph) in eighth place while the Emeya R from the same stable is hard on its tail at 258kph as the world's ninth fastest electric.
Tenth place goes to the Audi e-tron GT, which borrows heavily from Porsche to create a svelte and luxurious long-distance cruiser.
In range-topping RS guise it gives all other hyper-electrics a good run for their money but top speed is pegged from the factory at 250kph.
