Guide to EV Supercar

Slowly but surely major supercar and hypercar manufacturers are adding EVs to their lineup (the Volvo Polestar supercar and Taycan EV by Porsche come to mind), while many others have theirs in development, such as Lotus, Tesla and Ariel.

Read on to find out more about the exciting world of electric supercars:

What is a Supercar?

Although many types of vehicles come under this at times broad category, supercars are generally defined as high-performing sports vehicles that are street-legal. They are usually the signature sports vehicles of a manufacturer unless it is a supercar manufacturer, such as Lamborghini or Ferrari.

Supercars have had a relatively subjective history with debate surrounding whether the Lamborghini Muir from the early 70s was the first. However, the term was used to describe muscle cars in the United States a decade prior.

While early prototype EV supercars were touted for many years, the Rimac Concept One takes the mantle of the first ever fully street-legal electric supercar.

Certain attributes are commonly associated with supercars:

• A high top speed allows it to perform well on a track
• They are expensive, with prices typically containing six figures, if not more
• Supercars often have more precision engineering put into them, compared to retail sports car
• Rarity – a lot of supercars are only sold in a limited quantity, making them highly collectible

Supercars are more suited to track driving than normal roads. While they are street-legal and perfectly capable of traveling on normal roads, they require a bit more skill than a sports car to drive and show their real potential on a proper racetrack.

Continuing on their niche position, supercars aren’t cheap. They should be considered as a purchase when you have a major passion for collecting cars or a specific interest in using them to race on the track.

What is the difference between a sports car and a supercar?

While more of an adaptation of the genre, rather than a different breed, supercars could be called the ”higher spec, more powerful and iconic” version of a sports car.

Despite often being built on the same platform, the quality of their parts also can make them significantly more expensive than retail sports cars.

The Best EV Supercars on the Market in 2023

When it comes to electric supercars, the market is expanding rapidly. From industry innovators like Tesla to classic companies like Porsche and niche specialists like Ariel and Rimac, everyone wants in on the EV supercar game so they can build race-ready machines that can adapt to the future of automobiles.

We’ve compiled some of the most popular supercars, ranging from practical yet powerful to solid segment leaders and outrageously crazy electric hypercars. Here are our top 3 picks:

Porsche Taycan Turbo S

Offering the best of both worlds, the Taycan has seen worldwide success in combining the balance of a practical electric saloon with a silent and high-performance racecar that can take on the track with ease. The first major challenger to Tesla’s Model S, it has cemented itself as a solid EV supercar contender.

• 4-door and 4-seater saloon,
• Power: 560 kW (751bhp), AWD
• Top Speed: 162 mph
• 245 miles range with a 93.4 kWh Li-ion battery

While being a decent jack of all trades, the Taycan does fall short when it comes to the eye-catching aesthetics of an expensive sports car, sacrificing them for utility and practical benefits.

Polestar 6

Volvo’s premium EV sub-brand Polestar is planning to release a high-spec electric supercar, the Polestar 6, by 2026. Built on the Polestar Precept, this 2 door roadster is focused on a vision of sustainability that is uncompromising on performance, with features such as aluminum construction to cut weight for high speeds.

• 2-Seater, 2-door Roadster
• Power: Dual motor system with 650kW target
• Top Speed: 155 mph
• 370+ miles expected range

While the Polestar 6 EV supercar is still years away from release, the range does seem a bit ambitious. We never know though as battery tech is always evolving to potentially match the claimed efficiency.

Tesla Roadster

Perhaps the most exciting EV supercar on the horizon, the Tesla Roadster expected in 2024 has taken the world by storm with its incredible claims of 0 – 60 in 1.9 seconds. And if someone can do it, it’s Tesla. The organization has had a paradigm-shifting impact on the EV market and continues to dominate it. Now they’re back to the origin point and reinventing the Roadster, which ironically was where they began their EV journey in 2008.

• 2-Seater, 2-door Roadster
• Dual motor AWD drive, 738 lb-ft of Torque
• Top speed: 249 mph
• Upto 620 miles on a 200kWh battery

Although the original Roadster didn’t live up to its promise, the hope is that Tesla can deliver a more solid and consistent experience on the next supercar offering.

Which is the rarest supercar in the world?

While there are tons of contenders for the rarest supercar in the world such as the Lamborghini Veneno, Nissan R390 GT1, and the Pagani Zonda Revolucion, if we had to go by numbers, the rarest supercar ever built was the one-off Ferrari P4/5 built exclusively for American producer James Glickenhaus.

While rarity might be a bit confusing with the huge number of crazy prototypes in the EV supercar world, The Lotus Evija is quite expensive and rare and is currently priced at £2.4M (almost $3M).

Outro

With so many exciting options present and several on the horizon, the world of supercars is yet to experience a true taste of electric performance. As time passes, acceleration and battery tech is only going to improve, making for better long-term performance in EV supercars. If you’re interested in EVs, check out some of our other exciting EV vehicle-type pages:

• Hatchbacks
• Sedans
• Coupes
• Sports cars
• Grand Tourers
• Micro/City cars
• SUVs
• Pickups
• Crossovers
• MiniSupercar