Fastest Electric Vehicles in the Planet Today

       Electric cars shows up in the news these times. There are several reasons for the continuing interest in these vehicles, one is, electric cars create less pollution than gasoline-powered cars, so they are an environmentally friendly alternative to gasoline-powered vehicles (especially in cities).
     Vehicles powered by fuel cells are electric cars, and fuel cells are getting a lot of attention right now in the news.
     How fast can electric vehicles go? Here we list the top contenders of each category, not just all-electric racing cars, but motorcycles, boats, buggies and even bar stools. “Electric motors have the advantage of instant torque, which means that you don’t have a clutch and you don’t have transmission,” said Joshua Allan, vehicle engineering manager for electric drive system maker AC Propulsion.
     The vehicles are rated based on their top speed. Speed records nowadays are easily broken, so as of this writing, these are the planet's top ten fastest electric vehicles.

Lawless Rocket electric motorcycle via
http://green.autoblog.com

1. Rocket,an electric drag racer custom-built by Shawn Lawless and Orange County Choppers, driven by Larry McBride held the record by going 185.46 mph at Virginia Sports Park.Outside the drag racing arena, racer Chip Yates set an unofficial record in April by going 190.6 mph in the Mohave Mile.He’s said that his bike hit 227 mph once during stress testing. In September, Dube and Hakansson will be racing a cigar-shaped electric motorcycle at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah. He’s hoping to “borrow” another record.

Brammo Empulse 10.0 
Image via Brammo.com

2. The EM5000, made by Liberty Electric Bikes, packs a lithium-ion-phosphate battery, can top 55 mph, has a top range between 50 and 90 miles, and retails around $5,500. Zero Motorcycles’ street legal Zero S can hit 67 mph, has a range up to 58 miles, and costs about $10K. The Ventrix VX-1 Li+ has a maximum  speed of 68 mph, a range of 55 to 85 miles, and retails for about 14K. Brammo, which just opened a production facility in Europe, makes the Empulse 10.0, which the company says can exceed 100 mph and go100 miles on a single charge. Like the Ventrix, it costs about $14K.




3. Buckeye Bullet. Last year, the electric vehicle built by Ohio State University’s Center for Auto Research with an A123 Systems lithium-ion battery averaged 307.7 mph miles at the Bonneville Salt Flats. Its top speed was 320 mph.

Buckeye Bullet 2.5 
Image via Wikipedia

Tesla's Model S
Image via teslamotors.com

4. The world record holder for an electric production car is a Tesla Roadster Sport driven by Scotty Pollacheck in July 2009 on the Portland International Raceway. He went 102.89 mph in 12.643 seconds, according to NEDRA. Five years after shocking the automotive world by unveiling a battery-powered Lotus Elise, Elon Musk, CEO and founder of Tesla Motors, announced that his electric car company "will build a high-performance version of the Model S that will go zero to 60 (mph) in 4.5 seconds. That's faster than a Porsche 911Carrera." The company claimed that its top-speed is 130 mph.

Black Current III
Image via hvwc.org

5. Setting a new record for a non-rail drag car, is a modified a 1965 VW Beetle called the Black Current III. Sam and Olly Young, the makers,hit their ride to 132.22 mph in the UK. The car is ran by a custom lithium cobalt oxide battery pack is similar to those in model airplanes. Check out the cool beetle on the right.



6. The eCortina V2 hybrid bicycle designed by Roy Prince resembles a durable mountain bike on the outside but packs lithium polymer batteries. While the bike can be pedaled, using the motor alone can get it to 45 mph.


7. American Mike Bontoft’s 98.8 mph run in a circuit electric battery-powered 144-volt hydroplane. Bontoft and racing partner Lorhring Miller set the record at Devil’s Lake in Oregon. Their boat is made up of fiberglass, carbon fiber, honeycomb and A123 Systems batteries. During an early test run, the boat hit 101mph.