Electric cars can slash fuel bills to pennies and cut the total cost of car ownership. For most of us, that’s a good thing, but some people don’t mind paying a premium for something a little flashier.
Some people want to advertise the fact they have money to burn. It’s the very basis of a capitalist society. Think about it: without that innate desire to rub our success in our neighbor’s face, designer labels just wouldn’t be a thing.
Also read: 10 of the fastest electric cars ever made: Ultimate power
It’s just the way of the world. So when the electric car hit the streets we already knew there would be someone there to make it faster, plusher, grander, and more gold-plated. So what are the most expensive electric cars in the world?
These cars aren’t all currently in production. Some of them haven’t made it to the streets yet, while others have quietly disappeared. In fact, it’s stunning how many of the world’s most expensive electric cars you actually can’t buy…
This, though, is an amazing insight into the ridiculous world of crazy electric cars with equally crazy price tags.
The most expensive electric cars, at a glance
- Rimac Nevera
- Aspark Owl
- Genovation GXE
- Mercedes Benz SLS Electric Drive
- Rolls-Royce 102 EX
- Lightning GT
- Tesla Roadster
- Pininfarina Battista
- Audi e-Tron GT
- Porsche Taycan Turbo S
1. Rimac Nevera
Price: $2.5 Million
Rimac formally unveiled the production version of its C_Two electric supercar. Now called the Rimac Nevera, the Croatian electric speed monster can blast from 0 to 60 mph in 1.85 seconds and has a top speed of 258 mph (415 kph). It will have a range of around 300 miles (483 km) and can go from 0 to 80 percent charged in just 19 minutes.
The production version of the electric supercar that was first unwrapped as a concept vehicle in 2018 sports a quad-motor setup with a total output of 1.4 MW or roughly 1,914 horsepower.
In order to control such power, the carmaker engineered an all-wheel vectoring system that serves as a traction control system and electronic stability. The system makes more than 100 calculations per second to aid the driving style of the occupant.
The Nevera also comes with 13 cameras, 12 ultrasonic sensors, and 6 radar sensors that are primarily utilized by the AI driving coach of the vehicle to help the driver handle tricky situations.
Rimac also gave the super EV a monocoque carbon fiber body that also serves as part of the housing of its H-shaped battery pack. Such integration helps give the overall setup the much-needed stiffness and a low center of gravity.
Inside the vehicle, there will be three screens that dominate the dashboard: a driver display, a passenger display, and a horizontal center console.
According to Rimac, there will only be 150 units rolling out of its production line. There’s is also a good possibility that no two units will be alike when delivered to customers because of the customization options made available by the manufacturer.
2. Aspark Owl
Price: $3.6 Million
If there’s another electric beast that can challenge the Rimac Nevera, that would be the Aspark Owl. Aside from having a heftier tag price, the halo product of the Osaka, Japan-based carmaker is ready to rumble with power installed on all corners. The combined output of its electric motors is pegged at 1,985 HP and an instantly available torque of 1,475 lb-ft.
The Aspark Owl can go from 0 to 60 mph in 1.72 seconds and hit a top speed of 249 mph (450 km). The Owl became the fastest accelerating car in the world on a one foot roll-out when it set this record at the Misano World Circuit in Italy on October 2020.
The electric supercar that was developed by Manifattura Automobili Torino (MAT) for Aspark has a 65 kWh battery pack that can offer a range of 280 miles (450 km) on a single charge.
The Owl has an aggressive stance highlighted by dramatic curves that will remind you of a mutation of Pininfarina, Lotus, and Ferrari. Its carbon-fiber monocoque body sits low on the ground with a ground clearance of just 6.3 inches (16 cm), with the height of the vehicle measured at 38.97 inches (99 cm).
Aspark will only produce 50 units of the Owl with 20 going to Europe, 20 to Asia, and 10 to the United States.
3. Genovation GXE
Price: $750,000
Take $750,000 in crisp banknotes to Genovation GXE and they’ll give you one of the fastest street-legal electric cars in the world. They’ll also give you a rebuilt Corvette Z06 C6, because they are one and the same thing.
The Genovation GXE hit a verified 205.6mph at the Space Shuttle Landing Facility at Cape Canaveral. It’s probably a matter of time before Rimac tops that record, or even Tesla if it wants to turn up the wick on the P100D. But right now, this car has the bragging rights.
The GXE has two electric motors, with 250kW each at their disposal. That means it has 602lb/ft of torque, on tap from a dead start, and the equivalent of 660 bhp.
It’s rear-wheel-drive and it was developed with a specific goal in mind, but despite the additional weight the team was determined to make it a proper sportscar. The weight distribution is 50/50 front/rear and the US outfit will take the car to the Nurburgring in Germany to prove its handling chops soon.
You get 130 miles of range with the GXE, under normal conditions. That’s enough, but you have to make allowances for this car. It isn’t a Tesla.
4. Mercedes Benz SLS Electric Drive
Price: $550,000
The electric Mercedes sportscar actually made it into production, briefly, but there are almost certainly less than 20 of these plug-in SLS in private hands. So you can write it off as a failure or start tracking one down, because it could be worth a fortune one day.
Like the Rimac, the SLS comes with an electric motor for each wheel and the electrical equivalent of 740 bhp. It has a massive 737 lb/ft of torque, too, but the 1200 lb battery pack slows the car down. Even a full carbon-fiber monocoque can’t make up for that kind of handicap.
So the 0-60mph time of 3.9 seconds is about as good as things were likely to get and it was always going to be electronically limited to 155 mph on paper to respect an age-old agreement between Mercedes, Audi, and BMW.
Mercedes put the car into production in 2014, and it’s a stark indication of how far the technology has come in just a few years. This car took three hours to charge with a 400V predecessor to the Supercharger. It weighed 4650 lb, 1230 lb more than the petrol version, and the range was limited to 155 miles.
Still, Mercedes was brave enough to go public with this car and actually put it on sale at a time when Audi was teasing us with R8 e-tron concepts and BMW could only offer hybrids. It was rough, it was heavy, and it was expensive. But the SLS Electric Drive was also a pioneer and it deserves its place in the history books.
5. Rolls-Royce 102 EX
Price: $500,000
Yes, we know Rolls-Royce has already revealed the 103 EX, but that isn’t a car. It’s a futurist’s dream of what motoring could be. The Electric Phantom, though, is a realistic proposition.
Rolls-Royce has already built one and let journalists loose in it, even though it claims it won’t manufacture the thing. This is the future of the world’s most luxurious car manufacturer, though: traditional craftsmanship with electric power.
It’s a marriage of old and new that could become Rolls Royce’s USP. It doesn’t need to follow the herd to try and create a sci-fi program on wheels. Heritage is the company’s calling card, so it needs to actually build and sell cars exactly like this.
Don’t expect anything particularly revolutionary, the iconic British manufacturer has basically just swapped out the V12 petrol engine for a battery pack and motor that gives it 290kW and a 124-mile range.
But it’s a Rolls-Royce — it doesn’t need massive performance. It needs to waft along in perfect silence, with the Lord of the Manor in the back reading a newspaper and Jeeves doing the driving.
6. Lightning GT
Price: $300,000
We all want this to be true, but the Lightning GT has had more comebacks than Rocky, and it’s due for yet another relaunch.
Now, we’re not calling shenanigans just yet. Launching a boutique car company is a rocky road, but we thought twice about including it here just because it is starting to look like vaporware. Lightning needs to stop launching this car and start producing it.
The British firm launched a traditional petrol-powered version of this very car all the way back in 2008. Since then, it has evolved into a diesel, and now it’s an all-electric supercar. We just hope that’s the final spec and we don’t see a nuclear GT at the motor shows in the coming years.
Lightning claims to have two 22kWh Lithium-Titanate battery pack strings that can recharge in ten minutes. It also comes with an onboard charger that can fully charge the car in five hours. It’s possible, we guess.
You can technically order a Lightning and you might technically be able to put down a sizeable deposit on a $300,000 purchase. But just because you can, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you should.
7. Tesla Roadster
Price: $200,000
Most see Teslas as very expensive vehicles, so it is surprising to see how low they are on this list. The most expensive of the brand is currently the new Tesla Roadster, which was announced in late 2017 and is now scheduled for a 2022 release date.
This car is not just sexy, it has the power to take on plenty of race cars, and it is said to be quicker than any street-legal production car to-date.
The upcoming Tesla Roadster can get from 0 to 60 mph in just 1.9 seconds. All thanks to its 200 kWh battery, three motors and 7,400 lb/ft torque. It has a top speed of 250mph, and because of the larger battery, it can also boast a 620-mile range. This is simply unheard of in the electric car market.
Those interested will have to be ready to fork out at least $200,000. Or if you have too much money just laying around, you can also get the Founders Series version for $250,000.
8. Pininfarina Battista
Price: $2.6 million
If there’s another electric supercar that can challenge the Rimac Nevera and the Aspark Owl, it will be the Italian-made, all-electric Pininfarina Battista supercar.
The Battista specs are also impressive with 1,900 HP coming from its electric motors. It has access to 1,649 lb-ft of torque that brings the car from a standstill to 62 mph (100 kph) in less than 2 seconds. It can hit a top speed of 218 mph (350 kph).
The Battista will come with a 120 kWh battery pack that gives it a range of 311 miles (500 km) on a single charge.
The electric powertrain will share some DNA with Rimac’s Nevera but the Italian carmaker emphasized before that there will be significant technical differences between the electric supercars.
Having a long history of excellent car design, the Battista has the classic looks for a mid-engined supercar despite sporting electric motors and low-mounted batteries.
Only 150 units of the Battista will roll out from the production line. However, Automobili Pininfarina hinted that it will produce three more electric vehicles in the next five years.
9. Audi e-Tron GT
Price: $164,000
The Audi e-Tron GT shares a good amount of its DNA with its Porsche Taycan cousin. On its third iteration, and probably it’s most exciting so far, the four-door electric sports car relies on a dual-motor setup. The total output is a decent 469 HP with an overboost function that gives you 522 HP for 2.5 seconds.
If you opt for the RS model, the Audi e-Tron GT performance improves a notch with an output of 590 HP and an overboost that brings that up to 637 HP. The torque also comes at 612 lb-ft compared to the RT version with 464 lb-ft.
The entry-level e-Tron GT will not beat a Tesla Roadster or a Battista but you can’t complain much when a vehicle can hit 0 to 60 mph in just 3.9 seconds. The RS model can go a blink faster and hits 60 mph from a standstill in 3.1 seconds.
In terms of range, the GT version can give you 238 miles while the more aggressive RS can go 232 miles.
The e-Tron GT interior is leather-free and instead makes use of faux suede and recycled materials. Its dashboard is dominated by a 10.1-inch touchscreen in the center console. The driver has a clear view of a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster. The EV will sport a roof made from carbon fiber reinforced plastic.
10. Porsche Taycan Turbo S
Price: $185,000
The Porsche Taycan is the first electrified Porsche to hit the market. The top of the line Turbo S is one of the quickest electric vehicles in the market today.
The Porsche Taycan Turbo S performance is impressive. It has a 750 HP power output with overboost and can bring the car from 0 to 60 mph in just 2. 6 seconds. That’s almost at par with the 1,000-HP Bugatti Veyron supercar with a sticker price of $1.7 million that hits 60 mph in 2.5 seconds. It has a top speed of 260 mph (418 kph)
The only weak point of the Taycan Turbo S might be its driving range now pegged at 206 miles, but that’s really more than enough when you get that sportscar sensation.
Read next: 10 of the fastest electric cars ever made: UItimate power
There you have it — these are definitely some of the most expensive electric cars, but if money was no object, which one would you pick?