Rimac's Concept_One, which was unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show, claims to be the world's fastest electric car, with speed of 220 mph and going from 0 to 62 mph in just 2.6 seconds. Genovation Cars, however, now holds the record for the world's fastest street-legal all-electric vehicle with its GXE.
GXE, which stands for Genovation eXtreme Electric, is a prototype high-performance, all-electric version of the Chevrolet Corvette. The company was testing the vehicle in a facility in Florida to gather data on how to improve its performance, but ended up breaking the record on Feb. 23.
The top speed that the GXE set was 186.8 mph, eclipsing the previous record of 177 mph, which was set by a Finland-made prototype EV. In the driver's seat at the time was multi-record holder Johnny Bohmer, and riding shotgun was project manager Bob Simpson.
The record was certified by the International Mile Racing Association.
"We are thrilled that the result of our development testing led to the setting of this record," said Andrew Saul, the CEO of Genovation.
It should also be noted that the record was accomplished on the first day of testing, which means that the GXE could still further raise the bar as Genovation acquires and analyzes data from the tests to improve the car.
The model that Genovation used for the GXE was the 2006 Corvette Z06 customized with an advanced battery management system with electric motors and inverters. The setup allows the vehicle to pump out more than 700 horsepower and 600 pound-feet of torque, with a six-speed manual transmission and range of about 150 miles on a full charge.
With Rimac unveiling the production model for the Concept_One, the record could soon be broken. However, until then, Genovation's GXE will hold the title as the world's fastest street-legal all-electric vehicle.
