1. Porsche Taycan

$150,000

...The best luxury electric car

The all-new sport sedan may be the world's most advanced car—we just wish it felt more like a Porsche of old.

The Taycan moves with the thrust of an electric railgun, catching passengers and even drivers off guard with its seemingly unrestrained energy. But shocking as the launch can be—the more powerful Turbo S variant will reach 60 mph in just 2.6 seconds—the smooth highway offers little to upset the suspension. By 120 mph, I can feel the slipstream pushing me down, with no audible turbulence. That’s a result of the 0.22 drag coefficient, the best ever from Porsche, and more slippery than a Tesla Model 3. By 140 mph, just I’m expecting biblical-level wind noise and tire roar, the cabin’s vibe is surreal calm. At 160 mph, even the cars up ahead feel like they’re somehow already behind me. And still, the Taycan Turbo S, with its outrageous 750 horsepower (overboosted from the standard Turbo’s 616) and 774 pound-feet of torque, remains ready to do more.

All that battery does make it a heavy car, however, at 5,100 pounds. While the capable motors and the tight suspension mask the weight well, the Taycan tends to plow into corners if you wait too long to get on the brakes. I felt the mass most acutely, though, when I crested a dipsy-do at inappropriate speed somewhere in rural Denmark, and bottomed out on the other side.

2. Tesla Model S

...The best electric performance car

$99,990

Tesla Model S Review. The Tesla Model S is a remarkable electric car, blending high performance with luxury, a high-tech cabin and zero emissions. One of its few downsides is that it's quite a bit more expensive than your average upmarket saloon.

• Astonishingly quick
• Extremely quiet
• High-tech cabin

The Tesla Model S is an all-electric executive saloon that combines amazing performance with zero tailpipe emissions, a luxurious, high-tech cabin and tremendous refinement.

Compared with the likes of the petrol- and diesel-powered Mercedes E-Class, BMW 5 Series and Audi A6, the futuristic Tesla Model S is like a Fender Stratocaster with a massive amplifier in the company of acoustic guitars. Sure the electric Model S might not produce any discernable engine sound, but its supercar-like performance is more like a searing rock solo than the German cars’ humble rhythm section.

3. Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Coupé Electric

...With the SLS AMG Coupé Electric Drive, Mercedes-AMG is entering a new era: the locally emission-free super sports car featuring advanced technology from the world of Formula 1 represents the most exclusive and dynamic form of electric motoring. The most powerful AMG high-performance vehicle of all time has four electric motors producing a total output of 552 kW and maximum torque of 1000 Nm. As a result, the gullwing model has acquired the status of the world's fastest electrically-powered series production vehicle: the SLS AMG Coupé Electric Drive accelerates from zero to 100 km/h in a mere 3.9 seconds. Meanwhile, the exclusively tuned "SLS eSound" means that this matchless driving experience stirs the emotions acoustically too in typical AMG fashion

But who are we kidding? Customers who can afford the $500,000-plus electric SLS will have people to worry about range anxiety for them. When deliveries begin later this year, the SLS ED will be a very quick, very fun novelty toy—batteries included—for fewer than 200 well-heeled Europeans. (There currently are no plans for U.S. sales.) For Mercedes-Benz and AMG, the electric gullwing is a research test bed exploring the future of electric propulsion and high-performance vehicles.

4. Audi e-tron GT

...The e-tron GT also has an advantage thanks to the vast corporate engineering hotpot that is the Volkswagen Audi Group. Under the Audi exterior, the GT uses the same technology as Porsche's upcoming Taycan. It features a flat-floor architecture, dubbed internally "J1," that's part of the group's Premium Platform Electromobility strategy. That platform houses a 90-kWh battery pack, situated low between the wheels in order to give the GT a center of gravity equivalent to an R8. Having a supercar-low center of gravity should benefit the GT's handling, meaning Audi can market this EV as a desirable, high-performance premium vehicle first, with its environmental credentials playing a supporting role.

That the GT will be part of the Audi Sport GmbH product offensive reinforces this strategy, as does the fact its two electric motors produce a combined output of 434 kW, or 582 horsepower. That's enough power to propel the e-tron GT to 62 mph in around 3.5 seconds and 124 mph in 12 seconds, before reaching its electronically regulated 149 mph maximum. Audi is quick to point out the repeatability of that sparkling performance, too, sneakily highlighting some of its upstart rival's inadequacies in battery cooling.

5. Citroen Survolt

...Citroen's striking electric Survolt concept appeared back in 2010, way before the current crop of electric supercars were conceived.

Twin electric motors develop around 300bhp, pushing the Survolt from 0-60mph in under 5 seconds. Such is the torquey nature of an electric engine, that no gearbox is required. The racecar style bodywork features colour coded sideskirts and front splitter, with a prominent rear wing for downforce. The Survolt is a mere 3.9 metres in length, which is admirable for being compact, but does make the side on view a little odd. Onboard batteries provide a range of around 120 miles - good at the time but technology has moved on.

The Survolt concept will not see production, but the single example has been valued at a whopping £1.5 million.

The Survolt features two-tone paintwork in shades of fuchsia and charcoal grey. Its curves shift from satin-smooth to shiny, flouting the classic masculine codes of the sports world

The compact Survolt takes sports car styling cues and gives them an individual twist.

Low-slung and sleek, the Survolt features strong contrasts between the voluptuous bonnet and sculpted flanks, highlighted by emphatic wheel arches that promise performance and thrills.

6. Pininfarina Battista

...This, ladies and gentlemen, is the most powerful road-legal car ever to come out of Italy. It’s probably worth pondering that for a second. Thanks to a 120 kWh lithium ion battery pack, the Pininfarina Battista produces approximately 1,900bhp and 1,696 torques. Barmy numbers. And because of the unique properties of e-motion, it’s enough to give this drop-dead beautiful looking thing Formula One car-style acceleration. Zero to 62mph apparently takes a tarmac-melting sub-two seconds, 186mph up in less than 12. All without the toxic haze of spent hydrocarbons from the tail-pipe, which is the more relevant point.

Finally, Pininfarina has got round to doing its own car.

Automobili Pininfarina is hoping to parlay the company’s history into juicy, standalone success. It’s a new company, located in Munich, that sits parallel to the established Pininfarina SpA based in Cambiano, near Turin. The project follows the company’s 2015 acquisition by Indian industrial giant Mahindra, which paid around £125m. The plan is to build a total of 150 Battistas at a cost of approximately £2m each, and it sees itself ‘as a pioneer in the luxury EV space’.