Why are electric cars faster than traditional combustion engine cars?

Acceleration records are now the exclusive domain of electric cars. A simple purely mechanical fact.

Electric cars are fast, it’s an established fact. It has even become common to see mass-produced sedans and SUVs with no sporting pretensions completing the 0 to 100 km/h sprint in less than 5.0 seconds. A performance that only a few years ago was reserved for Ferrari, Porsche, Lamborghini, or the sporty M versions of BMW and AMG of Mercedes.

But why are electric vehicles so fast? This is due to fundamental differences between electric motors and internal combustion engines. When it comes to delivering their peak power, gasoline engines are surprisingly capricious, tending to have much narrower peaks of power and torque compared to electric motors. The maximum torque and power are, on the other hand, available almost instantly in an electric motor, resulting in dragster-like acceleration as soon as the right pedal is pressed.

Furthermore, for a gasoline engine to deliver its power to the driven wheels, it needs the help of a transmission to match the engine’s rotational speed to the increasing rotational speed of the wheels. On an electric car, the wheel speed directly follows that of the motor, which can reach a rotational speed up to three times higher than that of a thermal engine. Basically, a combustion engine can shift from 0 to 100 km/h in a certain ratio, while an electric motor can handle the work from 0 to 300 km/h.

Internal combustion cars typically have six to eight-speed transmissions, and shifting to a higher gear involves a brief delay to allow the gear synchronized and the clutch to engage. There’s also a drop in engine speed, meaning a little time is needed to regain RPM and reach peak torque.

Add to this the possibility of placing electric motors on the front and rear axles, resulting in a significantly lower weight increase compared to a mechanical all-wheel-drive transmission, and you get unbeatable 4WD electric sports cars.

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