Keen on mixing up performance with what’s supposed to be “green” cars, many car manufacturers have turned to electric power to build performance vehicles that can give regular petrol-powered cars a run for their money. For the buyer’s money as well, seeing how stratospheric the prices are for these electric exotics.

Electric cars are no longer limited to the golf-cart impression that has been its identifying mark for years. With manufacturers such as Tesla, GM, and now Shelby Super Cars vying to gain fame in producing a performance electric vehicle, electric is suddenly a rosy-sounding application of technology producing in Shelby’s case the fastest ever electric sports car. To be specific, Shelby has already released a full scale, pre-production sample of the Ultimate Aero EV and is planning for a Q4 production release.

As an adaptation of the firm’s gas-powered Ultimate Aero sports car, the EV is already based on the world’s fastest production car (officially that is), the Ultimate Aero EV will be banking on 1,000 horsepower and 800 lb-ft of torque to produce 0 to 60 times in 2.5 seconds, with a 208mph top speed, claiming along the way the title of “world's fastest production electric car”.

Like the Tesla Roadster, the EV takes advantage of an electric motor’s instant torque in part to help achieve the squashed-into-your-seat acceleration. The EV is set to use a 373kW electric motor in production models, and will supposedly be able to fully top-up for a 150-220 mile range in just 10 minutes (I take this with some healthy helpings of our local rock salt). Not that the EV is going to be appearing at our shores soon enough to appreciate any of our local flavor, but then again, we can always dream…

                                            This petrol-powered unit will soon give way to a 373kW electric power plant.

In a word, “wow” even seems to be inadequate. While I have nothing against performance, and would love to have one of these for Christmas (or anytime), I still can’t help but wonder whether the electricity required to “top up” the EV’s battery tanks actually amount to less energy / fossil fuel / efficiency wasted. I’ll leave that question to the experts, so for the moment most people will be able to boast of being environmentally conscious while still rocking one of the fastest production cars ever to grace your local golf club.