Video: the fastest road-legal electric car in the world

Before you dive into the comments section below complaining that the sound in the video above is a bit off, don’t bother. 

Though the black Corvette may look like any other 2006 Z06, it's not; there is no 7.0-litre LS7 engine burbling under its long bonnet. In fact, it doesn't have an engine at all. Why? Because it’s electric.

Yes, instead of being supercharged, it’s super-charged. As under this Vette’s body are many, many laptop batteries and a few motors capable of producing over 700bhp and 600 lb ft of torque.

Turns out it's quite a good recipe for going quickly. As the all-electric Vette – called the Genovation eXtreme Electric or GXE – recently did 0-60mph in three seconds and cruised to 186.8 mph at NASA’s Shuttle Landing Facility at the Kennedy Space Centre in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

The run was certified by the International Mile Racing Association (IMRA), not by the white coats at Guinness. But it’s entered IMRA’s record books under the heading of "Top Speed Street Legal Electric Car." Something that’s been printed on a piece of A4 paper, so must be legit. Well, worthy of some silent-but-smoky burnouts.

Fitted with a manual gearbox, having a range of 130 miles and a 50/50 weight distribution, it’s not actually that far off an actual C6 Corvette’s Top Trumps stats. Apart from when it comes to price. Where it’s a lot different. The GXE is a whopping £235,000, or £204,955 if you donate the Vette yourself. For which you could have two Teslas.