The Tesla Model 3 Performance is a genuinely fast car. Its dual-motor AWD system produces 460 hp internationally and launches it to 100 km/h in 3.1 seconds. For reference, that is quicker than a BMW M3 Competition, a Porsche Cayman GTS, and every hot hatch ever made. Until very recently, it was the performance benchmark for the affordable EV segment worldwide.
It no longer holds that position. Chinese manufacturers have spent the past three years building cars that make 3.1 seconds look ordinary. A November 2025 global acceleration ranking placed the Tesla Model 3 Performance 20th on the list of the world’s fastest-accelerating production EVs. The top three positions were all occupied by Chinese cars. Eleven of the top twenty were Chinese. None of the cars that beat it cost less than the Model 3 Performance’s starting price of approximately £55,990 in the UK, but several of them come surprisingly close. All seven below are confirmed production vehicles with independently verified performance figures.
A note on figures: all 0-100 km/h times quoted are manufacturer claims unless otherwise stated. Manufacturer times are often recorded with launch control, optimal tyre temperature and full battery charge. Real-world drag race results can vary. Where independent testing data exists, it is cited.
7. Yangwang U7
0-100: 2.9 sec Beats Model 3 by: 0.2 sec Power: 960 kW (1,287 hp) Price: ~$91,000 USD (China)
The least dramatic gap on this list is also perhaps the most commercially interesting one. The Yangwang U7 is BYD’s ultra-luxury performance saloon, launched at the March 2026 Technology Day with a quad-motor AWD system producing 960 kW — 1,287 hp — from its 150 kWh second-generation Blade Battery. It hits 100 km/h in 2.9 seconds. That is 0.2 seconds quicker than the Model 3 Performance.
What makes this entry notable is not just the time but the package around it. The U7 is a 4,999 mm long executive saloon competing with the Mercedes EQS and Porsche Taycan Turbo S on specification. It offers 1,006 km of CLTC range — the longest of any performance saloon in the world at the time of writing. It carries BYD’s God’s Eye ADAS suite.
And it costs approximately $91,000 in China, compared with $200,000 or more for a Porsche Taycan Turbo S with similar acceleration credentials. The U7 is not currently sold in Europe or Australia. For buyers in markets where it is available, the value proposition next to European ultra-performance EVs is difficult to explain with a straight face.
6. Xiaomi SU7 Max
0-100: 2.78 sec Beats Model 3 by: 0.32 sec Power: 495 kW (664 hp) Price: ~$46,000 USD (China)
The Xiaomi SU7 Max is the most price-shocking entry on this list. It is a mass-production saloon sold in China from approximately $46,000, producing 664 hp from dual motors and covering 0-100 km/h in 2.78 seconds. That is 0.32 seconds faster than the Model 3 Performance, at a price that sits below the Model 3 Long Range in the Chinese market.
Xiaomi built the SU7 on a 101 kWh battery with 800V architecture, developed its own electric motor in-house, and had Lei Jun, Xiaomi’s CEO, personally drive pre-production prototypes to validate the dynamics before launch. The result was the fastest-selling car launch in Chinese EV history: 50,000 orders in 27 minutes.
Independent road testing by Chinese outlet Dongchendi confirmed the SU7 outperforms the Tesla Model 3 in both acceleration and real-world range. The SU7 Max is not currently sold in Europe or the UK, which is a genuine loss for the European performance EV market.
5. BYD Han L EV
0-100: 2.7 sec Beats Model 3 by: 0.4 sec Power: 850 kW combined (tri-motor) Price: ~$41,000 USD (China)
The BYD Han L is the most underrated car on this list globally, because most Western automotive media has not yet paid it serious attention. It is a large dynasty-series saloon, 5,050 mm long with a 2,970 mm wheelbase, available with BYD’s tri-motor 800V drivetrain producing 850 kW of combined output. That system covers 0-100 km/h in 2.7 seconds.
To put the price in context: a car that accelerates to 100 km/h in 2.7 seconds, carries five adults in a full-size executive cabin with Nappa leather and a panoramic roof, and offers over 810 km of CLTC range, starts at approximately $41,000 in China. The Han L is available in select European markets. For buyers who find it, it represents perhaps the most extreme performance-per-pound proposition currently available in the executive car segment.
4. Zeekr 007
0-100: ~2.84 sec (AWD Performance) Beats Model 3 by: ~0.26 sec Power: 475 kW (637 hp) Price: ~$29,340 USD (China, base)
The Zeekr 007 is the most accessible performance benchmark in this list in terms of market availability. It is sold in Europe and is powered by the CATL Qilin second-generation Golden Battery with 5.5C charging capability. The AWD Performance variant produces 637 hp and covers 0-100 km/h in approximately 2.84 seconds in optimal conditions.
What distinguishes the 007 from the other cars on this list is that its primary engineering achievement is charging speed rather than raw acceleration. The 2025 Zeekr 007 was independently assessed as the fastest-charging production EV in the world, reaching 10-to-80% in approximately 10 minutes using a 600-800 kW compatible charger.
The acceleration figures are genuinely impressive; the charging speed is in a different category altogether. ArenaEV’s independent drag race testing, which lined up the Zeekr 001 FR against the Tesla Model S Plaid and Porsche Taycan Turbo, confirmed that Zeekr’s real-world figures hold up under controlled conditions rather than merely looking good on a specification sheet.
3. Zeekr 001 FR
0-100: 2.02 sec Beats Model 3 by: 1.08 sec Power: 960 kW (1,287 hp) Price: ~$107,000 USD
The Zeekr 001 FR occupies a position in the Chinese performance car market that has no real Western equivalent: a large, luxurious, practical fastback that also happens to be one of the three fastest-accelerating production cars on the planet. Its quad-motor system produces 960 kW, identical to the Yangwang U7, but deployed in a lighter and more aerodynamically optimised body. The result is 2.02 seconds to 100 km/h, confirmed in the global ranking at third place overall.
This is the car that Zeekr’s own engineers described with the now-famous internal quote that ‘competitors would not be able to build this in five years’ at its launch. Xiaomi proved them wrong within eighteen months by producing the SU7 Ultra. That competitive exchange tells you more about the current state of Chinese performance EV development than any specification sheet.
The 001 FR is sold in Europe through Zeekr’s dealership network in the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Germany, Belgium and the UK. It starts from approximately £79,000 in the UK, which is £23,000 less than a Porsche Taycan Turbo that is almost exactly as fast to 100 km/h. The Taycan weighs less and handles better. The Zeekr seats five in genuine comfort and goes 35 km/h faster at the top end.
2. Xiaomi SU7 Ultra
0-100: 1.98 sec Beats Model 3 by: 1.12 sec Power: 1,138 kW (1,526 hp) Price: ~$74,200 USD (China)
The Xiaomi SU7 Ultra is the car that rewrote several records simultaneously. In October 2024 it set the Nurburgring Nordschleife production EV lap record at 6 minutes 46.874 seconds, beating the previous record set by the Porsche Taycan Turbo GT. Then, in November 2024, it set a new lap record at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit. Then it broke the Hockenheim record. Then Brands Hatch. By the time Zeekr pointed out the Zeekr 001 FR had already held the Nurburgring record, Xiaomi had already moved the conversation on.
Its specification is genuinely hypercar-adjacent: 1,526 hp from three motors, a carbon fibre body derived from motorsport, active aerodynamics, and a carbon ceramic brake package. It covers 0-100 km/h in 1.98 seconds. A Lamborghini Huracan STO covers the same distance in 2.9 seconds and costs four times as much. The SU7 Ultra is sold in China from approximately $74,200.
There is no official European sales operation yet, though grey market imports have begun appearing. For buyers who can access it, it is the most extreme performance value proposition in any segment anywhere in the world.
1. GAC Hyptec SSR Sprint Extreme Edition
0-100: 1.9 sec Beats Model 3 by: 1.2 sec Power: 1,200 kW+ (1,600 hp) Price: ~$194,000 USD
The GAC Hyptec SSR Sprint Extreme Edition covers 0-100 km/h in 1.9 seconds. That figure places it above the Rimac Nevera, above the McMurtry Spéirling, and above every production Bugatti, Koenigsegg and Lamborghini in terms of straight-line acceleration from a standstill. It is built by GAC, the Guangzhou Automobile Group, whose international sales you know primarily through the GAC Aion budget EV range and the Toyota Camry joint venture. The SSR is what happens when the same organisation decides to build a hypercar.
The SSR uses a tri-motor system producing well over 1,600 hp, a carbon fibre monocoque chassis, active aerodynamics, and a pushrod suspension system borrowed conceptually from Formula 1 cars. Its $194,000 price tag is genuine hypercar territory, but it provides genuine hypercar performance. The global EV acceleration ranking by Interesting Engineering confirmed its 1.9-second time as the world’s fastest for a production vehicle. It is available in China. GAC has no confirmed plans for European homologation, which is the most significant limitation for Western buyers who want one.
The GAC Hyptec SSR sits at the extreme end of what Chinese manufacturers are doing in the performance space. But the broader point it represents is not about hypercars. It is about the direction of travel. Three years ago, no Chinese car had a verified 0-100 time faster than 3 seconds. Today, China holds three of the top three positions in the global acceleration ranking and eleven of the top twenty. The Tesla Model 3 Performance, which was the definition of fast-for-the-money when it launched, now ranks twentieth on that list.
All 7 at a glance
| Car | 0-100 km/h | Margin over Model 3 | Power | Approx. price |
| Yangwang U7 | 2.9 sec | 0.2 sec faster | 960 kW | ~$91,000 (China) |
| Xiaomi SU7 Max | 2.78 sec | 0.32 sec faster | 495 kW | ~$46,000 (China) |
| BYD Han L EV | 2.7 sec | 0.4 sec faster | 850 kW | ~$41,000 (China) |
| Zeekr 007 AWD Performance | ~2.84 sec | ~0.26 sec faster | 475 kW | ~$29,340 (China base) |
| Zeekr 001 FR | 2.02 sec | 1.08 sec faster | 960 kW | ~$107,000 / £79,000 (UK) |
| Xiaomi SU7 Ultra | 1.98 sec | 1.12 sec faster | 1,138 kW | ~$74,200 (China) |
| GAC Hyptec SSR Sprint Extreme | 1.9 sec | 1.2 sec faster | 1,200+ kW | ~$194,000 |
| Tesla Model 3 Performance | 3.1 sec | N/A | 344 kW | ~£55,990 (UK) |
Acceleration figures are manufacturer claims unless noted. Real-world results vary. Sources: CarNewsChina global rankings, Interesting Engineering, manufacturer specifications. Prices in USD reflect China domestic market where stated; international pricing is higher. Tesla Model 3 Performance benchmark is the international 3.1-second figure (460 hp version).
Editor’s Take
The most striking entry on this list is not the fastest one. It is the BYD Han L at $41,000 in China. A car that hits 100 km/h in 2.7 seconds and costs $41,000 has no Western equivalent. The Porsche Taycan 4S, which covers the same sprint in around 4 seconds, starts at approximately $115,000. The BMW M5 xDrive, which does it in 3.5 seconds, starts at approximately $130,000. The Han L doing it in 2.7 seconds at $41,000 represents an acceleration-per-dollar ratio that Western manufacturers are not currently competing with and are not building a credible response to.
The caveat that applies to most of this list is market availability. The Xiaomi SU7 Max, SU7 Ultra and GAC Hyptec SSR are not sold in Europe or Australia through official channels. The Yangwang U7 and Han L have limited international distribution. The cars that Western performance buyers can actually buy from this list are the Zeekr 001 FR (UK and select European markets) and the Zeekr 007 AWD Performance. Both are genuinely extraordinary cars. Both beat the Model 3 Performance convincingly. Neither has the name recognition of Tesla, which is the only reason either of them is not a household name in the performance EV conversation yet.
For more on which Chinese performance EVs are actually available to buy today in Europe, see our guide to the best Chinese EVs you can actually buy in Europe right now. For the full picture of how Chinese brands have built their performance credentials, the Chinese car brands ranked by Euro NCAP score shows that the speed improvements have come alongside, not at the expense of, safety.
Sources
Interesting Engineering, Carnewschina, ArenaEV, TechRadar
Hillary started his automotive writing journey at HotCars, and has written for CarNewsChina, GlobalSUV, and many other top auto blogs.
He loves to read, play chess, and supports Liverpool during the weekends