OSAKA, Japan - Japanese electric hypercar maker Aspark appears poised to claim the production electric vehicle top speed record after one of its Owl SP600 prototypes hit an astonishing 272.6 mph (438.7 km/h) during testing in Germany. If the Aspark Owl SP600's top speed can be confirmed in an eventual production model, it would easily surpass the current 256 mph record set by Croatian automaker Rimac's Nevera electric hypercar in 2022. The eye-watering Aspark Owl SP600 top speed velocity was recorded on June 8 at the Automotive Testing Papenburg facility by an onboard Racelogic V-Box data system. Renowned racing driver Marc Basseng was behind the wheel for the high-speed run on the 7.6-mile circuit's 2.5-mile straightaways. "We are incredibly proud of this achievement with the Owl SP600 prototype and its top speed," said Aspark CEO Massashi Kato. "It demonstrates the immense engineering capabilities of our team and partners like Manifattura Automobili Torino." Aspark has not revealed full specifications for the Owl SP600 at this stage, apart from confirming it uses a specially-designed Bridgestone tire engineered to handle the hypercar's extreme Aspark Owl SP600 top speed potential. The SP600 is expected to produce significantly more than the 1,984 horsepower of Aspark's original limited-production Owl hypercar, of which just 50 examples will be built, in order to achieve its remarkable Aspark Owl SP600 top speed. For comparison, the current fastest-production gasoline vehicle is the SSC Tuatara, which hit 282.9 mph in 2021. A modified one-off Bugatti Chiron prototype reached 304.7 mph in 2019, though Bugatti caps the production Chiron's top speed at a lower figure. Kato stated that Aspark will release more details about production plans and pricing for the Owl SP600, including its projected top speed, in the coming months as development continues. The hypercar is being co-developed with Italian contractor Manifattura Automobili Torino.If the SP600 can indeed crack the 270 mph barrier in a street-legal production form with a validated top speed, it will represent a new frontier for electric vehicle performance capabilities. Source: Aspark
