World's First Electric Shooting Brake Earns Two Guinness World Records

Aug. 21, 2022 6:33 AM ET by Chase Bierenkoven Electric Vehicles / 9 Comments

The Zeekr 001 broke the record for the fastest ever drift by an EV.

You may not have heard of Zeekr or its first car, the 001. After all, it doesn't sell any cars here. For now, the brand is exclusively Chinese. But what matters is that this sporty vehicle just broke two world records for EVs. This is, by the way, the world's first electric shooting brake, per Zeekr itself. Arguably, that makes the record-breaking all the more impressive.

The brand now holds the Guinness World Record for the fastest drift ever achieved by an electric car, and the fastest electric car slalom run. Those are records we would've expected to see from something like the Porsche Taycan Turbo long before a mostly unknown brand like this one. Zeekr says the pair of records "fully verified the three core strengths that underpin the 001." Those strengths are that the car should be "fast, accurate, and stable."

While the above photos don't come with a speedometer, Zeekr was kind enough to provide the exact figure that broke the record. In order to do so, the 001 had to hit a slide at more than 160 km/h (around 99 mph). The brand's electric station wagon beat that by a huge margin, drifting into the record books at a horrifying 207.996 km/h (about 129 mph). In case you missed it, take a look at the seriously aggressive steering angle on the car in the first shot above. Wild. We feel we should also point out how leaned-over the car is. Just take a look at the distance between the wheel arch and the front wheel in the last slide above.

Zeekr says that the attempt was helped by the 001's dual-motor setup, meaning this was an all-wheel-drive drift, not just the rear wheels. For anyone who has tried to slide an AWD car before, you'll know how difficult this is. Reportedly, that was made all the easier because Zeekr claims the 001 can produce "up to" 5,664 lb-ft of instantaneous torque. We believe that this number, provided by the brand, is the 001's torque output multiplied through its gear ratios. Unfortunately, without specific ratios, we can't confirm, though we know the Hummer EV pulled a similar trick. We were told at the time of the car's debut that it makes 536 horsepower and 516 lb-ft (sans ratio trickery), sending the wagon to 60 in just 3.8 seconds.

Specs speculation aside, the Zeekr also holds the world record for the fastest 50-cone slalom by an EV. Without touching a single cone, the 001 finished the course in 49.05 seconds. Again, Zeekr attributes the speed at which the 001 managed the course to the EV's all-wheel-drive system and quick 0-60 mph time. Both records were broken this month under the supervision of an adjudicator from Guinness World Records at China's CATARC proving grounds.