The Fastest Golf Cart In The World Has An Astonishing Top Speed

Golf carts are typically associated with the calm, serene sport of golf, where players leisurely cruise from one hole to the next. They also often appear in retirement communities, where the humble cart has become a change-of-pace mode of transport for the elderly. Conversely, kids have been known to hijack them for wild shenanigans that usually end with wrecked greens or carts wedged into sand bunkers. Regardless of the scenario, they're not usually known for speed, even though Harley-Davidson once made golf carts.

But humans tend to do push things well beyond their intended limits. That's the case with the world's fastest golf cart, officially certified by Guinness World Records. Called the Bandit — thanks to Burt Reynold's famous take as the outlaw in "Smokey and the Bandit" –this hot rod golf cart can scorch the grass of any golf course at a blistering 118.76 miles per hour.

Plum Quick Motors built this beast in Lancaster, South Carolina. Carson Steen and his two sons, Ricky and Robby, founded the family-owned business. Plum Quick has built custom, high-performance electric golf carts with speed and torque upgrades for almost 50 years. Driven by Robby Steen, the Bandit set the scary record not on a golf course, but at the Darlington Dragway in Hartsville, South Carolina, on October 31, 2014.

The Steens are no strangers to speed — they set the previous world record the year before at 103.65 mph. The Bandit was built using a 2008 Club Car DS powered by Plum Quick's "Black Ops" motor with twelve 12-volt AGM lithium-ion batteries producing 144 volts. It also had a stock controller with bypass, a stock Graziano rear with a custom gear set, all-wheel disc brakes, and safety belts. Eighty pounds of lead weighed down the front bumper to keep it stable. Everything else was stock, including the set of golf clubs stowed in the back.

During the 2014 run, Robby thinks he could've hit 130 mph and estimated only about 80% of the battery power was used, but for safety reasons, he let off the accelerator at 118.76. But they weren't done. In 2020, they tried to hit 150 mph in a completely different cart. To keep the driver safe, they outfitted the new cart with a roll cage, explosion shield, racing harnesses, and other safety features. Alas, that attempt fell short, and the Guinness website hasn't been updated since. Speed flows through the Steens' veins, and they aim to build the fastest Power Wheels car, power chair, and lawnmower.

By comparison, most golf carts, which come in all shapes and sizes, top out at 19 mph. That's because federal safety standards (FMVSS No. 500) set by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) limit them. Conventional golf carts with a maximum speed of 20 mph or less are classified as Low-Speed Vehicles (LSVs) and therefore aren't considered motor vehicles.