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Elevators

Guangzhou CTF Finance Centre elevator

Hitachi's certified ascending speed is 1,260 m/min, which the same release writes as 21 m/s and 75.6 km/h. An older 1,200 m/min line is the rating before that certification.

Also known as Guangzhou CTF Finance Centre lift, Hitachi 21 m/s elevator
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Top speed

Published as 21 m/sPublished as 21 m/sPublished as 21 m/s

Rated ascending speed of one Hitachi car, Guangzhou CTF Finance Centre, ground to floor 95. Hitachi equates 1,260 m/min with 75.6 km/h and 21 m/s. The date is the Guinness certificate, 10 September 2019. A 2014 plan of 1,200 m/min is an earlier version, not this figure.

OfficialHitachi (opens source in a new tab)

In context

  • 2.0× Usain Bolt's 100 m world-record paceSourced · Usain Bolt, 100 m in 9.58 s. World Athletics, Berlin 2009. Averaged over the race
  • 72% of a cheetah's timed top speedSourced · Cheetah, 29 m/s. Sharp 1997, mean of three timed runs over 201.2 m
  • A football field in 4.4 sConstant · American football field, 100 yd (91.44 m)

Worked out from the sourced figure above, which stays the ranked number.

This list

Why it's so fast

A fast elevator is a motor, a rope or a guide, and a shaft long enough to reach the speed without hurting the people inside. Acceleration, not the peak, is what riders feel.

  1. Room to get there

    A short building cannot spend long at top speed. The record cars are in very tall towers, with a run measured in dozens of floors.

  2. People set the acceleration

    Ears and balance limit how hard the car may speed up and slow down. A roller coaster can be rougher. An elevator that carries visitors cannot.

One of them is the Shanghai Tower elevator.

This is how the category works. A note written for this entry appears here once it is in the database.

Provenance

Every measurement

Claimed, measured and official figures side by side, each with its source. The ranked figure is marked.

  1. 75.6km/h47.0mph21m/s40.8knRanked figure

    Rated ascending speed of one Hitachi car, Guangzhou CTF Finance Centre, ground to floor 95. Hitachi equates 1,260 m/min with 75.6 km/h and 21 m/s. The date is the Guinness certificate, 10 September 2019. A 2014 plan of 1,200 m/min is an earlier version, not this figure.

    The same release's footnote says 1,260 m/min = 75.6 km/h (47 mi/h) = 21 m/s. Wikipedia's lead says up to 21 metres per second and its elevator section says a June 2017 test reached 21 m/s after a rated 20 m/s. Global Construction Review prints 75.6 km/h. The certified rank is 21 m/s. The older 20 m/s line is the pre-modification rating.

    Official
    Hitachi (opens source in a new tab)

Reference

Specs

Building
Guangzhou CTF Finance Centre
Manufacturer
Hitachi
Speed
21 m/s
Certified
10 September 2019

Context

Background

Hitachi's 27 September 2019 release says the Guangzhou CTF Finance Centre elevator received a Guinness title as the world's fastest on 10 September 2019. The rated speed is 1,260 metres per minute. The footnote writes that as 75.6 km/h, 47 mph, and 21 m/s. The overview table says the ascending rating is 1,260 m/min and the descending rating is 600 m/min. The ranked figure is the ascending 21 m/s.

Global Construction Review prints 75.6 km/h at the Guangzhou Finance Centre and says the car holds 21 people over 440 m. Wikipedia's lead says the building has the world's fastest elevators, which can reach speeds up to 21 metres per second. The elevator section distinguishes a 2014 announcement of 1,200 m/min from a June 2017 test that reached 21 m/s and the September 2019 Guinness title. The 20 m/s press line is that earlier rating. The certified figure is the one ranked.

Head to head

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