What is the Fastest Motor in the World? An Exploration of Extreme Velocity and RPM

Every engineer eventually runs into the same question. What’s the fastest motor in the world? The answer seems simple until you unpack it. Do you mean the highest RPM. The fastest aircraft. The most thrust. Or the quickest way to move a payload from standstill to orbit.

Here’s the twist. No matter which “fastest” you care about, motor core laminations sit at the heart of the design tradeoffs. Lamination grade, thickness, insulation, and stack assembly decide how much heat you fight at high frequency. They decide how efficient your motor runs at extreme speed. They even decide whether your rotor survives the mechanical stress.

If you’re an engineer, product designer, or procurement manager who wants clear, practical guidance, you’re in the right place. I’ll answer the headline question and then translate it into engineering choices you can act on. You’ll understand how lamination decisions play into extreme RPM, linear speed, and thrust. I’ll also point you to where each approach makes sense.

In other words, we’ll go from “fastest” to “what should I build” and “what should I buy.”

In This Article

• Defining “Fastest”: RPM vs. Linear Speed vs. Thrust
• The World’s Fastest Motors by Category
• What Lets Motors Spin This Fast? The Engineering Fundamentals You Can’t Skip
• Your Options Explained: Materials, Manufacturing, and Assembly for High-Speed Stacks
• Which Application Is This For? Best-Fit Guidance by Use Case
• Control, Bearings, and Cooling: The Other Half of the Speed Equation
• Future Directions: Hypersonic, Space, and Sustainable Transport
• Quick Facts: Records and Numbers Engineers Ask About
• Your Engineering Takeaway

Defining “Fastest”: RPM vs. Linear Speed vs. Thrust

When someone asks “What is the fastest motor” you need to clarify the metric. Otherwise you’ll compare apples to rocket engines.

Rotational Speed (RPM): The True Measure of Motor Velocity

RPM tells you how fast the motor’s shaft spins. It’s the purest “motor speed” metric because it measures the motor itself. We talk about the highest RPM motor, the fastest electric motor RPM, and motor RPM records. Lab rigs and ultracentrifuges dominate here. They use magnetic levitation or high-speed bearings to reduce friction. They also operate in vacuum to cut aerodynamic drag.

Why it matters to laminations: at high electrical frequency, eddy currents skyrocket. Thin, well-insulated laminations break up those currents. They reduce heat and loss. If you chase very high RPM in BLDC motors, PMSMs, or switched reluctance motors you’ll live in this world.

Linear Speed: When Motors Propel Vehicles to Records

Sometimes “fastest” means how fast the vehicle moves. Your motor can spin at modest RPMs yet push an aircraft to hypersonic speeds because of gearing, fans, or aerodynamics. Linear motors also treat “speed” as top linear velocity rather than rotation. Think maglev trains or proposed Hyperloop systems.

Here, the motor’s design still matters. The motor’s power-to-weight ratio, torque at high speed, and efficiency at the duty cycle the vehicle uses will make or break performance. For turbofans and turboshaft engines you’ll look at core efficiency, compressor and turbine blade design, and power electronics in hybrids.

Thrust: Powering Rockets and Jets to Unprecedented Speeds

Rocket engines don’t spin rotors in the usual sense. They generate thrust by expelling mass at high velocity. Jet engines bridge the gap because turbomachinery inside spins at massive RPM, yet the performance headline is thrust and Mach number. Thrust and specific impulse set a rocket’s ability to reach orbital or escape velocity. With jets we track linear speed like Mach 3 or beyond.

If you work on electric propulsion for aerospace or high-speed drones, you’ll still care about laminations. Why. Because the electric motors in compressors, pumps, fans, actuators, and turboelectric architectures set efficiency and power density that feed into thrust and vehicle speed.

The World’s Fastest Motors by Category

Let’s map “fastest” across RPM, linear speed, and thrust then tie it back to the engineering you can control.

Fastest Electric Motors (RPM Records)

Laboratory & Experimental Motors: Pushing the Limits of Rotation

• University of Stuttgart levitation motor: reported around 2.2 million RPM in 2016 using a tiny magnet levitated in vacuum by active magnetic bearings. This sits among the highest stable RPM records for a motor-like system.
• Research rigs often use magnetic bearings or air bearings. Vacuum chambers cut windage. The rotor geometry handles enormous hoop stress.

What enables these speeds:

• Magnetic levitation reduces friction. No rolling elements to fail at insane RPM.
• Ultra-high stiffness control loops keep the rotor stable as it races past critical speeds.
• Materials with high tensile strength and excellent balance hold the rotor together.

How laminations tie in:

• Many of these rigs use tiny rotors with little iron. When they do use electromagnetic torque with cores, ultra-thin laminations and low-loss alloys matter because electrical frequency shoots up with RPM.

High-Performance Industrial Electric Motors

• Ultracentrifuge motors run in the 80,000–150,000 RPM range. Labs use them to separate biological molecules or isotopes. Design focus revolves around smooth rotor dynamics, high-frequency drives, and very low core losses.
• Production consumer motors like Dyson’s Hyperdymium motor push about 125,000 RPM in handheld vacuums. That is an impressive number for a mass-produced BLDC motor.

Key takeaways:

• Industrial high-speed motors fight heat, vibration, and acoustic noise. They need excellent balancing and stiff housings.
• Lamination choices influence iron loss especially under high switching frequencies that BLDC and PMSM drives use.

Electric Motors in Record-Breaking Vehicles

• Electric hypercars and racing drones rely on PMSMs or high-speed BLDC motors. The fastest drone racing motor may spin over 50,000 RPM unloaded. Yet the real metric that matters in a vehicle tends to be power-to-weight ratio, torque at high speed, and thermal management.
• Electric aircraft motors from companies like YASA and EMRAX target high power density rather than extreme RPM. They push specific power with liquid cooling and hairpin windings.

Fastest Jet Engines (Linear Speed & Thrust)

Military and Commercial Turbofan Engines

• Pratt & Whitney’s J58 powered the SR-71 Blackbird to about Mach 3.3 in sustained flight. The engine acted like a turbojet and then behaved more like a ramjet at speed due to clever inlet design. It didn’t hold a simple “RPM record” yet it enabled one of the fastest air-breathing aircraft.
• The GE9X sits among the most powerful commercial turbofan engines. It is designed to produce on the order of 110,000 lbf class thrust for the Boeing 777X with a focus on efficiency.

What matters:

• Turbomachinery uses high-speed rotors and blades. They rely on advanced materials and cooling to survive the temperature and stress.
• Electric motors increasingly appear in auxiliary systems like high-speed compressors and generators. There lamination efficiency still matters.

Ramjets and Scramjets: The Future of Hypersonic Flight

• NASA’s X-43A scramjet achieved about Mach 9.6 in 2004. Scramjets have no major rotating parts. They compress air using the aircraft’s speed and shock waves.
• Reaction Engines Ltd. is developing the SABRE engine that aims to combine air-breathing and rocket modes for hypersonic flight. It uses precoolers and advanced high-speed turbomachinery inside its cycle.

Fastest Rocket Engines (Thrust & Escape Velocity)

Modern Liquid and Solid Fuel Rocket Engines

• SpaceX’s Raptor produces roughly 5 MN (about 230 metric tons force) at sea level. It aims for high thrust-to-weight and reuse.
• Rocketdyne’s F-1 on Saturn V produced about 6.7 MN per engine. It remains the most powerful single-chamber liquid engine ever flown.
• Launch vehicles like Delta IV Heavy can accelerate upper-stage payloads to near or beyond escape velocity on certain missions. That’s about 25,000 mph.

Experimental and Nuclear Rocket Propulsion

• Nuclear thermal or nuclear electric propulsion could enable higher specific impulse. That means greater efficiency in space. They trade thrust for endurance and deep space capability rather than launch.

Bottom line. If you mean “fastest” as RPM, lab electric motors and ultracentrifuges win. If you mean “fastest” aircraft, scramjets take the crown for air-breathers. If you mean “fastest” to space, rockets own the record through thrust and specific impulse.

What Lets Motors Spin This Fast? The Engineering Fundamentals You Can’t Skip

Here’s the heart of the design. If you want fastest electric motor RPM that doesn’t cook itself or shake apart, you must manage electromagnetic loss and mechanical stress. Laminations sit right in the middle.

Core Losses 101: Eddy Currents and Hysteresis

Think of eddy currents like little whirlpools in a river. A changing magnetic field induces currents in the iron core. Those currents loop within the material and turn into heat. Thinner laminations with insulation between sheets act like dams. They break up big whirlpools into smaller ones that waste less energy. That’s why lamination thickness matters more as frequency rises.

• Eddy current loss scales with the square of lamination thickness and with frequency squared. Halve the thickness and you can slash eddy loss dramatically at high frequency.
• Hysteresis loss comes from flipping magnetic domains back and forth. It scales roughly with frequency and material properties like coercivity. A material with low coercivity (resistance to demagnetization) reduces hysteresis losses.

You also face mechanical and thermal limits. Mechanical stress grows with the square of RPM when you look at hoop stress in the rotor. Temperature climbs as loss and friction dump heat into the stack. That’s why modern high-speed motors rely on excellent cooling and tight rotor design.

Lamination Thickness, Grade, Insulation, and Stacking Factor

• Lamination thickness: common thicknesses include 0.5 mm, 0.35 mm, 0.27 mm, 0.2 mm, and thinner for high-frequency work. Ultrathin laminations save iron loss at high electrical frequency, which often comes with high mechanical RPM or high switching frequency.
• Electrical grade: silicon steels dominate general-purpose machines. Cobalt-iron alloys shine in high-power-density applications where saturation and low loss at high flux density matter. Amorphous and nanocrystalline alloys offer extremely low loss at high frequency for transformers and some specialty motors.
• Interlaminar insulation: coatings prevent shorts between laminations. Better insulation means lower eddy current loops through the stack. It also affects stacking factor, which is the ratio of iron to total stack thickness.
• Stacking factor: higher factor improves magnetic path cross section. Yet you must preserve insulation quality. Bonding or interlocking methods can help preserve factor while avoiding weld heat-affected zones that can increase loss.

Lamination choices set how your motor behaves as you climb the RPM curve or push switching frequency into the tens of kilohertz and beyond.

Magnetic Permeability, Coercivity, and Frequency Behavior

• Magnetic permeability tells you how easily the core channels magnetic flux. Picture it like a sponge for field lines. High permeability helps torque production at given ampere-turns.
• Coercivity tells you how hard it is to demagnetize the material. Lower coercivity tends to mean lower hysteresis loss.
• At high frequency, the apparent permeability can drop because eddy currents and skin effects bite. That’s another reason engineers adopt thinner laminations and low-loss grades as speed rises.

Standards you can trust:

• IEC 60404 series covers magnetic materials test methods.
• ASTM A677 and A876 cover non-oriented electrical steels.
• ASTM A801 covers cobalt-iron soft magnetic alloys.

Torque at High Speed and Power Density

High-speed motors must hold torque as back EMF climbs with RPM. That drives design choices:

• PMSM and BLDC motors use high-energy permanent magnets and concentrated windings for high torque density.
• Switched reluctance motors (SRMs) can run at high speed with simple rotors that tolerate stress well. They demand precise control to manage acoustic noise and torque ripple.
• Induction motors can reach high RPM with robust rotors. They may sacrifice some efficiency compared to PMSM at peak performance.

Control strategy, DC bus voltage, and thermal headroom determine usable high-speed torque. Core loss in the stator and rotor sets the ceiling on continuous operation.

Your Options Explained: Materials, Manufacturing, and Assembly for High-Speed Stacks

You have two levers. The material you choose and how you make and assemble the laminations. Pick both well and high RPM stops being scary.

Material Considerations

• Silicon Steels (M-grades and non-oriented electrical steel)
• Best for general-purpose motors and high-volume manufacturing. They deliver good performance for industrial drives, compressors, and high-speed grinders.
• Pros: cost effective, widely available in tight thickness tolerances, predictable loss curves.
• Cons: as frequency rises into tens of kilohertz, iron losses grow. You may need thinner gauges and top-tier coatings.
• If you’re choosing for a broad range of applications, review available electrical steel laminations grades and coating options early in your design.

• Cobalt-Iron Alloys (e.g., 49Co-2V)
• Standout saturation flux density, which boosts torque and power density. They shine in aerospace actuators, high-power-density motors, and high-G applications.
• Pros: higher saturation, good high-frequency performance relative to silicon steel.
• Cons: expensive, harder to stamp, requires careful heat treatment.

• Amorphous and Nanocrystalline Alloys
• Remarkably low core loss at high frequency. You’ll see them more in transformers, switched-mode power supplies, and some specialty high-speed stators.
• Pros: minimal eddy and hysteresis losses at high f.
• Cons: challenging to cut and form for motor topologies, limited available thicknesses and geometries.

• Stainless and Specialty Alloys for Rotor Cans or Sleeves
• If you run a high-speed PMSM, you may retain magnets with a nonmagnetic sleeve. You must balance hoop strength, conductivity, and loss impact.

Match the material to your electrical frequency and thermal budget. For 20–100 kHz switching and elevated fundamental frequency you’ll lean into thinner laminations and premium coatings. For extreme power density in aerospace you’ll consider cobalt-iron even with the cost premium.

Manufacturing & Assembly Processes

• Stamping
• Best for high-volume production with tight repeatability. Progressive dies deliver precise features and fast throughput.
• Watch for residual stress from blanking. It can raise losses. A stress relief anneal may help depending on the grade.
• Laser Cutting
• Great for prototypes and complex, low-volume shapes. Excellent dimensional accuracy with flexible geometry.
• Heat-affected zones can increase edge loss. Tuning parameters and post-processing can mitigate that.
• Wire EDM
• Highly precise with minimal recast layer compared to laser. Slower and more costly per part.
• Bonding, Interlocking, Riveting, Welding
• Mechanical interlocks work like LEGO bricks. They create a strong core without welding heat. Bonding can boost stacking factor and reduce vibration. Welding can be robust but may affect local magnetic properties unless tightly controlled.

Linking the pieces:

• For early builds and custom geometries, laser or EDM lets you iterate fast. As you head to high-volume production, tool up for stamping.
• To understand how stack choices roll up into final performance, review typical motor core laminations construction and tolerances.
• In radial flux machines, the stator tends to dominate iron loss because it sees the highest frequency and flux swing. Dig into your stator core lamination spec early. Rotor loss still matters in induction and SRM machines. Explore options for your rotor core lamination depending on topology.

Which Application Is This For? Best-Fit Guidance by Use Case

Let’s map common “fast” applications to practical lamination choices. No hype. Just pros, cons, and fit.

• Ultracentrifuges and Lab Spindles (80,000–150,000 RPM)
• Goal: ultra-smooth, low-vibration rotation with minimal heat.
• Pick: thin-gauge non-oriented silicon steel with premium insulation. Consider amorphous stator segments if core loss dominates. Immerse in vacuum or use active cooling.
• Watch: rotor containment, balancing to G2.5 or better, magnetic or air bearings if possible.

• High-Speed Grinders, Cutters, and Industrial Spindles
• Goal: high torque at high RPM with reliable duty cycles.
• Pick: low-loss silicon steel laminations in the stator. For PMSM rotors use sleeves and secure magnet retention. Keep switching frequency high enough to flatten torque ripple but watch iron loss.
• Watch: acoustic noise, vibration, and cooling. Measure iron loss under expected waveform with realistic harmonics.

• Drone Racing Motors and Light UAV Propulsion
• Goal: blistering acceleration and high power-to-weight ratio.
• Pick: compact BLDC motors with thin stator laminations. Optimize slot/pole count for winding efficiency at high electrical speed. Minimize end-turn copper.
• Watch: thermal rise in dense avionics, magnet demag risk under high temperature.

• Electric Hypercars and High-Performance EVs
• Goal: high torque at low speed and sustained power at high speed.
• Pick: PMSM or advanced induction machines with hairpin windings and direct cooling. Thin-gauge laminations reduce high-frequency loss from PWM and high fundamental frequency at top speed.
• Watch: NVH, inverter switching strategy, and rotor mechanical limits during field-weakening.

• Aerospace Actuators, Compressors, and Turbogenerators
• Goal: very high power density and reliability in a harsh environment.
• Pick: cobalt-iron laminations for high saturation and efficiency. Use bonding for mechanical integrity. Consider cryogenic or liquid cooling when available.
• Watch: stringent standards, rotor burst containment, and insulation integrity at altitude.

• Precision Optics, High-Speed Cameras, and Laser Scanning
• Goal: precise motion at high frequency with low jitter.
• Pick: thin laminations with low-loss alloys. Consider slotless stators when cogging must be near zero. Linear motor options can be attractive for scanning heads.
• Watch: controller bandwidth and thermal drift in optical assemblies.

• Medical Devices and AFM/Scanning Microscopy
• Goal: low noise and very low heat with high accuracy.
• Pick: specialty low-loss laminations and tight assembly tolerances. Shield magnetic fields when patient safety or imaging integrity matters.
• Watch: sterilization cycles, biocompatibility of materials, and EMI.

• Maglev, Hyperloop, and High-Speed Trains
• Goal: extreme linear speed with stable levitation and guidance.
• Pick: linear motor stators that use high-grade laminations for low loss at high electrical frequency. Modular cores allow scalable maintenance.
• Watch: power electronics at megawatt scale, cooling infrastructure, and track-side tolerances.

• Space Systems and Satellite Propulsion Subsystems
• Goal: reliability and specific power under vacuum and radiation.
• Pick: cobalt-iron when power density rules. Shield magnets and use vacuum-compatible insulation systems. For electric propulsion feed systems, low-loss stators cut waste heat that’s hard to reject in space.
• Watch: outgassing, radiation effects on insulation, and long-duration thermal cycles.

Control, Bearings, and Cooling: The Other Half of the Speed Equation

The fastest motor in the world doesn’t win unless you master these three areas.

Bearing Technology

• Magnetic bearings
• No contact, no wear. Ideal for extreme RPM and vacuum. Requires active control loops and backup bearings for safety.
• Air bearings
• Very low friction above lift-off speed. Sensitive to contamination. Great for clean environments.
• Ceramic hybrid bearings
• Lower mass rolling elements reduce centrifugal load. Better high-temperature performance than steel.

The bearing choice dictates allowable imbalance, start-up friction, and failure modes. High-speed designs often include touchdown bearings and robust rotordynamics models.

Cooling Systems

Heat makes or breaks high-speed machines. You have options.

• Liquid jacket cooling for stators. It handles continuous power well.
• Spray or direct-oil cooling for windings and end-turns. It removes hot spots.
• Cryogenic cooling for specialty systems or superconducting machines. It raises current density dramatically but adds complexity.

Design in heat pathways. Use thermal interface materials where metal-to-metal contact isn’t perfect. Simulate transient duty cycles because accelerations can trigger peak loss conditions.

Power Electronics and Control

The inverter sets electrical frequency and waveform quality. That feeds straight into core loss and torque ripple.

• High switching frequency smooths current yet raises iron loss. SiC and GaN devices help because they switch fast with lower loss.
• In PMSM and BLDC motors, field-oriented control keeps torque steady at high speed. You’ll push into field-weakening at top end. Iron and copper loss then become the bottlenecks.
• In switched reluctance motors, advanced control tames acoustic noise and optimizes efficiency. SRMs tolerate high temperature and mechanical stress well which helps in high-G or high-speed use.

Don’t forget audible and ultrasonic noise. Vibration at high RPM and acoustic noise in high-speed motors often trace back to PWM, slotting, and mechanical resonances. Balance your rotor to tight grades and shape stator teeth to reduce harmonic content.

Future Directions: Hypersonic, Space, and Sustainable Transport

• Hypersonic air travel and space exploration
• Scramjets keep pushing the Mach number in atmosphere. Hybrid cycles like SABRE aim to bridge air-breathing and rocket modes. Electric machines will run cryogenic pumps, high-speed compressors, and actuators. Lamination efficiency will still matter because every watt of heat must be managed.
• Industrial applications and precision engineering
• Expect higher electrical frequencies in compact actuators, high-speed robotic joints, and precision optics. That drives demand for thinner laminations, better coatings, and bonding methods that hold stack integrity without adding loss.
• Energy efficiency and sustainability
• Motors already consume a large share of global electricity. High-speed compressors for HVAC, heat pumps, and industrial processes will lean on low-loss stators. Sustainable transport from electric aircraft to high-speed trains rides on efficient cores that waste less power as heat.

Superconductors and magnetic levitation may change what we call a “motor” in the next decade. Yet you’ll still optimize magnetic circuits. You’ll still select lamination thickness, grade, and assembly to keep loss and mass low at the frequency your system needs.

Quick Facts: Records and Numbers Engineers Ask About

Use these as context when stakeholders ask for “the fastest” during design reviews.

• Highest RPM electric motor demonstrations: around 2.2 million RPM reported by a University of Stuttgart levitation motor experiment using a magnet suspended in vacuum by active magnetic levitation.
• Production consumer motor: Dyson Hyperdymium BLDC motors at about 125,000 RPM in handheld vacuums.
• Ultracentrifuge motors: typically 80,000–150,000 RPM for biomedical and isotopic separation.
• Fastest air-breathing flight: NASA X-43A scramjet at about Mach 9.6. It had no rotating core yet demonstrates propulsion at extreme linear speed.
• High-speed jet propulsion: SR-71 Blackbird at about Mach 3.3 using Pratt & Whitney J58 turbojet/ramjet hybrid behavior.
• Commercial turbofan thrust: GE9X designed in the ~110,000 lbf class for 777X-class aircraft with a focus on efficiency.
• Rocket engines and space speed: SpaceX Raptor at roughly 5 MN sea level thrust. Saturn V’s F-1 at about 6.7 MN per engine. Launchers like Delta IV Heavy can push payloads toward escape velocity near 25,000 mph.

Remember. These headline numbers don’t tell you which lamination you should buy. They remind you that “fastest” depends on metric and mission.

Your Engineering Takeaway

Before you lock your design, run through this checklist.

• Define “fastest” for your project
• Highest RPM, fastest linear speed, or maximum thrust. Your metric sets the physics that drives your motor core choices.
• Control core loss
• Eddy currents and hysteresis dominate at high frequency. Favor thinner laminations with high-grade insulation. Verify loss at your actual waveform not just sinusoidal catalog data.
• Pick the right material
• Non-oriented silicon steel suits most high-speed industrial machines. Move to cobalt-iron when power density and saturation rule your design. Consider amorphous alloys for very high-frequency stators in niche cases.
• Engineer the stack
• Balance stacking factor against insulation quality. Choose bonding or interlocking to maintain integrity without introducing heat-affected zones. Explore standard build-ups for stator core lamination and rotor core lamination early.
• Match the process to your volume
• Laser or EDM for prototypes and complex low-volume parts. Stamping for production. Review tolerances, edge quality, and residual stress effects up front.
• Don’t ignore the rest of the system
• Bearings, cooling, and power electronics often limit usable speed before the laminations do. Model rotordynamics, thermal paths, and inverter-induced losses as a single problem not three separate ones.
• Plan for purchasing early
• Engage suppliers to confirm availability of gauges, coatings, and post-processing. Align specs on anneal cycles, insulation class, and stacking methods. For a concise overview of common options see motor core laminations and available electrical steel laminations.

If you need a safe next step, do this:

1) Define your top two “fast” metrics and the duty cycle that matters.

2) Estimate electrical frequency at top speed and at your nominal operating point.

3) Select a lamination thickness that keeps eddy loss within your thermal budget.

4) Request sample stacks and a material datasheet set for loss testing at your switching strategy.

5) Run a quick iron-loss validation with your inverter waveform. Then revisit thickness and grade if the numbers run hot.

One last thought. The “fastest motor in the world” makes for a good headline. The “right laminations for your operating frequency and cost target” makes your project ship on time. If you want a second set of eyes on material and process choices, a short technical consultation with an experienced lamination partner can de-risk your design before you cut steel.

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Notes and sources engineers rely on:

• IEC 60404 series for magnetic material measurements and definitions.
• ASTM A677, A876 for non-oriented electrical steel. ASTM A801 for cobalt-iron soft magnetic alloys.
• Public program data from NASA and well-documented propulsion records for X-43A, SR-71, and major commercial engines. Manufacturer literature for ultracentrifuges and consumer BLDC motors.

FAQs you can use in team threads:

• What is the highest RPM motor? Lab demonstrations around 2.2 million RPM under magnetic levitation in vacuum.
• What limits high-speed electric motors? Iron loss, rotor mechanical stress, bearing capability, and cooling.
• Which motor type runs fastest in practice? BLDC and PMSM dominate for compact high RPM. SRM excels when ruggedness and high temperature matter.
• Are thinner laminations always better? Usually at high frequency yes. Yet cost, availability, mechanical handling, and stacking factor trade-offs still apply.
• Do jet and rocket engines have “RPM records”? They focus on thrust and Mach. Their internal turbomachinery spins fast yet the public headline is linear speed or thrust not raw RPM.