The electric hypercar hit a top speed of 415 km/hr on a recent run in Germany, an unheard record for an EV
The Rimac Nevera just earned itself another spot in the record books. The Croatian marque’s first model, which is was already the world’s fastest-accelerating car, is now officially the fastest production EV as well. The battery-powered hypercar earned its latest distinction after hitting a top speed of 415 km/hr on a recent run in Germany.
The Nevera set the new standard for EVs at the Automotive Testing Papenburg, a test track specifically chosen for the attempt because of its 4.7-kilometre-long straightaways. The record was set in a completely unmodified version of the Nevera piloted by Rimac’s chief test and development driver, Miro Zrnčević, though the car was put in aero-maximising top speed mode and fitted with road-legal Michelin Cup 2R tires. Zrnčević was able to reach a speed of 250 km/hr coming out of the turn, at which point he put the pedal to the metal and unleashed the full might of the vehicle’s 1,914 horses to reach a new peak of 415 km/hr. That mark is 75 km/hr slower than the top speed of the gas-powered Bugatti Chiron Super Sport (490 km/hr), but it’s unheard of for an EV.
“I’ve driven Nevera since it first turned a wheel and to see the perfectly honed car that is today is a really emotional moment,” the driver said in a statement. “The most important thing I have learned during the top-speed attempt is how composed and stable the car was—confirming that our aerodynamics and vehicle dynamics teams have done an amazing job.”
Rimac’s US$2.4 million hypercar is delivered with an electronically limited top speed of 352 km/hr, but owners will get their chance to push the EV to the max at special events with the support automaker. Because of the stress such high speeds take on a vehicle’s tires, Rimac says precautions must be taken before any drivers make a run at Zrnčević’s mark.
Although records are made to be broken, this one could stand for a while. A Lucid Air prototype was able to reach a top speed of 379 km/hr in 2017, but the brand hasn’t promised anything like that for any of its production models, according to Motor1.com. The Aspark Owl and second-generation Tesla Roadster both promise top speeds of around 80.5 km/hr, but we’ve yet to see proof that the former can back up this claim—or that the latter will even go into production.
This story was first published on Robb Report USA
