There’s a new top-speed king in the electric vehicle world. In a segment of cars not really known for top-speed prowess, Rimac has broken the mold. The company says its Nevera hypercar hit a top speed of 256 mph.
Rimac achieved this feat at the Automotive Testing Papenburg track in Germany. It’s a huge oval with two 2.49 miles (4 km) straights. The curved sections of the track were used to Rimac’s chief test driver’s advantage. He left the turns traveling at 155 mph and then jumped on the accelerator pedal and held on.
The company says the car was set in its top speed mode that is meant to create an “aerodynamic profile that balances drag and downforce to ensure stability at high speed.” Basically, Rimac made the Nevera as slippery as possible without giving up stability. The car was also fitted with road going Michelin Cup 2R tires for the run.
Happily, you can watch the run on YouTube. There’s even a video that focuses on the VBOX data that you can check out.
Rimac says that 256 mph top speed is exactly what it had simulated years ago, and it was the target the company set back when the car was first unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show back in 2018. It apparently took a collective 1.6 million hours of development to get to this point.
That record can be added to one that the car already had. Not only is it the fastest EV ever, it’s also the quickest. Rimac says that it passed a quarter mile in 8.582 seconds.
Sadly, even if you are a billionaire Nevera owner, your car is limited to a top speed of only 219 miles per hour. However, if you really want to tempt the gods, the 258 mph top speed can be unleashed at special customer events with a full Rimac support team on hand.
All of this speed comes from one – well four – sources. Together, the Nevera produces 1,914 horsepower from its quad electric motors. That’s enough power not only to catapult the car to 256 mph, but to get it from 0-60 mph in just 1.85 seconds and 0-100 mph in 4.3 seconds, according to Rimac.
Some of you really thought electric cars were boring. Shame on you.