In a year of Nürburgring lap record, over 20 newly set acceleration and braking records and notable drag race wins against top-tier motorsport machinery, the Rimac Nevera has conquered everything. So, to round off the year with a bit of fun, the team decided to start breaking records going backwards..
Back in 1967, the Lamborghini Miura became the fastest production car in the world, using the full might of its V12 engine to become the first to nudge through the 170mph barrier. Fast forward several decades and the Rimac Nevera has just achieved the same speed… but driving backwards.
Witnessed by Guinness World Records and verified using data measured by Dewesoft, the Nevera now officially holds the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS title for the fastest speed in reverse. Hosted at the Automotive Testing Papenburg facility in Germany, the Nevera returned to the place where – earlier this year – it had broken more than 20 acceleration and braking records in a single day, as well as the site of its record-breaking top speed run to 256mph (412km/h). Finished in the Time Attack Edition livery worn during earlier record-breaking runs – available to just 12 customers globally – the Nevera was driven to a top speed of 171.34mph (275.74km/h).
Unlike an internal combustion engine car, or even some electric cars, the drivetrain of the Nevera has no gears – the four individual motors either go backwards or forwards but it’s always one relentless wall of acceleration right the way from standstill. That means that the same powertrain capable of delivering 0-100mph in 3.21 seconds or 0-200mph in just under 11 seconds forwards could also deliver similar earth-shattering performance travelling backwards.
In July at the 2023 Goodwood Festival of Speed, the Nevera set a 49.32 second time during the timed Supercar Shootout, making it not just the fastest production car to have taken on the famous hillclimb. In August, the Nevera took to the Nordschleife to break the previous EV production lap record, beating it by 20 seconds on its debut at the famous and ever-challenging track. The record-breaking lap, driven by Croatian racing driver Martin Kodrić, was undertaken using Michelin Cup2R tires, and verified by independent timing data, TÜV SÜD and on-board telemetry.
Each of these record-breaking achievements was undertaken by a Nevera in Time Attack livery, which was launched officially in a limited run of just 12 at The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering in August. The Time Attack’s bespoke paintwork was designed in-house and hand-applied to create a striking combination of Squadron Black and Lightning Green highlights. This bespoke shade of Lightning Green is inspired by a peculiar weather phenomenon that happens before a storm, when charged ionized particles give the sky a beautiful, powerful vivid green hue. The color is also a direct homage to the e-M3 – Mate Rimac’s converted electric BMW 3 Series that was independently verified by the FIA in 2012 as the fastest accelerating electric vehicle in the world at the time. It also happened to be Rimac’s first ever record breaker, setting five separate Guinness World Records.
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