World’s fastest electric car

The Nevera has set a top speed of 412kph to make it the fastest electric production car in the world, according to its manufacturer Rimac.

The record-breaking feat follows on from the vehicle’s independently verified 8.582-second quarter-mile run – about 0.4km – in 2021, which made it the world’s fastest accelerating production car.

The Rimac team specifically looked for an oval with straights long enough to achieve the Nevera’s top speed, eventually settling on the Automotive Testing Papenburg track in Germany, which boasts two 4km straights. 

Facilities where it’s possible to achieve speeds in excess of 400kph are few and far between, so it’s rare that a vehicle can even achieve this performance.

The Nevera, pictured, was set into its top speed mode, creating an aerodynamic profile that balances drag and downforce to ensure stability at high speed. Fitted with road-legal Michelin Cup 2R tyres, and with the oversight of a Michelin technician to check their condition, the record-setting run got under way.

Behind the wheel was Miro Zrnčević, Rimac’s chief test and development driver. It was his challenge to get the perfect entry onto the straight from the track’s curved sections to give the car the best possible chance of reaching V-MAX. 

As the vehicle levelled out of the banking travelling at around 250kph, Miro unleashed the full power of the advanced four-motor Rimac-developed powertrain and battery pack to catapult the Nevera well into the 400kph range.

It wasn’t until Miro had lifted off the throttle, bringing the Nevera back down to more normal speeds safely, that the news came over the radio – he reached 412kph, exactly as previously simulated.

That was fast enough to make Nevera the world record holder for fastest EV production car and also the fastest car ever recorded at Automotive Testing Papenburg. The top speed was measured using Racelogic V-Box, a high-precision GPS-based measurement device. 

The 412kph top speed was a target set by the Rimac team when the vehicle was first unveiled as the C Two at the Geneva Motor Show in 2018, and only now – after a collective 1.6 million hours of development – was it verified.

Zrnčević says: “To travel at 412kph means travelling at one-third of the speed of sound. Simply achieving that alone in a road car is incredibly complex, but in Nevera we have created a car that can travel long distances on a single charge, can tackle tight and twisting racetracks and can drift as well as break straight-line speed records, both for acceleration and V-MAX. 

“I’ve driven the Nevera since it first turned a wheel and to see the perfectly honed car is an emotional moment. The most important thing I have learned during the top-speed attempt is how composed and stable it was, confirming that our aerodynamics and vehicle dynamics teams have done an amazing job.”

The Nevera is delivered to customers with a limited top speed of 352kph, but can achieve the 412kph at special customer events with the support from the Rimac team and under controlled conditions. 

As tyres are under a huge amount of stress during such runs, most of the precautions are directed toward ensuring they are properly set up for such high speeds.

Production of the Nevera is currently under way at Rimac’s HQ on the outskirts of Zagreb, Croatia, and the first vehicles are already with customers around the world.