The Rimac Nevera has set a new Guinness world record for driving in reverse.
In 1967, the V12-engined Lamborghini Miura became the fastest production car in the world and the first to exceed the 170mph (273.5km/h) barrier. Fast-forward several decades and the Nevera has just achieved the same speed ... but travelling backwards.
Hosted at the Automotive Testing Papenburg facility in Germany, the Croatian supercar returned to where it last year set a top-speed run of 412km/h, making it the fastest electric production car in the world. Finished in the Time Attack Edition livery worn during earlier record-breaking runs — available to just 12 customers globally — the Nevera was driven in reverse to a top speed of 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 forward, but it’s always one unbroken stream of acceleration from standstill.
“It occurred to us during development that Nevera would probably be the world’s fastest car in reverse, but we kind of laughed it off. The aerodynamics, cooling and stability hadn’t been engineered for travelling backwards at speed, after all,” said Matija Renić, Nevera chief programme engineer.
“But then, we started to talk about how fun it would be to give it a shot. Our simulations showed that we could achieve well over 150mph, but we didn’t have much of an idea how stable it would be — we were entering uncharted territory.”
The Croatian-built, all-electric supercar is armed with mighty outputs of 1,427kW and 2,360Nm.
Goran Drndak, the Rimac test driver, said: “On the run itself, it took some getting used to. You’re facing straight out backwards watching the scenery flash away from you faster and faster, feeling your neck pulled forwards in almost the same sensation you would normally get under heavy braking.
“You’re moving the steering wheel so gently, careful not to upset the balance, watching for your course and your braking point out the rear-view mirror, all the while keeping an eye on the speed. Despite it being almost completely unnatural to the way the car was engineered, Nevera breezed through yet another record.”
MILESTONES
WATCH | Rimac Nevera sets 275.74km/h Guinness speed record — in reverse
Croatian supercar returns to where it last year set a top-speed run of 412km/h, making it the fastest electric production car in the world
The Rimac Nevera has set a new Guinness world record for driving in reverse.
In 1967, the V12-engined Lamborghini Miura became the fastest production car in the world and the first to exceed the 170mph (273.5km/h) barrier. Fast-forward several decades and the Nevera has just achieved the same speed ... but travelling backwards.
Hosted at the Automotive Testing Papenburg facility in Germany, the Croatian supercar returned to where it last year set a top-speed run of 412km/h, making it the fastest electric production car in the world. Finished in the Time Attack Edition livery worn during earlier record-breaking runs — available to just 12 customers globally — the Nevera was driven in reverse to a top speed of 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 forward, but it’s always one unbroken stream of acceleration from standstill.
“It occurred to us during development that Nevera would probably be the world’s fastest car in reverse, but we kind of laughed it off. The aerodynamics, cooling and stability hadn’t been engineered for travelling backwards at speed, after all,” said Matija Renić, Nevera chief programme engineer.
“But then, we started to talk about how fun it would be to give it a shot. Our simulations showed that we could achieve well over 150mph, but we didn’t have much of an idea how stable it would be — we were entering uncharted territory.”
The Croatian-built, all-electric supercar is armed with mighty outputs of 1,427kW and 2,360Nm.
Goran Drndak, the Rimac test driver, said: “On the run itself, it took some getting used to. You’re facing straight out backwards watching the scenery flash away from you faster and faster, feeling your neck pulled forwards in almost the same sensation you would normally get under heavy braking.
“You’re moving the steering wheel so gently, careful not to upset the balance, watching for your course and your braking point out the rear-view mirror, all the while keeping an eye on the speed. Despite it being almost completely unnatural to the way the car was engineered, Nevera breezed through yet another record.”
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