Gear
Electric cars aren't just about being eco-friendly anymore.
Electric vehicles are flying forward, not just in sales and adoption, but in defining how and why battery-powered vehicles exist.
The Rimac Nevera, a supercar developed by Rimac Group, a Croatian company, is doing its part by pushing EV speed boundaries. According to Rimac, the Nevera broke a speed record among electric production cars late last month, topping out its supercar at an eye-watering 258 mph. Here’s what Rimac had to say about the record:
Speed you can buy — That kind of speed (about a third of the speed of sound), is hard to fathom. According to Rimac, the Nevera uses its four electric motors to produce about 1,914 horsepower. That equates to a rocket-like 0–60 mph in about 1.85 seconds and 0-100 mph in 4.3 seconds. Rimac says the speed was measured with Racelogic V-Box, a high-precision GPS-based measurement device.
The new feat of speed now gives Rimac two titles among production EVs: one for top speed, and one for fastest acceleration. The Nevera has even eclipsed storied internal combustion cars, including the McLaren F1 and original Bugatti Veyron, both of which held previous records with 240- and 253-mph top speeds respectively.
On top of it all, the Nevera isn’t just a really fast electric car, it’s also a really fast electric car you could buy — that is if you have $2 million to spare. On the downside, the version delivered to customers only has a top speed of 219 mph. What a bummer!
What’s the point? — Increasingly, EVs have evolved into a lot more than just environmentally friendly counterparts to traditional gas cars, they’re becoming a category of their own.
In the sport sphere, Porsche’s new electric race car is setting standards on the track, while consumer-facing vehicles like Volvo’s EX90 appeal to safety-focused family motorists. Even Ford has electrified its F150, bringing oversized pickup trucks fully into the electric fold.
For each category of driver, there’s now an EV out there to fill the niche, and performance is no different. The Nevera’s creation is just a hobbyist extension of the future of automotive — one that delivers top-notch cars for all types, speed demons included.