Rimac Nevera: an extraordinary all-electric hypercar

(Image credit: Rimac Nevera)

Rimac’s Nevera “turns everything you thought you knew about hypercars on its head”, says Top Gear. Petrolheads convinced that electric cars are “somehow missing something” are in for a surprise with the Croatian upstart’s latest offering. The car is named after an electrically charged storm that “can pummel the Croatian coast at speeds of up to 155mph” – which feels appropriate, “if somewhat more leisurely than its new four-wheeled namesake”.

Indeed, the Nevera is fast “in a way that’s tricky to put into words”. Flooring the throttle doesn’t just “squeeze the air from your lungs, it sends your eyeballs hurtling into the back of their sockets”. The car goes from zero to 60mph in 1.85 seconds, to 100mph in 4.3 seconds and reaches 186mph in just 9.3 seconds, making the Nevera “marginally faster than a contemporary F1 car”. And there’s “definitely a pioneering feel” to this “first true pure-electric hypercar”. It’s not only for those wanting to be “way ahead of the technological and software curve”, but also for those with a true love “for the hardware too”.

The numbers are staggering, says Jeremy White on Wired, but this isn’t just “speed for speed’s sake”. The Nevera boasts 1,740lb ft of torque, but despite its capabilities, “it proves to be child’s play to drive on the open road”. In comfort mode, “an exceedingly pleasant ride” awaits. Taking the car to 160mph on track mode is entirely different, and must be akin to “what going into hyperspace feels like as light bends around the cockpit”. The car houses a 6,960-cell, 120kWh lithium/manganese/nickel battery designed “from scratch” by Rimac that can be topped up from zero to 80% in 19 minutes when connected to a 500kW charger.

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At £1.7m, the price tag is hefty, but no part of the Nevera, “apart from nuts and bolts”, was bought from the shelf from a supplier, says Tudor Serban on Autoevolution. From the seats to the steering wheel and the chassis, all were designed in-house by Rimac. The price isn’t stopping people, however – 150 units are going to be sold and 50 have already been bought.

The noise from the car’s motors under acceleration is intense, says Ben Oliver on Car and Driver. “Four motors scream and whine as 1.4 megawatts – that’s 1,877 horsepower – pump through them, and four tyres rip at the tarmac, constantly on the edge of grip.” The powertrain is “definitely the main attraction” here, but the Nevera “is no one trick pony”. The power doesn’t seem excessive, “just unlimited”. Indeed, “the Nevera has power like the Fed has money. It just cranks out whatever you need”.

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Nic studied for a BA in journalism at Cardiff University, and has an MA in magazine journalism from City University. She has previously worked for MoneyWeek.