- Nevera clocked in reverse at a whopping 171.34mph (275.74kph)
- It has smashed the previous record – which stood for 22 years – by 69mph
Most of us with never travel in a car at frightening speeds of up to 170mph – unless we want to be stripped of our driving licences for eternity, that is.
However, a new Guinness World Record has seen this speed recorded by Croatian supercar company Rimac… but with a difference.
That’s because its £2.1million Nevera has clocked a whopping 171.34mph (275.74kph) in reverse – smashing the previous record that stood for 22 years by a staggering 69mph.
Mirror, signal, very fast manoeuvre! Rimac has just smashed the Guinness World Record for the top speed going in reverse
The exclusive car maker says the record comes 56 years after Lamborghini’s V12-engined Miura – often considered the world’s first supercar – became the first production model in the world to nudge through the 170mph barrier.
However, that was travelling forwards.
The previous record for the obscure achievement was set by a Caterham 7 Fireblade in 2001, which took place during the filming on the now long-forgotten ITV motoring programme, Pulling Power.
The bonkers achievement was set in Rimac’s ‘Time Attack Edition’ of the Nevera.
The incredibly expensive EV has four liquid-cooled electric motors and a 120kWh battery. These combine to produce a staggering 1,914bhp and 1,740 lb ft of torque.
The reversing speed record was conducted at the Automotive Testing Papenburg facility in Germany, which incidentally is also where the Nevera broke over 20 other acceleration and braking records in a day earlier this year.
The incredible £2.1m electric Nevera supercar has clocked a whopping 171.34mph (275.74kph) in reverse – smashing the previous record that stood for 22 years by a staggering 69mph
The bonkers achievement was set in Rimac’s ‘Time Attack Edition’ of the electric Nevera. It has four liquid-cooled electric motors and a 120kWh battery. These combine to produce a staggering 1,914bhp and 1,740 lb ft of torque
Test driver Goran Drndak said it was a very different sensation to see scenery flash away faster and faster and his neck pulled forwards rather than back
It means the incredible performance car can now add the fastest reversing speed to its arsenal of records alongside the outright top production EV top speed of 258mph set in November last year.
The Croatian car maker – which also holds a majority stake in luxury supercar brand Bugatti – also holds the ‘official’ outright Nürburgring electric car lap record of seven minutes and five seconds, which was set earlier this year.
However, we say ‘official’ because the NIO EP9 has clocked the fearsome German circuit in just under 6 minutes and 46 seconds in 2017.
However, it transpired the EV was running on bespoke race tyres and not road-spec rubber, nullifying its achievement.
The monumental reversing achievement has been accomplished thanks to the Rimac EV’s lack of gears.
The Nevera has four individual motors either go backwards or forwards but it’s always ‘one relentless wall of acceleration right the way from standstill,’ the car maker says.
That means that the same powertrain capable of delivering 0-to-100mph in 3.21 seconds (and 0-to-200mph in just under 11 seconds) forwards can also deliver similar earth-shattering performance travelling backwards.
The reversing speed record was conducted at the Automotive Testing Papenburg facility in Germany, which incidentally is also where the Nevera broke over 20 other acceleration and braking records in a day earlier this year
The exclusive car maker says the record comes 56 years after Lamborghini’s V12-engined Miura – often considered the world’s first supercar – became the first production model in the world to nudge through the 170mph barrier
Guinness World Records was on hand to present the Rimac team with the accolade
Nevera chief program engineer, Matija Renic, said: ‘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.
‘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 unchartered territory.’
Test driver Goran Drndak added: ‘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.’
VIDEO
ELECTRIC CAR VIDEOS
