The Rimac Nevera is an all-conquering car: in a year of Nurburgring lap record, it has set over 20 new acceleration and braking records and had notable drag race wins against top-tier motorsport machinery.
What’s left to prove? To end the year of records, the company decided to go for one more record that isn’t what people usually care to do – accelerating backwards.
Not a straightforward run
Zooming backwards in a Nevera is not straightforward as most other cars. This is because the drivetrain of the Nevera has no gears. The 4 individual motors either go backwards or forwards – but it’s always just sheer acceleration right from standstill.
That means that the same fully electric powertrain capable of delivering 0 – 160 km/h in 3.21 seconds or 0 – 320 km/h in just under 11 seconds going forward could also deliver similarly impressive performance travelling in reverse direction.
“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 150 mph (241.5 km/h) but we didn’t have much of an idea how stable it would be – we were entering unchartered territory,” said Matija Renic, Nevera Chief Program Engineer.
What the run was like
Of the run itself, Goran Drndak, the company’s test driver, said: “It definitely 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, the Nevera breezed through yet another record.”
Witnessed by officials from the Guinness World Records organisation and verified using data measured by Dewesoft, the Nevera accelerated to a top speed of 171.34 mph (275.74km/h). It now gets an entry in the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS title for the fastest speed in reverse.
Incidentally, Bugatti Rimac notes that back in 1967, the Lamborghini Miura became the fastest production car in the world to cross the 170 mph barrier. Fast forward several decades and the Rimac Nevera has just achieved the same speed… but driving backwards!
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