The Rimac Nevera is officially the fastest car in reverse. Guinness World Records presented Rimac with the title after the Nevera reached 171.34 miles per hour driving backward. The previous record was set over 20 years ago by a Caterham 7 Fireblade that hit 102.58 mph.
The Nevera was able to set the record thanks to its unique drivetrain. Four bespoke permanent magnet, oil-cooled electric motors – one for each wheel – power the EV, which can spin forward and backward with full power. Rimac connects the front and rear wheels to a pair of single-speed gearboxes and it’s faster in reverse than the Ford Mustang Dark Horse going forward, which has a 161-mph top speed.
Gallery: Rimac Nevera Reverse Record
The powertrain produces a mind-bending 1,914 horsepower and 1,740 pound-feet of torque. All that power translates into some truly bonkers performance stats. The EV can reach 60 mph in just 1.74 seconds. It can complete a quarter-mile race in 8.25 seconds while going on to achieve a 258-mph top speed (going forward).
Matija Renić, the Nevera’s chief program engineer at Bugatti Rimac, said the team became aware of the possibility the EV could be the world’s fastest car in reverse during its development. The company hadn’t designed the Nevera’s aerodynamics, cooling, or stability for such a feat, but simulations showed the car could reach speeds of over 150 mph backward.
The one unknown to the team was how stable it would be. Goran Drndak, Rimac’s test driver, said the driving experience “took some getting used to” but added that the Nevera “breezed through.” He said he was careful not to upset the car’s balance, gently moving the steering wheel to stay on target and watching for his braking point during the attempt.
The record-setting run occurred at the familiar ATP proving grounds in Papenburg, Germany. The automaker set 23 records at the facility earlier this year, including achieving the fastest 0-249-0-mile-per-hour run. The Nevera did it in 29.84 seconds, but the Koenigsegg Regera snatched it from Rimac a few months later with a 28.82-second time.
The new record is just the latest for the car, which shattered the Nurburgring lap time for the fastest production EV around the famous track. It completed the course in 7 minutes, 5.298 seconds. The Tesla Model S Track pack needed 7 minutes, 25.231 seconds for its run. It also set the record for fastest production EV at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.
