The Rimac Nevera breaks another world record - in reverse gear

Evidently, holding 23 speed records isn’t enough for Rimac Automobili, the Croatian EV manufacturer responsible for the 1,914 horsepower Rimac Nevera. In the pursuit of breaking yet another record, the brand decided that they had to look backwards to accomplish their latest feat – by going backwards quickly. 

275.74km/h quickly, to be exact. That’s already rapid in a straight line, but imagine that in reverse gear.

For reference, that’s a speed that most drivers in the world won’t surpass in their lifetime. Certainly not unless they’re above breaking traffic laws, or if they have access to derestricted highways.

Most production cars aren’t even able to attain those top speeds, short of high-performance vehicles or premium saloons.

Ordinarily, finding a car that can accomplish those speeds in reverse is a feat in itself. Rimac already has the Nevera, so all they needed was a test driver audacious enough to attempt the backward speed record. Fortunately, Rimac’s own test driver Goran Drndak was on hand.

For obvious reasons, driving in reverse means that your inputs are basically flipped. The Rimac’s aerodynamics aren’t tuned for moving backwards so the car’s wing no longer generates downforce. Quite the contrary in fact. In spite of that, the EV hypercar has done it again.

The fateful run was held at the Automotive Testing Papenburg facility in Germany – the same location where the Rimac Nevera broke its previous 23 records, witnessed and confirmed by the Guinness World Records. 

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“You’re facing straight out backwards watching the scenery flash away from you faster and faster,” said Goran Drndak about the speed run, “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.”

Clearly, he’s built of stronger stuff than we are. 

The previous record for a backwards speed run was set in 2001 and held by a Caterham 7 Fireblade moving in reverse at 165.08 km/h. Safe to say it’ll be some time before Rimac’s record gets broken by something quicker… or by a driver with even bigger stones.

This article was first published in CarBuyer.