You’re probably well aware of the Rimac Nevera by now, the electric hypercar from Croatia that has 2,000 horsepower and set all manner of speed records earlier this year.
It can launch to 100 mph in 3.1 seconds, hit 200 mph from rest in under 11 seconds, and has a top speed of 256 mph. All very impressive, I hear you say. But how fast does it go in reverse?
This isn’t as crazy a question as it might sound. Since electric cars generally only have one gear, logic would suggest that, with no intervening safety system (or sense of fear) in place, the motors should turn the wheels equally fast whether you’re going forward or backwards. The aerodynamics might not be too happy about being blasted in the wrong direction, but an EV with four-figure horsepower must be able to hit a pretty high speed in reverse?
Naturally, Rimac decided to find out. With a representative from Guinness World Records in attendance, the company booked out the Automotive Testing Papenburg facility in German – which conveniently has a massive asphalt space in which to play (I mean, set records in the name of science) – and dropped test driver Goran Drndak into the driver’s seat of a Nevera.
Reverse gear engaged and parking camera on, Drndak hit the accelerator and reached a top speed of 171.34 mph. In reverse. That’s slightly quicker than the Lamborghini Miura managed in 1967, when 170 mph was enough to crown the Lambo the fastest car in the world.
Matija Reniċ, chief program engineer for the Nevera, 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 150 mph but we didn’t have much of an idea how stable it would be – we were entering uncharted territory.”
With that quote alone I’ve decided Bugatti Rimac might just be the best car company in the world.
Test driver Drndak said, unsurprisingly, “it definitely took some getting used to.” Adding to the discombobulation, he explained, “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.”
Sounds deeply unpleasant. And while it might be easy to make light of such an achievement, there’s actually a hefty dose of skill involved to keep a car stable going backwards. Drndak continues, “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 way the car was engineered, Nevera breezed through yet another record.”