The never To be by Rimac the first “mass-production” car, following the Croatian company’s first model, the Concept_One.
While the second model is also an electric supercar, the two have nothing in common, as the Nevera was created from the ground up as a new car with almost every part developed in-house.
It has four electric motors, giving the carbon-tube coupe enough performance for Rimac to claim the Nevera as fastest electric car in the world.
Only 150 examples of Rimac will be produced and still have production slots in it. To see what all that fuss was about, we went to Zagreb for a factory tour before driving the Nevera on road and track.
Rimac even let us use the crazy Drift mode to melt some tires.
How much does Rimac Nevera cost?
It’s not cheap.
Prices start from 2 million euros ($3.16 million) in Europe. There are three standard trim levels to choose from: GT, Signature and Timeless.
Naturally, customers can choose to trim and furnish to their liking within their budget.
All vehicles will be built with left hand drive. As noted earlier, production is limited to 150 pieces worldwide.
What does Rimac Nevera look like on the inside?
As you would expect from an expensive supercar, even stepping into Nevera is an experience.
There’s a custom carbon fiber tub underneath that houses a large H-shaped battery pack, but Rimac designed it all himself, so the batteries are packaged to allow the driver and passenger to sit low in the vehicle.
Even so, and the extremely low roof, access is easy thanks to the butterfly doors that incorporate part of the roof and side sills.
You sit on the body-hugging bucket seats made by Sabelt to Rimac’s specifications, and the choice of upholstery is up to you – though the Mate Rimac; founder of the company, would prefer if you chose one of the ‘vegan’ finishes.
Depending on your preference, the Nevera’s cabin is decked out with its own switches – even the infotainment software is an in-house product.
Below the central touchscreen is a solid array of physical buttons, while Rimac boasts large protruding body controls that can be pushed, pulled, or rotated to allow the driver to choose from a multitude of options. driving mode number.
It’s a welcome analog touch to what is undoubtedly a car of the digital generation.
We weren’t convinced, however, by the steering wheel, which has Ferrari-like indicator buttons, but in front of it is a wonderfully sharp digital display that houses customizable gauges.
What’s under the bonnet?
We mentioned the H-shaped battery pack. That has a 120kWh capacity for a theoretical range up to 480 km between the electrodes.
Rimac designed its own built-in AC charger, while also providing Nevera with DC charging up to 500kW – which is faster than any Australian EV charger can currently manage.
Speaking of faster speeds, the battery sends power to four electric motors, two in the front and two in the rear, all independently controlled.
The maximum power quoted is 1408kWsupported by 1740Nm of torque. Rimac planned to use a two-speed transmission, a technique used on the Porsche Taycanbut instead, they design their own engines and their operation to use a single-speed transmission.
According to Rimac, Nevera can reach a speed of 100km / h from rest in just 1.97 secondsdespite the weight 2150kg. Recently it hit the top 412km/h to set a new world record for an electric car, although a customer’s vehicle can only run at such a speed after special preparations have been made by the factory to ensure that the tires are in good condition, etc.
It is encouraging, however, that the starter control base can be used at any time without preheating the battery pack or anything – and still has over 1000 kW available even when the battery is charged. at 30%.
How does the Rimac Nevera drive?
Despite the attention-grabbing numbers and supercar bill, Rimac is adamant that the Nevera was developed to play the role of a GT car.
To convince us, the company had us drive the car on a busy highway, then a zigzag and zigzag road with greasy surfaces, and finally through a town. small town before we hit a test track to really push the car to its limits.
Key to Nevera’s versatility is adaptive damping and active cruise height adjustment. However, there are many subsystems that can be adjusted according to the selected driving mode.
On the road, drivers choose from Range (for maximum efficiency), Cruise for comfortable long-distance driving, and Sport for better focus and response.
There is a clear difference between the three, as the wire-steering and wire-braking systems, the aerodynamics, ride height, damping, throttle response and front-to-rear torque split are all done. tuning – along with a proprietary torque vectoring system. All of these elements can also be adjusted by the driver and saved in one of two customization modes.
The brakes are a bit odd at everyday traffic speeds, but the steering is still active and seemingly packed with information. Although the Nevera feels a bit wide for urban driving, visibility is good, so it helps the driver use the car with confidence.
On quicker but wet roads, that is reinforced as a slight rear slip is clearly communicated to the driver and easily remedied.
Through all of this, Nevera’s performance is a breeze, rather than dominating the experience. In the softest mode, the suspension is still firm, but the car moves on the ground so it doesn’t feel uncomfortable on the highway.
However, that’s not what you call quiet. Thankfully, the Rimac has avoided the temptation to introduce its own synthetic noise signature, but the engines make their own distinctive sound, increasing in pitch as you move faster. Of course, it is very different from the notes of the internal combustion engine, but it is interesting in its own way.
That excitement rose a few notches as we started the lap and tried out the Track and Drift modes. The latter is silly, making it ridiculously easy to burn a tire in a cloud of smoke if you have the space and the incline.
Interestingly, Rimac not only uses the rear motors for this trick, but also selectively transfers power to the front engines, allowing the rider to look like a drifting royalty without need to try too hard.
The Nevera is even more impressive if you try to drive it quickly on the track without fanfare. The torque vectoring system utilizes all four engines needed to keep the car on track the driver intended, yet somehow it still feels engaging and as if you is part of the process.
It devours straights of any length in a ridiculously short amount of time, so it takes your brain a few laps to catch up and realize you need to start braking a little earlier. But the Nevera is also quite stable, and the brakes are excellent in this environment.
It’s an electric car that you’ll want to use on the track, that’s for sure.
You get what?
aerodynamics
- active factor
- Bonnet
- Front spoiler
- Rear diffuser
- rear wing
Chassis and structure
- Carbon fiber monocoque frame
- Bonded carbon fiber roof
- Carbon fiber rear subframe
- Carbon fiber, aluminum impact structure
- Electro-hydraulic brake
- Wire brake function
- break mix
- Pedal feel simulator
- 390mm 6-piston brake (front and rear)
hardware ADAS
- 13 cameras
- 6 radars
- 12 ultrasonic sensors
security system
- Dual front and side airbags
- torque vector
- Traction control
- Stability control
Tire
- Michelin Pilot Sport 4S
- Front side 275/35 R20
- 315.35 R20 rear
CarExpert takes on Rimac Nevera
While the Nevera certainly meets its mature performance numbers, it’s even more special than they convey.
It’s one of the most high-tech cars in the world, built by a Croatian company with a new and innovative face. Sure, it’s insanely expensive and has a few quirks to get used to, but at the same time, there’s very little like it on the market.
Think of it as part of the company’s glorious start, and the price tag doesn’t seem too crazy compared to many old-fashioned supercars on the market.
We have no doubt that Rimac has a bright future ahead of it – hopefully it makes its way to Australia eventually.
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THAN: Rimac Nevera revealed
THAN: Rimac Nevera becomes world’s fastest EV
