‘Twas only a matter of time before someone went absolutely berserk with an electric powertrain. Long in the works as code word C_Two, the Croats finally revealed their Frankenstein creation as the Nevera. Nevera is the Coratian word for a large storm, and what a storm it riles up. If you thought any other car was fast— think Model S Plaid or even a Hellcat, the Nevera makes anything look like a Model T. Propelled by 4 electric motors and with those motors combined making an astounding 1,914 horsepower, the Nevera sprints— forgive me, absolutely dashes at the speed of light to 60 MPH in a mind boggling 1.89 seconds. Wrap your head around that. Because I for one thought my mom’s Lexus was fast.
Birthed in Zagreb, the Nevera was born from a prototype first unveiled at the 2018 Geneva Motor Show and it hasn’t exactly looked back. Rimac engineers worked day and night to get such a high profile product out on the market. Rimac states that every single aspect of the C_Two was enhanced to some degree in the 3 years this has been Rimac’s flagship in the making. In order to create such an absurd vehicle Mate Rimac, the creator of the aptly named company explained that when they “first revealed the C_Two, we set our targets extremely high. There was nothing else that could come close to matching the car’s cutting-edge electric powertrain and extreme performance.”
Rimac’s dream wasn’t the only thing set high, so was its top speed. At a claimed 258 MPH, the Nevera sits right under the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport on the fastest production car list. To get itself mounted on that list however, the Nevera is the first electric car to cross the 250 MPH threshold and it didn’t do that by pure Croatian luck. Run by a quad motor system, making the effectively an independent AWD system. What makes a car fast? That’s something I bet Ferrari and Lamborghini asked themselves. Neither of them have an answer for this however, the Nevera sends power to all four wheels. Check. The Nevera has one of the lowest drag coefficients of any production car. Check. 0-100 MPH in 4.3 seconds. Check. One of the craziest launch controls of all time with instant torque going straight to all four wheels. Check. Except in a segment as niche and sparse as this, ticking all the boxes isn’t enough.
To bring true justice to the EV world, and solidify itself as a true stepping stone to a fully electrified world, it needs to have a tinge of practicality. After all, what good is the Nevera if you can only do one pass in your private airstrip? The Nevera will give Tesla’s infrastructure a run for its money, I’d half-heartedly say Elon is reserving one right now. 20% to 80% recharging time is just 18 minutes and on a full charge it’ll get 340 miles… quite the numbers for something that costs north of $2,000,000. Stock with a 120 kWh battery, the Nevera puts up Tesla digits in the practicality department, a huge step for EV technology.
The styling keeps its ticks within regular supercar styling, as if there was anything regular about it in the first place. It’s a sharp departure from the likeness of the Cybertruck and other EVs on the market with their polarizing looks and design. Rimac made the Nevera distinctive yet still familiar in order to really set their foot on top of the supercar market, a segment where the slightest unfavorable difference could send your sales crashing like Dogecoin.
Carbon fiber galore, the lightweight material is used liberally, in addition to the frame also being made out of the compound, allowing the electric motors to work even less. But literally it’s everywhere. Dashboard, the seat backing, and the center control bezel. It looks carbon won the periodic table game of Risk. The interior looks lush and well done otherwise however. The seats look well bolstered and luxurious at the same time, a metaphor for this car’s dynamic. The peanut butter on the press car is used tastefully in our opinion and fits well with the exterior color of Croatian Blue. Rimac will also offer trim levels: the GT, Signature, Timeless, and Bespoke. A full LED gauge cluster as well as a trio of massive screens placed throughout the cockpit complete the Star Trek looking vehicle. With supposedly enough space for two people and luggage, Rimac insists that the Nevera is a true grand tourer just as much as a track ripper.
Rotary dials and aluminum billet finished switches have been ushered in in lieu of digging through some infotainment screen, which most driving enthusiasts and consumers within the Nevera’s demographic will appreciate. Through that said infotainment screen, the Nevera will relay its performance data and track information to the driver as well as Rimac itself to better update and tune the Nevera. Rimac also offers the world’s first AI driving coach: ” To enable drivers of all abilities to extract maximum performance from the Nevera and help them further develop their track driving skills, Rimac has developed the world’s first AI (Artificial Intelligence) Driver Coach. Adding a new, immersive dimension to the driving experience, Nevera’s Driver Coach evaluates performance and provides guidance to optimize and enhance the driver’s on-track performance.
By accessing 12 ultrasonic sensors, 13 cameras, 6 radars, and the very latest NVIDIA Pegasus operating system, the Rimac Driving Coach adds an additional, immersive experience behind the wheel. The system overlays selected race circuits in real-time, offering clear and precise audio and visual guidance, to enable drivers to perfect their racing lines, braking and acceleration points and steering inputs.”
The Nevera sits at the crossroads of three distinctive markets, hypercar, GT, and EV. That’s why it’s such an important vehicle. With only 150 being made and a sticker price of over $2,000,000, the Nevera offers a unique experience. Even though you’ll probably never see one nor own one, it’s presence will still be felt as the technology keeps moving on to consumer mainstream vehicles.
