The Rimac Nevera will be a monster

Yes, the only car to use an underscore in its name has shirked that in favour of a sexier, more conventional name. Nevera isn’t just some obscure word that’s easy to say and that looks good in an exotic calligraphic font, though. It’s Croatian the name for a local Mediterranean storm that’s “powerful and charged by lightning”. Fitting.

So what else has changed in the 39 months since we first saw the C_Two? Well, unlike the vapourware you may be thinking of, not an awful lot. That’s to say, those claims of 1,914PS (1,408kW), 2,360Nm (1,746lb-ft), a 258mph top speed and 0-62mph in under two seconds. Promises kept if not quite yet put in the hands of owners…

What else? Well, the Nevera uses an all-new 120kWh battery, which gives the car a 340-mile WLTP range. Once that range is depleted, it can be charged from 0 to 80 per cent in as little as 19 minutes at maximum capacity. 

That battery is integrated and structural, within the Nevera’s record-breaking monocoque structure. Incorporating the roof and subframe, it’s the largest single carbon-fibre piece currently being manufactured in the car industry. Even so, it weighs less than 200kg but still has a torsional stiffness of 70,000Nm/degree. That means the Nevera has the most rigid structure of any car ever made.

Visually, the Nevera seems to differ very little from the C_Two concept of 2018. That said, Rimac has made a number of improvements to the way the car manages airflow and cooling, on the way to production readiness. Overall aero efficiency is up 34 per cent over the early prototypes, while brake and powertrain cooling efficiency is up 30 per cent at low speeds and seven per cent at high speeds. Gone also are the sand dollar-looking wheel covers of the concept, in favour of more conventional forged alloys that themselves are designed with brake cooling and air management in mind.

With all these nitty-gritty details being reaffirmed after more than three years of development and refinement, it would be fair to say that Rimac, of the many that have promised as much, are closest to actually delivering their otherworldly all-electric hypercar. Indeed Rimac is well-known in the industry today as a go-to for EV engineering expertise. Rimac power underpins the Pininfarina Battista and can be found in the Koenigsegg Regera and Aston Martin Valkyrie. Volkswagen has gone as far as trading a chunk of Bugatti for a slice of Rimac’s pie… Long as we’ve waited for the C_Two, now the Nevera, a fool would bet against them. 

Founder of the company Mate Rimac has said deliveries of the Nevera will begin this year. Just 150 will be made, each available starting from £1.73 million.