Rimac Nevera breaks Nurburging EV lap record

The Croatian sensation has set another record.

The Rimac Nevera electric hypercar has set a new lap record for an EV around Germany’s gruelling Nurburgring Nordschleife, at 7:05:298.

Croatia’s ballistic battery-powered super-coupe breezed past the notorious 20.6km public road course’s official EV lap record set previously by the Tesla Model S Plaid with Track Pack, which like the Nevera has never been sold in Australia.

The Nevera demolished the Tesla’s time of 7:25.231 – set in June 2023, when it claimed the title from the Porsche Taycan Turbo S – by around 20 seconds, which is an eternity in race track terms.

Rimac’s new EV lap record was set by Croatian racing driver Martin Kodric using Michelin Cup2R tyres and co-incided with the launch of 12 impossibly rare (read: already sold out) Nevera Time Attack vehicles at Monterey Car Week in California.

But the Rimac Nevera’s tubby weight of 2300kg means it’s not even close to the Nurburgring’s all-time lap record holder, the road-legal petrol-electric Mercedes-AMG ONE hypercar.

The 782kW German missile set a lap time of 6:35.183 in November 2022, thanks to its lighter 1695kg weight and hybridised V6, which employs Formula 1 tech and spins to 11,000rpm.

Rimac’s Nevera is propelled by four electric motors that belt out a monstrous 1408kW of power – that’s 1.4 megaWatts! – and a spleen-popping 2360Nm of torque.

It blasts from 0-96km/h (0-60mph) in 1.74 seconds and stops the quarter-mile clock at 8.25 seconds – both mind-meltingly fast times.

The Nevera has broken several production car and EV records, many of which were set at the Automotive Testing Papenburg facility in Germany, where it snaffled the 0-60mph, 0-100mph and 0-186mph records in a single day. It also claims to be the world’s fastest EV with a 412km/h (256mph) top speed.

That said, the eight-year-old Koenigsegg Regera recently won back its 0-400-0km/h title from the Rimac Nevera and there’s also the question of the hard-charging Chinese Nio EP9.

It set a time of 6:45:90 back in 2017 but there’s conjecture over whether that record is officially recognised. Clearly Telsa nor Rimac are convinced.

And while the Rimac’s new Nurburgring lap record is an outstanding feat, it remains about 30 seconds slower than the AMG ONE’s overall production car record.

Nevertheless, Rimac CEO Mate Rimac said the new Nurburgring EV lap record and the Nevera’s other records need to be commemorated – hence the new Nevera Time Attack model.

While there are no performance or mechanical changes to limited-run Rimac Nevera Time Attack, it features plenty of bespoke touches such as Squadron Black paint with Lightning Green racing stripes or a bare carbon-fibre exterior finish.

Vertex alloy wheels are fitted, as is the message “Dedicated to those coming after us” on the underside of its rear wing.

The cabin features sweat-absorbing black Alcantara upholstery with ‘Time Attack’ stitching on the seat backs and a special ‘Time Attack: 1 of 12’ plaque.

“The Nevera Time Attack is a Limited Edition that celebrates the achievements of the past year, wearing a bespoke livery inspired by the car that set of each of them,” said Mate.

“Built in a series of 12, each has already been spoken for by our customers keen to capture their very own part of performance car history. And it’s only August, too, so there’s plenty of time for more records to be broken,” he chided.