TG's best electric performance car: the Rimac Nevera

What is it?

The evolution of the revolution - Nevera is the condensed technological know-how of Croatian manufacturer Rimac, and when it comes to electricity and advanced control systems, Rimac is the lightning god. As a bit of wider-world framing, both Porsche and Hyundai have both invested heavily in Rimac, and the company just took a controlling share in none other than Bugatti, so we’re talking a behind-the-scenes big hitter, albeit one that’s becoming less and less behind-the-scenes as time goes on. The car? A pure electric megacar that showcases Rimac’s advanced driver assistance and convenience systems, battery tech and control architecture. Not the most outré of supercars as these things go, but an absolutely staggering bit of physics wrangling.

Give me some details about the Rimac Nevera.

The Nevera is basically a statistician’s fever dream, and one of the reasons Top Trumps is going to get boring. Some 1,888bhp, 1,741lb ft of torque from four motors and four gearboxes. Mostly carbon, it’ll hit 62mph in under 2 seconds, run the 1/4 mile in 8.5. There’s a top speed of 258mph and in-gear acceleration that’ll pull your eyelids off. But more than that, it has a possible 350-miles of range from a huge 120kWh battery, and can charge faster than anything. Even better, it weighs ‘only’ 2,150kg, which, when you’re talking about a car with that size of battery, is essentially cobwebs and spit.

Why should I care about the Rimac Nevera?

The main reason you should care about the Nevera is because it’s created a niche of its own. And because despite being powered by nothing more emotional than motivated electrons, it manages to feel endlessly interesting, alive, and about a third of its actual weight. You imagine this to be a one-trick accelerative pony that’s essentially dead inside, but it isn’t. Yes, it’ll pull your head from your neck, but there’s far more depth and nuance to it than that - and you can see how some of the systems developed for Nevera will trickle down to more prosaic technology for normal cars. It’s a £1.5 million showcase yes, but not one without purpose or reality.

Why did you give the Rimac Nevera an award?

Because thus far, the Nevera lives up to the hype, and delivers some genuine surprise. You may not be suffused with desire for a supercar without a V8 or V12, but there’s something special about the way this car goes about its business - if you’re reading Top Gear because you love driving, the Nevera is a warm promise as well as a perceived threat. No, not particularly comparable to the traditional super or hypercar experience, but no less valid for that. This is next-generation stuff in this generation, and Rimac is the original source. Others are coming, Rimac is the first.

For the full story pick up the Electric Awards issue of Top Gear magazine