The Rimac Nevera has smashed the Nürburgring EV lap record by 20 seconds

Seasoned Nürburgring enthusiasts will know both Tesla and Porsche have been going toe-to-toe for Nürburgring lap record honours for years. In one fell swoop, Rimac has smashed the pair of them.

Because its Nevera electric hypercar has just set a Nürburgring lap time of 7m 05.298s. That’s 20 seconds faster than the latest salvo issued by Tesla and its Model S Plaid, which managed 7m 25.231s back in May.

Of course, comparing a 1,888bhp purpose built hypercar to an admittedly rocketship-fast family saloon isn’t fair, but the vastness of the gap is worth commenting on. We’re told the Nevera simply wore Michelin Cup2R tyres (very sticky), and was helmed by Croatian racing driver Martin Kodric during its lap last Friday.

Apparently the attempt was carried out on ‘one of the hottest days on the track this summer’, according to Kodric. “Driving it around the Nordschleife was a real thrill, from launching out of the carousel, with 1,914hp (1,888bhp) being delicately distributed between the four wheels, or pinning the accelerator to the floor down the 1.3-mile straight, pushing well over 240mph,” he said.

The run was apparently verified by independent timing and onboard telemetry, and we’re told the Nevera ran the shortened 12.8-mile version of the course in 7m 00.928s.

Lest you forget, the Nevera packs four electric motors – one on each wheel – powered by a 120kWh battery pack, along with seemingly the entirety of Silicon Valley’s coding efforts on board to create one of the most technically advanced electric cars ever built.

A stupendously fast electric car: back in May, it recorded a raft of new acceleration and braking records, even outgunning the Koenigsegg Regera from 0-400kmh-0 (before Koenigsegg reclaimed that record in June in a counterpunch for the ages).

Still. 7m 05s. Really, really very fast. “I’m proud of what we achieved in our first time at the Nürburgring,” said Rimac’s technology boss Emilio Scervo. “Our virtual performance optimisation, combined with only about 20 laps of industry pool testing, led to a great result.”

And as a result, Rimac has created a very special limited edition Nevera dubbed ‘Time Attack’, revealed soon after the car’s record-breaking run last week in California. Only 12 cars will be built, each in a special livery that matches the Nürburgring car’s exterior. The bespoke green shade also directly homages Rimac boss Mate’s electric M3 – the converted E30 3 Series he began his electric odyssey with.