World’s quickest car: Rimac Nevera takes to the streets

After five years of development and testing, 18 prototypes and 45 crash tests, the first full production version of the Rimac Nevera has rolled off the assembly line.

With only 150 to be produced at about €2m (R34m) each, hand-building of the Croatian electric hypercar will now continue at the factory near Zagreb.

The Nevera secured the title of world’s fastest accelerating production car after setting an unofficial 8.6 seconds quarter-mile production-car world record last year.

With 1,427kW produced by four electric motors, the hypercar accelerates from 0-96km/h in just 1.85 seconds, to 160km/h in 4.3 seconds, and has a reported top speed of 412km/h.

Finished in a striking pearlescent shade of Callisto Green with Painted Graphite Vertex wheels and Sand Alcantara interior, this first car was showcased at last month’s Goodwood Festival of Speed in a series of full throttle sideways runs up the famous Hillclimb. Known as car "#000", and finished with a numbered plaque, it will remain in the possession of Bugatti Rimac as a demonstrator and marketing car.

The cars will soon be delivered worldwide through Rimac Automobili’s global network of 25 dealers in the US, Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

The Nevera was developed from scratch, with most key systems developed and made in-house by Rimac. To achieve the extremely high-performance targets set for the Nevera, all major components had to be custom developed. An entirely new generation battery system, inverter, gearbox, motor, control systems, infotainment and many more were developed specifically for the Nevera.

Rimac Automobili was founded in 2009 by Mate Rimac at the age of 21. Rimac’s short but rich history has seen it becoming a pioneer in electrification and it also produces drivetrains and battery systems for companies including Porsche, Hyundai, Aston Martin and Koenigsegg.

In November it merged with Bugatti Automobiles to create a new supercar company called Bugatti Rimac, with Porsche holding a 45% stake.

 This article is adapted from one originally published on Business Live. Visit Business Live for the latest in business and lifestyle news.