New Rimac Nevera R accelerates from 0-186mph in just 8.6 seconds

19th August 2024

Russell Campbell

Rimac has once again left us questioning our meaning of the word 'fast' by revealing this: the Rimac Nevera R, a 2,078PS (1,528kW) electric hypercar that gets from 0-186mph in a mind-blowing 8.6 seconds.

Just 40 examples of the R will be built, and it gets extra performance over the regular ('just' 1,888PS) Nevera thanks to an updated 108kWh battery that's lighter and more efficient, and sends its power through updated torque vectoring that controls each wheel individually.

The result is a car that hits 0-186mph in 8.6 seconds versus 9.22 seconds for the standard model, but should have a similar plus-200 mile range.

As you can see, performance isn't the only thing Rimac has changed about the Nevera.

Billed as the standard model's "aggressive alter ego", the R is for people who want to experience the best handling performance of a motor-at-each-corner hyper EV.

To that end, it's lower, sleeker and has a massive fixed rear wing that conspires to produce 15 per cent more downforce than the standard car, with understeer reduced by a corresponding 10 per cent through new, quicker steering. Stopping power comes from the carbon-ceramic EVO2 brakes.

Mate Rimac, CEO of the Rimac Group, said: "When we developed the Nevera, an important part of the brief was that it should be a Grand Tourer. We made sure it was spacious, comfortable and finely balanced between thrilling and accessible.”

"Ultimately, what we achieved struck that balance perfectly: a high-performance record-breaking car that could set new benchmarks at the Nürburgring Nordschleife and be driven comfortably thousands of miles across continents. It was a watershed moment in automotive performance, the world's first production all-electric hypercar, single-handedly leading a new generation.

"But we're relentlessly tweaking to customers' desires, and many were looking for a car that really emphasized the Nevera's cornering ability, using all the advanced technology on board. We responded with the Nevera R: all the DNA of the record-breaking Nevera, but lighter, faster and more focused."

A more focussed version of the regular Nevera? That can only be a good thing.