Two decades back, any production high-performance automobile with more than 600 horsepower was considered to be insane and unnecessary; that was before the likes of Bugatti and Koenigsegg created the new hypercar segment and made 1000-plus horsepower less shocking. While both manufacturers have kept pushing the boundaries of what’s possible with internal combustion engines, extracting crazy horsepower figures, the advent of electric hypercars has completely changed the game. The 2000-horsepower mark that seemed almost unattainable for a conventional gas-powered production car has somehow become the benchmark for all the electric hypercars that are beginning to hit the market.
The Rimac Nevera is the first of them which has already started reaching the customers. With a claimed 0-62mph time of 1.85 seconds, it’s currently the fastest accelerating production car money can buy. To give a visual representation of how insanely quick the Croatian electric hypercar really is, Chris Harris from Top Gear pitted it against the fastest Lamborghini: the Aventador SVJ.
The V12-powered Italian monster held the Nürburgring lap record for a while, so we know how insanely fast it is. But the drag race between two different kinds of high-performance cars ended up in pure humiliation for one of them, and I am sure you might have guessed which one.
It’s hardly a surprise that the Rimac Nevera with 1914hp is quicker than the Aventador SVJ which has a comparatively agricultural 760hp on tap. But when you see them in a drag race side by side, it’s just shocking. The moment Harris plants his foot on the pedal of the Nevera, the Aventador SVJ is reduced to a tiny spec in the electric hypercar’s rearview mirror. The drone footage giving us an aerial view of the drag race shows the jaw-dropping difference between the two cars. With a 0-60mph time of 2.6 seconds, the SVJ is blisteringly quick, but it appears to stand still next to the Nevera.
Well you see, the Nevera has 4 liquid-cooled permanent magnet synchronous electric motors placed at each wheel which cumulatively produce 1914hp. However, there’s more to it than just the horsepower figure. Torque vectoring is much simpler and more effective in electric cars with multiple motors than in combustion-engine cars, which is not only helpful in corners but also launching from a stand-still by offering better traction. No kidding the Nevera smoked the SVJ. But, there’s no beating the V12’s orgasmic soundtrack, right? Alas, it won’t be around for a very long time. But I’ll suggest you have a look at the video; it’ll blow your mind.
