How Ferrari F40 Developers Helped Create the Rimac Nevera
Dennis Noten
After notching 23 world records for speed and performance in a single day in 2023, the all-electric Rimac Nevera hypercar is often described by numbers, by its other-worldly specs. 1,914 horsepower. Zero to 60 in 1.74 seconds. 100 in 3.21. 249 mph in 29.93, 1.5 seconds quicker than the Koenigsegg Regera. And, of course, it’s $2.5 million price tag. However, Rimac is more than a company that wants to dazzle you with impressive digits around electric hypercars. (In fact, founder Mate Rimac’s been clear that the future of his company isn’t even wholly electric vehicles.)
Mate Rimac was a company of one when he converted his E30 to a performance EV as a proof of concept 15 years ago. Since, Rimac has merged with Bugatti, now employs more than 2,200 people, and Rimac Technology spun off as its own entity to provide engineering and EV tech for the likes of BWM, Porsche, Hyundai, Aston Martin, and Pininfarina (and a few others the company can’t yet disclose).
Here are 11 fascinating Rimac facts beyond the spec stats.
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Ferrari F40 Developers Worked on the Nevera
Image Credit: Rimac The Nevera may be a new car, but to create the right driver dynamics, the Nevera development team tapped some old souls. Namely, test drivers and engineers who’d worked on the Ferrari F40 and other 1980s sports car icons. “Our team absorbed the expertise and ‘old school touch’ from these veterans,” says a Rimac representative, adding that the Nevera remains a true driver’s car with an unmistakable character, in part, due to some of these legends.
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Each Nevera Has 16 Miles of Wire
Image Credit: Rimac There are 90 wiring harnesses in each Nevera, and, in total, about 16 miles of wire, 10,000 crimps, and more than 1,600 connectors. Every harness is produced in house, as relying on external partners would only increase costs and delays, a rare approach for an OEM.
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Nevera’s Has Enough Carbon Fiber to Cover a Mansion
Image Credit: Rimac If you stretched all the carbon fibers in the Nevera end-to-end, it would cover an area of about 9,500 square feet, or a large mansion. “The Nevera’s monocoque accounts for most of this,” said a Rimac rep, “being the largest single carbon fiber piece in the industry. It weighs less than 440 pounds and is made up of more than 2,200 carbon fiber plies.”
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The Nevera’s Benchmarking List Is Supercar Heaven
Image Credit: Rimac Developed over five years, focusing intensely on driver feel from the very first mule cars, a slew of poster-worthy supercars were used in benchmarking. These include: Porsche 918 Spyder, Bugatti Chiron, McLaren 720S, Porsche 911 GT3, BMW M5, Ferrari 488 GTB, Ferrari LaFerrari, Ferrari SF90, and Ferrari 812. Rimac still owns and maintains these drool-inducers.
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Mate Rimac Hammered a Prototype Off-Road
Image Credit: Rimac When one prototype was scheduled for a test crash, Mate Rimac thought it the perfect opportunity for some off-roading fun before “we run it into a wall,” per Rimac. So, one weekend, he personally flogged it around dirt and gravel-hewn construction zones where the Rimac campus was being built. “But on Monday, engineers informed him that that particular car no longer needed to be crashed. Whoops…,” said a Rimac rep.
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Rimac Crashed 11 Test Mules During Nevera Homologation
Image Credit: Rimac The first mechanized test mule (internally dubbed “MMU”) was signed by everyone in the company before it was shipped off to the initial crash test, which was successful. “In total, we crashed 11 cars during homologation,” says a Rimac rep. “We had other prototypes for various testing, including some purpose-built for heavy-duty use, logging more than 31,000 miles, and those are still in operation.”
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Ample Easter Eggs Abound in Rimacs
Image Credit: Rimac On every Nevera, there are two details carefully integrated into the frit and the spots on the glass. “One of these says “ICE BREAKER,” which is open to interpretations,” smirked the Rimac rep. “The other one, we’ll let clients discover on their own.” Under the hood, there’s a hidden sticker with the signatures of all employees involved in the Nevera. On the Nevera Time Attack, a limited edition of 12 cars in homage to the world record setting variant, peek under the wing to see a great slogan: “Dedicated to those coming after us.” Rimac also etched a message in the cupholder that reads, “Tested for spills at 1.4g,” a nod to the Nevera’s immense lateral grip.
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Nevera Was Nearly Called Marlera
Image Credit: Harold Cunningham “We were looking for a naming system rather than a single name—something we could build upon,” said a Rimac rep. “In the end, Nevera was the perfect fit. It is a Croatian word for a ferocious Mediterranean lightning storm that strikes unexpectedly, paying homage to our heritage.” However, one of the considered alternatives was a collection of names for Croatian lighthouses—more than 70 dot the Adriatic coast. “Our favorite among these was Marlera,” said the rep.
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Rimac’s Team Celebrated Setting 23 World Records In Unusual Fashion
Image Credit: Harold Cunningham On the night of the top speed record, the small team on-site in Papenburg, Germany gathered at the hotel to watch Chris Harris’ episode featuring the Nevera, which aired on Top Gear that evening. “Hearing one of our automotive heroes praise the Nevera and knowing we’ve just set a new performance EV top speed made it a memorable night,” said the rep.
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Rimac C Two
Image Credit: Robert Hradil Rimac didn’t share specific dollar amounts, but the Nevera’s extreme 120 kWh battery costs around what you’d pay for a new luxury family sedan.
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Nevera’s Battery Is Its Single Costliest Component
Image Credit: Rimac Rimac didn’t share specific dollar amounts, but the Nevera’s extreme 120 kWh battery costs around what you’d pay for a new luxury family sedan.
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More Than 150 People Work for Six Months to Assemble One Nevera
Image Credit: Rimac Each Nevera and the majority of the components are fabricated and assembled in Rimac’s Croatia headquarters. This includes the production of carbon fiber parts, trims, paint shop, battery modules and packs, wiring harnesses, electronics, drivetrain components, vehicle assembly, and all warehouse management and final quality checks. By the time each vehicle is complete, more than 150 people will have worked on the vehicle, which takes at least six months to produce—longer if customizations are requested—and about a year after it’s ordered.
Authors
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Sean Evans
