Rimac Engineer Says 0-60 MPH in Under 1 Second Is Possible

That’s top-fuel dragster territory.

  • 174
Rimac Engineer Says 0-60 MPH in Under 1 Second Is Possible © Rimac Engineer Says 0-60 MPH in Under 1 Second Is Possible

The Rimac Nevera electric hypercar gets from zero to 60 mph in 1.85 seconds. If we aren't already there, we're definitely reaching the limits of what the human body can comfortably handle when it comes to top-shelf performance car acceleration. So, where do we go from here? To get some concrete insight as to how quickly next-gen supercars and hypercars will be able to crush our collective spleens, I spoke to Rimac Nevera Chief Program Engineer Matija Renić at The Quail during Monterey Car Week.

When asked whether one-second or even half-second zero-to-60 times are indeed possible in the future, Renić responded: "Below one second."

To those not all that familiar with these specs, here's some context. The McLaren 720S—a mid-engined V8 supercar that, by all reasonable measures, is flippin' quick—gets from zero to 60 mph in 2.8 seconds. About two seconds slower than Renić's theoretical future Rimac. Such is the march of progress.

However, the engineer went on to explain that the 1.85-second Nevera wasn't built solely for drag strip bragging rights but rather as a rounded driver's car that's genuinely enjoyable to drive.

"The car is very fast, honestly," said Renić. "Figures here and there, we are very proud of them, but the car is more than that. It’s not a one-trick pony, it’s not a dragster that you take to the drag strip and achieve the best times, and that’s it. The car is actually very, very complex, showing you what automotive technology in the future can do. And it’s also very usable and very friendly from the user's perspective. And in the end what we wanted to achieve is develop a driver’s car, something that’s very engaging and very rewarding just taking it out and enjoying it."

Hopefully, when or if the sub-one-second Rimac arrives, it will retain the Nevera's fun-to-drive ethos. For safety reasons, though, perhaps the company should keep the overconfident CTOs out of that one.

Commnets 0
Leave A Comment