back to article Croatian EV maker Rimac claims 412km/h speed record

Croatian electric car maker Rimac says it has set a new EV speed record, and it's nothing to balk at. The Nevera, its second production vehicle, was just clocked in Germany going a blistering 412 kilometers per hour (258mph). That pace – a third of the speed of sound, says test driver Miro Zrnčević – was a target Rimac set …

  1. Giles C Silver badge

    Hmm I can see why the tyres might have a problem a quick rough calculation (couldn’t find the exact size) tells me at full speed they would be rotating 90-100 times a second.

    That is pretty impressive for a bit of rubber

    1. jake Silver badge

      Various manufacturers make high-speed tires specifically for this kind of advertising speed run.

    2. mmonroe

      Garage 54

      Have a look on youtube, and type "garage 54 supersonic tyre". They calculated they got a standard tyre to 1332 kph. The guys at Garage 54 do all kinds of things to cars (mostly Ladas), things the Top Gear lot wouldn't dare try. I used to own a Lada and it was pretty bullet proof. The Garage 54 guys regularly confirm just how tenacious Ladas are.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Garage 54

        Thanks for that one - the joys of an unregulated country are apparent.

        That said, let's just say that I have seen better welding - if I had made that sort of welds when I tried to certify they would not have just failed me, I think they would have made me start from scratch :).

        Very entertaining.

  2. Potemkine! Silver badge

    Would Mr. Richard Hammond be interested to test a Rimac again?

    == Bring us Dabbsy back! ==

  3. jake Silver badge

    "It produces a total of 1,914 horsepower from its four motors, and can reportedly get 330km (about 205 miles) to the charge."

    Shirley that "and" should be an "or".

    One wonders what the cool-down time is after a quarter mile of 1.9K HP ... or if a two-mile airport run will risk melting anything.

  4. Josco

    Not enough range.

    I was reaching for my cheque book but I think that 205 miles (in optimum conditions) would induce range anxiety.

    1. jake Silver badge

      Re: Not enough range.

      Andif you have an even slightly heavy right foot, that range anxiety will probably become range terror.

    2. mmonroe

      Re: Not enough range.

      It would do me. I drive a whopping 5 miles a week.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Not enough range.

        > I drive a whopping 5 miles a week.

        You could cut down your commute to just over a minute.

        1. b0llchit Silver badge
          WTF?

          Re: Not enough range.

          Lets see how that one minute travel time works out in practice:

          • 2 mins preparation to get going and to get into the car
          • 1 min to taxi out of the garage
          • 1 min to reach destination
          • 15 mins to find appropriate parking space
          • 7 mins walk from parking space to office

          I can see how that one minute travel totally will change your experience!

          1. John Brown (no body) Silver badge

            Re: Not enough range.

            I suspect anyone who can afford €2M supercar probably has a reserved parking space too :-)

      2. jake Silver badge

        Re: Not enough range.

        If that was all I needed to drive, I'd walk.

        Hell, as it is I probably walk several times that ...

        1. jake Silver badge

          Re: Not enough range.

          Out of curiosity, I grabbed my Wife's pedometer this morning as I set out to do my chores, and wore it all day. Just got in after the late-night barn check with a couple of the dogs, and finally took a look at it.

          7.2 miles. Without trying, just a normal day. Means I walk a tick over 50 miles in an average week.

          Surprised the hell out of me.

    3. Andy The Hat Silver badge

      Re: Not enough range.

      Actually not a bad range for Britain and the top speed is ok for most of Britain's roadwork-choked main roads. Biggest questions: is there boot space for golfing sticks and can I fit extension mirrors and tow bar for the caravan?

      1. jake Silver badge

        Re: Not enough range.

        You really, really don't want to tow with an EV. Cuts the range down far more than most people might think.

        1. This post has been deleted by its author

          1. jake Silver badge

            Re: Not enough range.

            What, and put a dent on my firewood carrying capability?

            1. This post has been deleted by its author

              1. jake Silver badge

                Re: Not enough range.

                It's a low-boy trailer with a stake bed. No room down there.

                No, I'm not smuggling firewood. Yet.

                When firewood is outlawed, only outlaws will have firewood ...

                1. Aladdin Sane

                  Re: Not enough range.

                  smuggling firewood

                  My new favourite euphemism.

        2. John Robson Silver badge

          Re: Not enough range.

          You really, really don't want to tow with an ICE. Cuts down on the fuel efficiency more than most people think.

          There is no inherent issue with towing - indeed an EV has several towing advantages which aren't available to ICE vehicles (low speed torque, regenerative braking)

          1. jake Silver badge

            Re: Not enough range.

            "There is no inherent issue with towing"

            Yes, there is. You even included it in the bit of mine you quoted.

            The fact is that when towing, an EVs range is severely limited. I can tow a backhoe on a flatbed from Sonoma to the Nevada property on a single fillup of diesel, no stopping[0]. Trying the same mission with one of those new-fangled Ford Etrucks would require at least 6, maybe 7 stops for an 80% "fill up". I don't know about you, but for me there aren't enough hours in the day ... No, make that there aren't enough hours in my life to put up with that kind of nonsense.

            You can keep your EVs for getting groceries and SJW posing. I have work to do, and time is money.

            [0] Ford F-350 dually, 30 gallon main tank, and two 25 gallon saddle tanks.

            1. John Robson Silver badge

              Re: Not enough range.

              Oh it's Jake - of course - I'm sorry.

              No the EV with infinite range and infinite towing capacity whilst going uphill both ways doesn't exist yet.

              Sod off and admit that you drive a lorry, then get a Tesla semi when they come out.

              1. jake Silver badge

                Re: Not enough range.

                "Sod off and admit that you drive a lorry"

                Yes, I own and operate a Peterbilt ... but we were talking about one of the pickup trucks. Do try to keep up.

                "then get a Tesla semi when they come out."

                No, thank you. Too much money, not enough range, can't make a business case for it.

                Methinks you already have a Tesla semi ...

                1. John Robson Silver badge

                  Re: Not enough range.

                  When you say a pickup truck - you are telling me lorry.

                  Oh - and the other minor point is that you really should be taking a rest on long journeys - but I get that USians don't give a crap about road safety.

                  1. jake Silver badge

                    Re: Not enough range.

                    No, a pickup is a pickup. It is not a lorry.

                    I take a rest when I am tired. Driving from Sonoma to the Nevada property doesn't make me tired. It's only a couple hundred miles.

                    My insurance company is quite happy with my driving record. You trying to paint all Americans with one brush, based on a few sensationalist news reports that make it across to your jurisdiction is just plain silly. Did it ever occur to you that they are on the news because they are highly unusual, and not the norm at all?

                    1. John Robson Silver badge

                      Re: Not enough range.

                      No - a US pickup *is* a lorry.

                      Just look at the sheer size and some of the things you tow, It's a lorry.

                      A couple of hundred - i'm sure it was 600 that you drove every weekend last time this conversation happened.

                      200 miles is easy mode for an EV

                      US road safety is not good. But then you seem to have a series of governments that refuse basic safety standards on all sorts of products.

            2. MJI Silver badge

              Re: Not enough range.

              Electric towing

              In 1981 I was towed with a few hundred other people from Birmingham to Glasgow at around 100mph all the way 5000bhp as well. No charging stops.

              Overhead wires.

              1. jake Silver badge

                Re: Not enough range.

                Most diesel trains are actually diesel-electric. The diesel engine runs a generator, which in turn powers the electric engines that move the train. Cuts out the middle-man, and attendant transmission losses.

                Overhead wires (of any kind!) are a blight on the landscape.

                1. John Robson Silver badge

                  Re: Not enough range.

                  No the diesel electric simply allows the train to operate where there aren't overhead wires. The transmission losses are substantially lower than the losses involved in running a diesel engine rather than a power station.

                  1. jake Silver badge

                    Re: Not enough range.

                    The diesel engine runs at a steady state, and is tuned to be most efficient at that RPM/power output. Just like your power station, and almost as efficient. Most modern diesels in this line of work are actually more efficient than some older power plants that are still online.

                    Transmission losses are greater than you are making them out to be. Look it up for yourself. Here's a paper to get you started: http://large.stanford.edu/courses/2010/ph240/harting1/

                    1. John Robson Silver badge

                      Re: Not enough range.

                      Transmission losses in civilised countries are published regularly - I don't need to go back to a 2010 paper to know that.

                      Your efficiency calculation no doubt excludes any refining and transport costs associated with the diesel, and of course ignores the localised pollution associated as well.

                2. MJI Silver badge

                  Re: Not enough range.

                  Diesel Electric is OK, but when busy OHLE is more efficient, much greener and a lot more power can be used.

                  Look at say 1960 stuff

                  Diesel loco 3300 bhp about 3000 at rail on a good day (unless it was the played with one at 4000 - supposedly The Black Watch).

                  Similar age electric, same power, but that is continuous rating with short term a lot more.

                  Go to 70s

                  Diesel train 4500bhp with two power cars.

                  Electric 5000bhp with short term around 7000bhp, yes the Diesel is quicker but 8 carriages compared to 10 behind the 87.

                  as to efficiency the best figures I can find is 50% from fuel to rail for the last British designed and built frieght locos, ALL others are worse.

                  1. jake Silver badge

                    Re: Not enough range.

                    However, the diesel in a diesel-electric is tuned to run most efficiently at exactly the same speed as required to run the generators. It is actually just as efficient as a full-scale power plant (ignoring scale issues). However, it has virtually NONE of the power transmission losses. That's why almost all long-haul freight, world-wide, is powered by diesel-electric. Including shipping. It is quite simply the most cost efficient method of moving massive quantities of stuff from point A to point B.

                    Power line losses in any National Grid are a very, very large part of total operating expenses ... and the more electric cars you plug into said grid, the higher these losses become. Hybrid is the only logical answer.

                    1. MJI Silver badge

                      Re: Not enough range.

                      Our problem is that most of our freight Diesels are now not the ultra efficient ones but less efficient imports, but even with sky high fuel prices these locos are kept on more for their ability than cost to run.

                      Our electric freights though can pull a LOT.

                      And also use a mixed source of power not just tractor juice.

                    2. John Robson Silver badge

                      Re: Not enough range.

                      "is the only logical answer"

                      That's a ridiculous statement.

            3. keith_w

              Re: Not enough range.

              with 80 gallons of fuel, I would expect you can do over 1,000 miles between fill ups, especially diesel so no big surprise there. Sonoma to West Endover Nevada (you didnt say where in Nevada) is only 594 miles. the average for your vehicle appears to be 13.8mpg.

              https://www.fuelly.com/car/ford/f-350_super_duty

              1. John Robson Silver badge

                Re: Not enough range.

                14mpg isn't fuel efficiency it's just pissing fossils.

          2. MJI Silver badge

            Re: Not enough range.

            I once managed 11 mpg towing a caravan.

            Strong head wind

            1. jake Silver badge

              Re: Not enough range.

              I probably manage under 5 MPG (maybe under 4) in places when towing that backhoe.

              Lots of uphill between here (175ish ft) and the Nevada property (over 6,000 ft). See the portion of Hwy 80 between Sacramento and Tahoe, with the high point being Donner Summit, at 7240 ft. From Sac to DS is an elevation change of about 7200 ft ... in about 90 miles. Takes about an hour and a half, it's all super-slab.

              1. MJI Silver badge

                Re: Not enough range.

                Backhoe, is that like JCB?

                Get a JCBGT

                https://www.themanufacturer.com/articles/jcb-gt-is-officially-worlds-fastest-digger/

                1. jake Silver badge

                  Re: Not enough range.

                  No, thank you. I'm a farmer/rancher, not an entertainer of rednecks.

          3. keith_w

            Re: Not enough range.

            my ICE SUV (2019 GMC Terrain, 2l turbo) usually gets about 8.5L/100Km, when towing a small, covered, U-Haul trailer, lightly loaded, went to over 13l/100Km so no matter what you drive, towing makes a huge difference

        3. Caver_Dave Silver badge
          Happy

          Re: Not enough range.

          I used to tow with a Mitsubishi Outlander when they first came out in a plug-in hybrid form.

          We were camping one Easter just north of London, when it rained and turned the field into a shallow lake.

          The faux 4x4's were getting stuck even trying to hitch up to the caravan and were making an awful mess.

          The site wardens watched me drive very slowly from the car park onto the grass, hitch up in the lake and drive away both silently and without a single wheel spinning, and reported it in a magazine. The immediate torque of the electric drive was brilliant for such things and driving in the snow (and pulling away from lights much faster than most ICE cars ;-) )

          Above 20mph the petrol engine was engaged, because as Jake said, the wind resistance really saps the battery.

          1. jake Silver badge

            Re: Not enough range.

            Yes, the low-end torque is GREAT, if you're only going a few hundred yards. But once you're towing a few hundred miles, other factors come into play.

            They are testing electric plug-in tractors. I was allowed to borrow one for a few weeks. I really like the low end torque and the relative quiet. I really hate that I can't use it non-stop for 72+ hours a couple of times during harvest season. This last is a complete deal-breaker. When crops need to come in, I can't have my tractor sitting on the charger for hours on end. This directly translates to towing over-the-road.

            1. John Robson Silver badge

              Re: Not enough range.

              Don't drive stuff for 72 hours straight - it's not safe, or clever.

              You could of course have a swappable pack to allow pretty much continuous operation, but that doesn't fit your "I refuse to consider change" attitude.

              1. jake Silver badge

                Re: Not enough range.

                "Don't drive stuff for 72 hours straight - it's not safe, or clever."

                Don't be disingenuous, it's not flattering.

                Typically I'll drive a semi taking harvest to storage for four hours, then eat and rest or an hour, then drive a tractor for four hours, then 8 hours off. With four drivers rotating, it is fairly easy to keep up the pace for a week or so without getting tired enough to start making mistakes. My operation has more than four drivers available. It also has more than one tractor and more than one semi.

                "You could of course have a swappable pack to allow pretty much continuous operation, but that doesn't fit your "I refuse to consider change" attitude."

                A spare battery pack would cost nearly the same as a spare tractor. And in reality, I would need six battery packs (+ charging infrastructure) per tractor (semi, etc.) to maintain a nearly non-stop harvest. Plus the transportable equipment to do the battery swap in the field. Them thangs is heavy, they is. All in all, quite spendy.

                I have considered it. Electric power for farm equipment looks good on paper, until you look at real world TCO. Then it's shit.

                One exception: In so-called "third world countries", where bleeding-heart yuppies install a free (to the locals) PV system, a free (to the locals) electric tractor that needs no expensive diesel to run can be a godsend. Hopefully that same god will send help when (not if) something breaks ... especially considering that none of the parts will have been manufactured locally, nor be available locally. And good luck finding, and then transporting, a new or spare battery pack ...

                Also, please note that it's not just my land I'm working ... I rent my equipment/personnel out to other locals who can't/won't afford their own gear.

                1. John Robson Silver badge

                  Re: Not enough range.

                  Yes - I am well aware that commercial operations use multiple drivers... But since you insist that very other weekend you need to tow four horses, a n eccavatlr and half a building several hundred miles you clearly have no consideration for the rest of humanity.

                  And your general approach is "I do this now, and think it would be slightly less convenient (but I've never actually tried) so new technology is all bad"

  5. werdsmith Silver badge

    Regardless of how fast it can go, it's still going to get tailgated by a diesel Audi A3. No car escapes that experience.

    1. Missing Semicolon Silver badge

      Makes a change from an Astramax van.

      1. werdsmith Silver badge

        Astramax Van ! Wow there’s a 1990s memory, can’t be many of those left in 2022.

        1. John Brown (no body) Silver badge

          You must be kidding. I suspect there's a warehouse full of them, slowly releasing them into the wild.

      2. MJI Silver badge

        Astra and co

        I remember them well

        The vans went quite well, but the most bonkers one was the teardrop shape 1300, it was quicker than the 1600 as no rev limiter, and the 1600 was detuned.

        1200 was terrible

        2000 was scary

        I much prefered the bigger V floorpan cars

  6. Sceptic Tank Silver badge

    400 km/h in a piece of plastic? I don't think so. I'll stick to my Ford.

    1. Adam JC

      I think you forgot the joke icon, amigo!

      1. jake Silver badge

        I suspect his Ford is made of alumin(i)um.

        I, too, would prefer the Ford. Much prettier, and can go more than 100 miles of spirited driving without having to pause for a fillup.

        Yes, I know, part of the chassis in made of modern superplastics ...

  7. chivo243 Silver badge
    Devil

    0–100km/h in under two seconds

    Whiplash anyone?

    1. Red Ted
      Thumb Up

      Re: 0–100km/h in under two seconds

      My back of envelope calcs suggest that constant accel from 0 to 100kph in 2s is 1.4g (13.8m/s/s).

      That's going to be mostly limited by the tyre grip.

    2. jake Silver badge

      Re: 0–100km/h in under two seconds

      Nah. No whiplash. The unwary and uninitiated would probably lose control, though. Thus the valet key.

  8. theAltoid

    It not the speed that kills.

    It's the stupidity. €2 million for a toy while people are sleeping homeless on the street is obscene. Once everyone is fed and housed, you can play with your capitalist toys, but until then you should have some common decency.

    1. This post has been deleted by its author

  9. Piro Silver badge

    Pardon my ignorance

    But I thought a big fuss was made regarding El Reg using a US house style - why km/h in the headline then? ;)

  10. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    My understanding is the US car design is now done entirely in metric but communicated to the public in imperial.

    I set my bicycle speedometer to display in km/h.

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