The Rimac Nevera has just set a new world record for speed – in a rather unconventional way.

The electric Nevera – which has already broken more than 20 acceleration and braking records – smashed a Guinness World Record for the top speed achieved when driving in reverse, topping out at 171.34mph.

Since the electric drivetrain of the Nevera has no gears – unlike a combustion-engined car – its four electric motors can go forward or back at the same speed. It’s why the Nevera, which can go from 0-100mph in 3.21 seconds or hit 200mph in under 11 seconds, is able to achieve such a high speed when travelling in reverse.

Maitja Renic, Nevera chief program engineer, said: “It occurred to us during development that Nevera would probably be the world’s fastest car in reverse, but we kind of laughed it off. The aerodynamics, cooling and stability hadn’t been engineered for travelling backwards at speed, after all.

“But then, we started to talk about how fun it would be to give it a shot. Our simulations showed that we could achieve well over 150mph but we didn’t have much of an idea how stable it would be – we were entering unchartered territory.”

The record-breaking car is finished in a special ‘Time Attack’ livery, which combines black and green shades, with the latter applied in homage to company owner Mate Rimac’s converted electric BMW 3 Series which was verified in 2012 as the fastest-accelerating electric vehicle at the time.

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