VIDEO: Rimac Nevera beats F1 car and McMurtry Spéirling in drag dace

(Photo credit: Rimac Group/Press)

The all-electric Croatian-made Rimac Nevera now once again holds the crown as the fastest car ever to compete in a carwow drag race, a regular feature on the world’s largest automotive YouTube channel, focusing on head-to-head races over the quarter-mile and beyond.

Competing against a version of the Red Bull Racing RB8 – winner of both the Formula One Driver’s and Constructor’s Championships in 2012 – and the McMurtry Spéirling – the fan-assisted single seater that holds the outright record at the Goodwood Festival of Speed – the Nevera won two out of the three standing-start races.

As the only two-seater, and a road-legal GT hypercar, the Nevera is already at a distinct disadvantage. But it was always the vision during its conception that this car not only be extraordinarily fast in a straight line, but also able to go the distance in supreme comfort, with space for two people and their luggage. 

The Red Bull Racing RB8 and McMurtry Spéirling, meanwhile, are dedicated track-focused machines, almost shrink-wrapped around the driver. Both masterpieces of engineering and design, but very single-mounded in their focus.

In the first run of the day, the Nevera lined-up on one of the UK’s longest runways ready to claim another record during a year of setting new benchmarks. The Nevera has already smashed more than 20 performance records this year alone, including setting new world-beating times for 0-60mph, 0-100mph, and 0-186mph acceleration.

With the McMurtry Spéirling’s active aero fan sucking it down to the road for ultimate traction and with Red Bull Racing reserve driver, Liam Lawson, at the wheel of the RB8 this was set to be the Nevera’s most demanding test yet. At the end of the ‘3-2-1’ countdown the RB8’s V8 engine screamed as Lawson deftly engaged the hand-operated clutch, the Spéirling fired off with the ferocity of a rocket and the Nevera’s independent four-wheel-drive – supplied by individual motors – carefully allocated the right amount of torque to each wheel for the optimum launch.

Although the lighter machine got off the line slightly quicker, the Nevera immediately reeled them in with its 1,914hp powertrain, finishing just ahead of both at the ¼-mile mark. In the second race, the Spéirling finished first, but the Nevera once again proved its ability during the final ¼-mile race of the day, and the rolling race from 50mph to ½-mile to become the overall champion, and the fastest car ever to run in a carwow drag race.

“It’s an honor to line-up against two genius pieces of automotive performance engineering and even more overwhelming to come out on top. This result is thanks to years of dedicated work to ensure that not only is the Nevera extremely powerful, but that it’s also eminently usable; any one of our owners could go out tomorrow and do a quarter-mile run faster than a Formula One car. And with our advanced control systems and vehicle dynamics, we’ve finely tuned the Nevera into a car that’s confidence-inspiring on twisting roads, as well as extremely quick and exciting,” said Mate Rimac, Founder and CEO of Rimac Group.

In July, the Nevera took on the Goodwood Festival of Speed hillclimb for the second time and clocked a blistering 49.32-second time in the Supercar Shootout, making it not only the fastest electric production car to tackle the iconic twisting hillclimb but also the fastest production car of any type to do so in 2023. It will be making more record-breaking attempts later in the year, too.

“This comparison between three record-breaking cars, including one of the most dominant F1 machines of all time, elevated the drag race to unprecedented heights. It was undoubtedly the most thrilling race I’ve ever participated in. Congratulations to the Rimac team,” said carwow presenter Mat Watson.

Watch the  drag race below.