Rimac Nevera Pulls Four-Tire Burnout on Specially-Prepped Dyno, Doesn't Even Go Flat-Out

‘I don’t think there’s anything you can do to this car that’ll void your warranty. Just do whatever the hell you want.’ Normally, this phrase is never uttered by any salesman of any car brand in any country regarding a new automobile. However, the author of the quote above isn’t just anyone; neither is the car in question. Mate Rimac gave the greenest of lights for a full dyno test of a Rimac Nevera. The catch? It’s not the factory equipment in Croatia but a speed shop in Illinois that measured the output of a customer’s Nevera.

Steve Hamilton’s personal collection of cars (for the purpose of this story, it shall be henceforth referred to as ‘The Hamilton Collection’ because that’s what the owner himself called it) comprises some spectacular examples. Beyond those, the vlogger also owns several mind-blowing pieces of automotive ballistics.

If you’re unfamiliar with this branch of carmaking, it’s because I just made it up – carmakers don’t perform such engineering tweaks on their products as studying the mechanics of said cars by treating them as flying projectiles. Nonetheless, some carmakers should probably address this topic in the future.

The host of The Hamilton Collection YouTube channel has taken his hyper-rare hypercar to Cannonball Garage to get an accurate horsepower reading. Since this hasn’t been done before, Steve called someone with inside intel about the mad-science lightning bolt-eating two-seater. Since all the Rimac engineers and tech wizards were otherwise engaged, a lively, laid-back chap named Mate was the only one available to pick up the video call.

When he’s not busy running uber-rich clientele through the perks of owning a hypercar, the young man is CEO-ing Bugatti Rimac and gives valuable advice on how to not blow a dynamometer with one of his cars. That’s right, how to spare the machine from the car, not the other way around. If you’re planning on purchasing an all-electric hypercar in the near future, play the video below to listen to Mate’s up close and personal words of wisdom about testing the power output of a standstill Nevera.

In short, the car will never give out its true peak performance because the software will protect it from going too fast while not moving at all. The all-electric hypersonic missile automobile has several deeply embedded limitations, and there is no turn-off option, specifically to keep it from going full metal jacket when it’s not the right moment.

The team from Cannonball Garage normally deals with McLarens on a daily basis, so they know a thing or two about fast cars and how they behave when put to the test. Steve Hamilton has paid them visits before—with a Bugatti Chiron—so it's safe to assume that the dyno can take quite a punishment power-wise.

But can it handle the instant torque from the apocalyptic four-motor, four-wheel drive Nevera? Apparently, the mechanics considered and addressed this issue beforehand and stiffened up their gear with extra reinforcements to ensure the Nevera didn't wreck anything.

As stated by the manufacturer, the extremely rapid machine boasts 1.4 Megawatts of power. That’s 1,888 hp and 1726 lb-ft (1,914 PS and 2,340 Nm). The out-of-this-world Nevera is an acceleration champion of unprecedented tenure, with a personal best of 9.22 seconds. That’s from zero to 186 miles per hour (300 kph), while zero-to-sixty (97 kph) is dealt with in a comprehension-ignoring 1.74 seconds.

Thanks to a battery capacity of 120 kWh, the Rimac Nevera has a range of 304 miles (489 kilometers); it completes the standing quarter-mile in 8.25 seconds and will reach terminal velocity when the radar shows 256 mph (412 kph). One last bit of nerdy stuff: the car’s wheels develop 9,906 lb-ft (13,430 Nm) at full speed, so imagine what the dyno has to go through.

Better yet, play the video at 08:57 and see the rollers of the measuring assembly trying hard to keep up with the electric car's wheelspin. The Croatian hypercar wins and pulls a burnout on the dyno in its first round. The second run is a somewhat more objective indicator of what the car puts down. 1,513.79 wheel-horsepower at 93.45 mph (1,534.78 PS at 150.39 kph) is the net rating.

Accounting for an 18% powertrain loss (again, as computed by Rimac engineers and conveyed by the man Mate Rimac himself), the shaft output is around 1,846 hp (1,871 PS), not far off the 1,888 hp (1,914 PS) advertised by the manufacturer. Remember the cautions forewarned in the video call about the car’s own self-protect software limiters. The as-tested figures are 97,77% of the absolute theoretical performance of the vehicle, which is pretty damn impressive, no matter how we look at it.


For what it’s worth, the dynamometer recorded only 1,505.12 hp at 80.28 mph (1,525.99 PS, 126.19) on the first try – but consider the cloud of smoke that came out of it. That’s literally horsepower vapor – the mechanics from Cannonball Garage explain it in more detail. Still, I believe that’s the most accurate kilowatt-hour equivalent of smiles per gallon we’ll ever witness from a Rimac doing precisely zero real miles per hour.