Watching Rimac and Koenigsegg compete for automotive records is like watching a battle of David versus … well, David, actually.

Both are relatively new, extremely low volume automotive brands achieving performance figures that far surpass legacy supercar brands.

Sweden’s Christian von Koenigsegg was just 22 years old when he created his automotive brand in 1994, while Croatia’s Mate Rimac was just 21 years old when he created his automotive brand in 2009. Koenigsegg squeezes out as much power as possible out of internal combustion engines and hybrid powertrains to make its cars blast through time traps while Rimac creates the most powerful electric motors it can to attain its lofty performance figures.

Now, Rimac, in its latest Nevera R electric hypercar, has taken back the 0-400-0 km/h record from Koenigsegg, plus it set many other records in the process.

The above record is for being the quickest from zero to 400 km/h and back down to zero. To put this achievement into perspective, brands such as Ferrari, Lamborghini and McLaren can’t even attempt such a record as they don’t make cars that can travel 400 km/h (249 mph).

So Rimac has taken this record back from Koenigsegg. The two companies have had a back and forth with this record over several years now. Prior to these two brands exchanging it, it was held by Bugatti, which, by the way, is now part of the Bugatti Rimac joint venture, although at the time Bugatti set that record it was still operating separately from Rimac Automobili.

0-400-0 km/h records

The Rimac Nevera R has managed the 0-400-0 km/h record in 25.79 seconds, the automaker announced July 9.

Here are the 0-400-0 records from recent years:

• Rimac Nevera R – 25.79 seconds (2025)
• Koenigsegg Jesko Absolut – 27.83 seconds (2024)
• Koenigsegg Regera – 28.81 seconds (2023)
• Rimac Nevera – 29.93 seconds (2023)
• Koenigsegg Regera – 31.49 seconds (2019)
• Koenigsegg Agera RS – 33.49 seconds (2017)
• Bugatti Chiron – 41.96 seconds (2017)

Nevera R sets 24 records

While the 0-400-0 km/h record is certainly headline-worthy, the automaker managed to break or establish a total of 24 new world records in a recent visit to the Automotive Testing Papenburg facility in Germany.

Another noteworthy record is the fastest top speed achieved in an EV when the Nevera R hit a speed of 431.45 km/h (268.2 mph).

Below are some of the Nevera R’s records and how much quicker they are over the records it broke:

• 0-100 km/h: 1.72 seconds (improvement of 0.09s)
• 0-100 mph: 2.96 seconds (improvement of 0.25s)
• 0-200 km/h: 3.95 seconds (improvement of 0.47s)
• 0-300 km/h: 7.89 seconds (improvement of 1.33s)
• 0-200 mph: 9.25 seconds (improvement of 1.61s)
• 0-400 km/h: 17.35 seconds (improvement of 3.96s)
• 100-200 km/h: 2.22 seconds (improvement of 0.37s)
• 200-250 km/h: 1.65 seconds (improvement of 0.35s)
• 200-300 km/h: 3.89 seconds (improvement of 0.9s)
• 0-100-0 km/h: 3.32 seconds (improvement of 0.67s)
• 0-200-0 km/h: 8.58 seconds (improvement of 0.27s)
• 0-300-0 km/h: 14.49 seconds (improvement of 1.19s)
• 0-400-0 km/h: 25.79 seconds (improvement of 4.14s)
• 0-250-0 mph: 26.20 seconds (improvement of 5.21s)
• Quarter mile: 7.90 seconds (improvement of 0.35s)
• Standing mile: 19.71 seconds (improvement of 0.88s)

The automaker said there are plenty of other records for the Nevera R to go after, and mentioned lap times at the Nürburgring Nordschleife and the hill climb at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. The Nevera previously held the fastest lap time for an EV at the Nordschleife racetrack until it was surpassed by the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra earlier this year.

“When we first introduced Nevera it almost seemed like the pinnacle of hypercar performance had been reached. In a single generation, we had created a performance jump that previously would have taken decades. But now, through relentless innovation, Nevera R goes even faster, while still maintaining much of the comfort and practicality that makes the Nevera a real, usable daily car. Breaking records is in our DNA, and we won’t stop here,” Mate Rimac said in a news release.

Rimac Automobili will build just 40 units of the Nevera R, with each car having a starting price of 2.3 million euros ($3.67 million Canadian).

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