A year ago, the Tesla Model S Plaid set a new world record, completing the quarter-mile in just 9.247 seconds with Jay Leno behind the wheel. On its way there, Tesla says that it achieved the 0-60-mph sprint in just 1.99 seconds (with rollout subtracted and on a prepped surface). But then the Rimac Nevera showed up to ruin its party, clocking the quarter-mile in a scarcely believable 8.582 seconds. Its 0-60 time is claimed at 1.85 seconds, and that kind of acceleration is simply impossible for a road-legal car with an internal combustion engine.
But how much quicker are cars going to get? Have we reached the outer limits of the performance envelope? No, not if Rimac has anything to say about it. According to one of its engineers, sub-one-second 0-60 times are possible.