Croatian supercar company Rimac sets new speed Guinness World Record... IN REVERSE! The £2.1million Nevera EV clocks 171mph backwards

Most of us with never travel in a car at frightening speeds of up to 170mph - unless we want to be stripped of our driving licences for eternity, that is.

However, a new Guinness World Record has seen this speed recorded by Croatian supercar company Rimac... but with a difference.

That's because its £2.1million Nevera electric supercar has clocked a whopping 171.34mph (275.74kph) in reverse - smashing the previous record that stood for 22 years by a staggering 69mph.

Mirror, signal, very fast manoeuvre! Rimac has just smashed the Guinness World Record for the top speed going in reverse

The exclusive car maker says the record comes 56 years after Lamborghini's V12-engined Miura - often considered the first supercar - became the first production model in the world to nudge through the 170mph barrier.

However, that was travelling forwards.

The previous record for the obscure achievement was set by a Caterham 7 Fireblade in 2001, which took place during the filming on the now long-forgotten ITV motoring programme Pulling Power.

The bonkers achievement was set by the Time Attack version of the Nevera.

The incredibly expensive EV has four liquid-cooled electric motors - each driving a different wheel - and a 120kWh battery. These combine to produce a staggering 1,914bhp and 1,740lb ft of torque.

The reversing speed record was achieved at the Automotive Testing facility in Papenburg, north-west Germany, which is where the Nevera broke more than 20 other acceleration and braking records in a day earlier this year.

The incredible £2.1m electric Nevera supercar has clocked a whopping 171.34mph (275.74kph) in reverse - smashing the previous record that stood for 22 years by a staggering 69mph

The bonkers achievement was set by the Time Attack version of the Rimac Nevera. It has four liquid-cooled electric motors and a 120kWh battery. These combine to produce a staggering 1,914bhp and 1,740lb ft of torque

Test driver Goran Drndak said it was a very different sensation to see scenery flash away faster and faster and his head pulled forwards rather than backwards by the acceleration

It means the incredible performance car can now add the fastest reversing speed to its arsenal of records alongside the production electric vehicle top speed of 258mph set in November last year.

The Croatian car maker - which also holds a majority stake in luxury supercar brand Bugatti - also holds the official outright Nürburgring electric car lap record of seven minutes and five seconds, which was set earlier this year.

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The NIO EP9 has clocked the fearsome German circuit in just under 6 minutes and 46 seconds in 2017, but it was was running on bespoke race tyres and not road-spec rubber, nullifying its achievement.

The monumental reversing speed record was accomplished thanks to the Rimac's lack of gears.

The Nevera has four individual motors that either go backwards or forwards but always with 'one relentless wall of acceleration right the way from standstill,' the car maker says.

That means the same powertrain capable of delivering 0-to-100mph in 3.21 seconds (and 0-to-200mph in just under 11 seconds) forwards can also deliver similar earth-shattering performance travelling backwards.

Guinness World Records was on hand to present the Rimac team with the accolade

Nevera chief program engineer Matija Renic 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.'

Test driver Goran Drndak added: 'You're facing straight out backwards watching the scenery flash away from you faster and faster, feeling your neck pulled forwards in almost the same sensation you would normally get under heavy braking.

'You're moving the steering wheel so gently, careful not to upset the balance, watching for your course and your braking point out the rear-view mirror, all the while keeping an eye on the speed.'

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