Magazine
The Long Road to Navarra — The Story of Pranav Vangala
A childhood spark, years of near-misses, and the race that finally changed everything.
March 9, 2026
Say hello to the first EV ever to receive a member feature in Supercar Driver magazine...
... but fear not, it has over 2,000hp and shares garage space with a naturally-aspirated V12. Here’s how Supercar Driver member Chris is getting on with the groundbreaking Rimac Nevera.
In my quest to be the first person to visit all eight Poles of Inaccessibility, I come across many challenges. Africa was all man-made danger with the location being fought over by Islamic State, the Wagner Group, Guerillas from neighbouring countries, anti-government rebels and various evil warlords. Antarctica has environmental dangers such as an average temperature of -58 deg C, altitude of 3700m and, of course, no runway, weather or support. Point Nemo is the furthest point from land in the infamous Southern Pacific where waves regularly reach 11m in height, and is many days from any form of help if required. So you might conclude that I’m an adrenaline junkie.
It’s hard to tie down where my passion for cars comes from exactly though. I always watched the F1 as a child, back in the days when there was some overtaking. One stand-out memory was being taken to Harewood Hillclimb by my dad a few times, including one afternoon when the Tyrrell P34 (the six-wheeled F1 car) made an appearance. That’s definitely the main factor behind me taking my first steps into motorsport with a Scoobie at Harewood. Little did I know what a big hole that would eventually make in my pocket.
I have a 2009 Aston Martin Vantage V12, the original manual version in British Racing Green. This is, and will probably remain, my favourite combustion engine car.
Whenever anybody asked me what car I’d buy if I won the lottery, the answer was always “an Aston Martin in British Racing Green”. I didn’t win the lottery, but as business improved, I scraped together the cash for a second-hand Vantage V8 in grey, to see how I liked it. Despite the clutch, I loved it.
When Aston later announced their DBS, I assumed they’d build a Vantage S, and asked the retailer to put my name down for a new one when they came out — time to fulfil the ‘lottery’ dream. The sales guy even had to create a new folder because nothing had been announced.
So, when the V12 was finally announced, I was at or near the top of the list and I took the plunge for British Racing Green. In response, the dealership tried everything they could to change my mind. Apparently greys and silvers “hold their value better”. But I wasn’t planning on selling, so that’s redundant. Then I was told, “it’s not normal”, well, neither am I! Next up was “we can’t put a British Leyland colour on an Aston Martin”. Seriously? Well let’s go for Pantone 20-0182 TPM or hex colour #004225 then! Apparently, when it was on their production line, it got the most compliments they’d had.
I also have a Lamborghini Huracan Evo, Ford Mustang GT, race-prepped BMW M4 and Fun Cup car. The daily drive is a new-style hybrid Range Rover Sport.
Fairly neutral; I’m not particularly passionate about them, but neither am I a dedicated petrolhead.
I do think the government’s diktat that all cars need to be EVs by 2035 is flawed and doomed. Yet again one or two metropolitan elites with a desire to display their woke virtues are impinging on the lives of the rest of the population. If they are serious about the changeover, then they need to sort out the charging infrastructure first.
When it comes to getting my ‘hit’ from cars, I take the same approach as in planning an exped. Get the best vehicle possible and work with the experts in the field, which is where Rimac comes in. Without a doubt, they are the world's leading experts in EV technology and nobody else makes them go faster — just check the Guinness Book of World Records for that one! I totally subscribe to Mate Rimac’s vision.
The first I heard about the Nevera was while working in the office with my son during Covid. He’d seen an article in Wired Magazine and subsequently found a YouTube video called “Dare to Feel the Next Generation of Performance”.
It’s a new car, with new ideas and new boundaries. I certainly hadn’t been wanting an EV before I came across the Nevera, that’s for sure, but my initial reaction was that it’s one good looking car, and when I checked out the performance figures, I was in!
I emailed direct to Rimac from their website. They then put me in touch with HR Owen, their dealership in the UK and we took it from there.
Four independent electric motors
Power Output: 2,107hp
Torque: 1,955lb-ft
Weight: 2,265kg
Chassis: Carbon fibre monocoque with integrated battery
Top Speed: 268 mph
0-60 mph: 1.7 s
0 - 100mph: 3.0 s
0 - 200mph: 9.2 s
1/4 Mile: 7.9 s @ 185.3mph
The Time Attack is Rimac’s special edition of the Nevera with unique livery, bespoke paint options and special interior details. It also features several upgrades focused on enhancing performance and handling, including improved aerodynamics, revised all-wheel torque vectoring, and more powerful motors. It produces 2,107HP versus the ‘standard’ 1,914. In short, it looks a bit better and goes even faster!
The Time Attack was limited to 12 vehicles and the brochure-spec was in green, as a nod to Mate Rimac’s original BMW electric race car. Most people took that option, but I went for red for two reasons: first the colour is aggressive and fits the car but secondly, and more importantly, nobody else did, so this car is now one of one in the world.
The Nevera is surprisingly easy to drive 'normally'. Indeed, when you visit the factory for your first test drive, they hand you the keys to drive it to the test track. This is so you get to feel normal driving such as leaving the factory, driving on small roads, pulling out at T-junctions, negotiating roundabouts and a bit of motorway.
Apart from being a leftie and slightly on the large side (2m by 4.75m) it would work as an everyday car (or it would if insurers allowed). I've driven it in all sorts of conditions, short of snow, and been pleased with its performance. Of course, dry conditions are ideal and it never fails to take my breath away no matter how many times I hit full throttle. You can take audacious liberties; it is so frighteningly quick that there isn't a gap you can't take. You pass anything else so quickly that the gap simply can't disappear.
As you might expect of a car that's capable of 256 mph, it has to be able to stop pretty darn quick. The braking distance from 62mph is under 30m, and it will go 0-62-0mph in 4.03 seconds! The problem is, you get to well over 100mph so quickly, you forget to allow even further for braking. At this year's Supercar Fest The Runway, I hit 194mph and the Bugatti in front was coming up very, very quickly in my front windscreen!
I’m not sure I’ll break any records in the Nevera — probably need to up my driving skills for that — but I can testify that it is so much fun to drive. You can read the stats, like 0-60mph in 1.7 seconds, but that doesn’t prepare you for actually feeling that acceleration. It might be a bit sad, but every time I get in the Nevera, I get a little buzz of excitement.
Yes. It makes me smile every time I get in it.
I’m going to cheat here. The supercar that I would keep would definitely be the Aston V12. But I’ll keep the Nevera as my one Hypercar. The ‘why’ would be the same for both cars — they are just both fantastic to drive and bring me joy. Can you ask for more?
As a groundbreaking hypercar innovation. If, or when, all supercars are EVs, they’ll be able to trace their heritage back to this car.
