The Owl is impressive, but it's no Rimac Nevera.
The Aspark Owl set two new Guinness World Records earlier this week, making it the third all-electric hypercar competing for the title of the supreme leader in this extremely niche segment.
The quad-motor EV set two new average speed records. Over an eighth of a mile, it averaged 192.02 mph, and over a quarter-mile, it averaged 198.12 mph. While bagging two records in one day is impressive, the Rimac Nevera sort of set a new standard when it broke 23 speed and acceleration records in one day.
This makes the Aspark Owl look like another also-ran, while the Rimac represents another Bugatti Veyron-like turning point in the automotive industry. Sadly, the Owl could have been much more if the team behind the test verified some of Aspark's claimed figures.
According to the Japanese brand, the Owl can accelerate from 0-60 mph in 1.72 seconds and hit a top speed of 260 mph. If true, the Owl is quicker than the Nevera, which has a verified (from two separate companies) 0-60 mph time of 1.74 seconds.
The Rimac also has a confirmed top speed of 258 mph, which is a little higher than the Owl's 249 mph. At least combustion is still far ahead regarding outright speed, even though the topic has become controversial.
The third electric hypercar in this battle is the Pininfarina Battista, which held the record for the quickest 0-60 time ever recorded until Rimac's all-out record onslaught. For the record, the Nevera also beat the Battista's 0-100 km/h and 0-200 km/h times.
There is a video of the Owl hitting 0-100 km/h in 1.87 seconds, confirmed by V-Box data. Even if we believe these figures, the Nevera is still quicker. It seems like Aspark knew it was fighting a losing battle and therefore aimed for easier targets.
While the operation in the video makes it appear like Aspark organized the attempt, it's likely to have been a privateer effort. While researching top speed records previously, the folks at Guinness said they no longer verify records for marketing purposes.
“We are no longer able to recognize records which have been attempted before the implementation of our product endorsement records policy and are a direct product endorsement.”
That's why Rimac used RaceLogic and Dewesoft to confirm its records.
Whatever the case, the Owl appears to be a losing battle. The American price for the Owl was set at $3.56 million in 2021, which makes the $2.2 million Nevera look like a bargain by comparison.
Keyword: Aspark Owl Hypercar Sets Two Speed Records, Puts Rimac Nevera On Notice