We all know about the powerhouse of a human cell and in the same way, Rimac Automobili is the powerhouse of Croatia. Rimac Automobili manufactures seriously fast electric hypercars, electric motors, and powertrains. The company was founded in 2009 by Mate Rimac (32) who is an electrohead and a petrolhead. Mate had a thing for cars since he was a kid. At the age of 18 (2006), Mate bought a 1984 BMW 3 series (E30 323i) and he raced it with other cars which resulted in an explosion of the combustion engine in the second race. After the explosion, he decided to install an electric motor in his car because of his passion and knowledge of electronics and raced it against regular cars. He started winning races. He named his car the ‘Green Monster’ which ended up breaking 5 FIA Guinness World Records.
In 2009, Mate made the biggest decision of his life by taking a huge leap forward and launching his very own company by putting everything at stake as there was no government support and no investors wanted to invest in his startup. The plan was to build an electric supercar but the technology needed for the production did not exist. Therefore, they created their own technology for the car and built it from scratch. Rimac unveiled its first supercar in 2011, the Concept One at the Frankfurt Motor Show which was priced at US$1.2 million. The total output of the Concept One was 913 kW producing 1,224 HP and 1,600 Nm of torque with a 0 - 97 km/h (0 - 60 mph) acceleration in just about 2.5 seconds and it had an electronically limited top speed of 340 km/h (211 mph). The technology used by Rimac was very innovative which caught the eye of many automobile manufacturers. Rimac decided to sell their technology by becoming the supplier of other automobile manufacturers included brands like Porsche, Pinifarina, Hyundai, and Kia by providing their high-performance electric motors and powertrains. Rimac’s side business of selling electric motors and powertrains kept Rimac Automobili’s business running because of the revenue generated from other businesses.
The company then launched the C_Two in 2018 for US$2.1 million which sold out almost three weeks after the debut. Concept Two delivers a total of 1,914 HP and 1,696lbs of torque to all four wheels which is outlandish. If these numbers are not crazy enough to blow your mind, it does a 0 - 97 km/h (0 - 60 mph) in just 1.85 seconds. The car uses four gearboxes for four motors - two single-speed gearboxes for the front wheels and a two-speed dual-clutch for the rear wheels. The tires for Rimac are custom-made by Pirelli. It is very challenging to understand the technology used by Rimac because of its uncommonness and complexity. It also uses Torque Vectoring System which is used in all-wheel-drive vehicles and it provides the differential with the ability to vary the torque to each wheel. This system helps in improving the handling, stability, and performance of the vehicle.
Every component used in the car is built from scratch and no parts from other car manufacturers are used. Rimac ticks all the boxes of being a perfect package because Rimacs are extremely quick and agile, it has luggage space, packs enormous power, very fast yet comfortable with the best technology, infotainment, and connectivity on offer, spacious on the inside, and easily accessible.
The company is collaborating with the giants of the industry like Porsche. Aston Martin and Koenigsegg are Rimac’s high-profile clients. The latest hypercar by Aston Martin, the Valkyrie, has a hybrid setup and it uses Rimac’s electric motors. Rimac is doing wonders with its innovative technology, it is contributing a lot to the hypercar segment and it holds a very bright future in the EV hypercar scene. The future is electric.