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YOU might not have heard of Rimac supercars or its founder, Mate Rimac, because in our part of the world, his hyper-fast electric-powered vehicles have not arrived and there has been little media coverage on this remarkable electric supercar company. There must be a reason why?
Born in 1988, this young, Croatian entrepreneur had the vision to create the world's best electric sports car. He wanted to prove to the entire automotive industry that an electric car can compete with high-end, fast, and striking supercars from the likes of Ferrari, Lamborghini and Porsche. Inspired by Nikola Tesla, Rimac's first project (at the age of 17) was the iGlove which was a glove that worked like a mouse and keyboard to operate a computer.
Rimac used the money earned from iGlove to buy a stock BMW E30 and started racing this BMW 323i until the engine blew up. Using his background in electronics he decided to replace his blown six-cylinder engine with a battery-powered unit.
After a few attempts and failures, Rimac's electric-powered E30 won a 2010 competition against 300 cars with the fastest time recorded. In 2012, Rimac's E30 broke a Guinness World Record for the fastest quarter-mile time done by an electric car, with a time of just 11 seconds.
He also broke an FIA record for the fastest accelerating electric car in Category A, Group VIII for electric vehicles and in Class 3 for vehicles weighing over 1,000 kilograms.
Rimac Automobili was founded in 2009 and by 2011 his first electric supercar was born with four electric motors producing a total of 1,288 horsepower and 1,600-newton metre of torque that allows this car to accelerate from standstill to 100km/h in only 2.5 seconds.
Top speed was limited to 340km/h. Powered by a 90 kWh Lithium Nickel Manganese Cobalt Oxide battery, Rimac managed a possible 510 kilometres driving range and the battery could be fully charged in 30 minutes when connected to a fast 200 kW charger.
Over the next few years, there was little interest from buyers and Rimac continued its development until 2018 when the Rimac C-Two was unveiled with an acceleration time from standstill to 100km/h in just 1.85 seconds and a top speed of 415km/h.
The C_Two was the fastest accelerating car and one of the fastest cars in the world. The C_Two had a claimed range of 674km on a single charge and could be recharged to 80% in under 30 minutes when connected to a fast 200 kW charger.
Porsche joined Rimac as an investor in 2018 and increased its stake to 15.5% in September 2019. The latest capital increase illustrates the expansion of the strategic partnership. Porsche is now investing an additional €70 million (RM343 million). This means that Porsche will hold 24% of the shares without exercising a controlling influence.
The timing seems right for Porsche as they could benefit from Rimac’s battery technology for their Taycan and Taycan Cross electric cars and Rimac is well on its way to becoming a Tier 1 supplier for Porsche and even other brands under the Volkswagen Group producing electric cars.
Porsche has already placed its first orders with Rimac for the development of highly innovative series components. Rimac has also been supplying EV parts to Aston Martin, Hyundai and Kia for the past few years as they move quickly into battery-powered mobility. – The Vibes, March 10, 2021
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