Rimac Automobili

Rimac Automobili (pronounced [rǐːmats automobǐːli]) is a Croatian car manufacturer headquartered in Sveta Nedelja, Croatia, that develops and produces electric sports cars, drivetrains and battery systems. The company was founded in 2009 by Mate Rimac with the vision to create the sports car of the 21st century. Rimac Automobili's first model, the Concept One, is known as the world's fastest production electric vehicle.[4] While manufacturing and marketing high-performance vehicles under its own brand, Rimac also develops and produces battery packs, drivetrain systems and full vehicles for other companies. The Applus+ IDIADA Volar-E is an example[5] of a product developed for another company. During the 88th Geneva International Motor Show in March 2018, the company unveiled its second and latest model, the C Two.

"Rimac" redirects here. For other uses, see Rimac (disambiguation).

Rimac Automobili
TypePrivate
IndustryAutomotive
Founded2009
FounderMate Rimac
HeadquartersSveta Nedelja, Zagreb County, Croatia
ProductsElectric sports cars, electric car drivetrain systems, battery systems
Regular vehicles (starting in 2021)
Owner
Number of employees
850[3]
WebsiteRimac Automobili

History
Founder Mate Rimac at the 2017 Geneva Motor Show

The groundwork for the company was laid in 2007 as a hobby garage activity of the founder Mate Rimac.[6][7] Working on his own, he managed to convert his BMW 3 Series (E30) to incorporate an electric powertrain and subsequently gained attention from the press and investors.[7] A significant part of the early financing came from angel investors and proprietary patents' sale.[7]

Rimac Automobili was founded in 2009[8] in Sveta Nedelja, near Zagreb, Croatia, where suitable facilities were rented.[7] When he was 19 years old, Mate Rimac began converting an e-M3 which served as his first test mule: “I owned an old BMW E30 (MY 1984) which I used for drift and circuit races. At one of these races, the gas engine suddenly blew up. At that moment, I decided to try building an EV. After one year or so the car was able to drive but I was not yet satisfied with the result. It was heavy, not very powerful and the range was very limited. For this reason, I started to gather a team of experts to develop our own components since I believed that the electric propulsion could give much more compared to what was available on the market. At that time, I already had a very clear vision of my ultimate goal. Today, hard work is making my dream come true.”[9]

In 2018, Volkswagen group subsidiary Porsche Engineering Group GmbH acquired a 10% stake in Rimac to form a development partnership, as part of its electrification process.[10][11][12] Mate Rimac commented: "This partnership now is an important step for Rimac on our way to become a component and system supplier of choice for the industry in electrification, connectivity and the exciting field of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems".[11]

Models

Green Monster

The BMW E30 prototype is called the "Green Monster" by the designers working for the company. With a 0–100 km/h (62 mph) acceleration achieved in 3.3 seconds, it earned the title of fastest accelerating electric vehicle in Category A, Group VIII (electric vehicle) and Class 3 (over 1,000 kg) in 2011. The "green monster" develops 442 kW (601 PS; 593 hp) and 900 N⋅m (664 lb⋅ft) of torque, reaches 100 km/h from a standstill in 3.3 s and has a top speed of 280 km/h (174 mph). Five development updates have pushed the e-M3 to become the officially fastest accelerating electric vehicle according to strict FIA rules.

  • Records set on 17 April 2011:
    • 1/8 mile: 7.549 s
    • 1/4 mile: 11.808 s
    • 1/2 km: 13.714 s*
    • 1 km: 23.260 s*
    • 1 mile: 35.347 s*

*Records subject to official FIA approval (pending)[9][13][14]

The original BMW went through five stages of reinvention and now, says Rimac, "it got faster, lighter and more reliable each time." At that point, once realised how little of the original car had remained, he decided to build a new and faster car from scratch.[15]

Concept One
Main article: Rimac Concept One
Rimac Concept One at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show

The Concept One is an all-electric battery-powered sports car. With a curb weight of 1,850 kg, and a power output of 960 kW (1,305 PS; 1,287 hp), the Concept One can reach 100 km/h from a standstill in 2.6 seconds and continue to accelerate to a top speed of 355 km/h (221 mph). 92 kWh of energy in the battery modules deliver enough energy to permit 600 km of range.[16] The car was first unveiled in 2011 at the Frankfurt Motor Show, when some parts were contracted to other companies.[17] The production version was introduced in 2016.[18]

A production of 88 units was initially stated,[19][20][21][22][23] which was later limited to 8 units, all of which were sold.[24][25] The first car was delivered to an anonymous Spanish customer in January 2013.[26] First car was for Spanish company Applus+ IDIADA, called the Volar-e,[27] Second buyer is Dr. Paul Runge, who is also one of the shareholders of Rimac automobili.[28][29]

The battery cells are supplied by Sony,[30] with wheels being supplied by HRE Performance wheels, developed in collaboration with Rimac.[31]

Almost all of the materials are produced in-house, and none of the critical components used in the vehicle are off-the-shelf.[7][32] The current design team includes former designers from Pininfarina[7] and Magna Steyr,[32] while the exterior of the car was designed by Croatian designer Adriano Mudri.[33]

Rimac's goal for the Concept One is to simply make the best electric sports car in the market. For this reason, the whole car is developed around the powertrain and battery-pack. Gear changes or clutches are not needed and due to the electric drivetrain, the reaction time is instantaneous. The batteries are located under the floor of the vehicle together with the other heavy propulsion components, choice that permits to achieve a low center of gravity and a better handling of the car. One full battery charge, that only requires 30 minutes on a 200 kW power supply station, can operate the vehicle for around 510 km (320 miles). Rimac chose to manufacture and sell an exclusive volume of 8 units of the Concept One.

Concept S
Rimac Concept S at the 2016 Geneva Motor Show

The Concept S is a lighter, more powerful and more aerodynamic, track-oriented update of the Concept One. The four electric motors can deliver 1,032 kW (1,403 PS; 1,384 hp), enabling the Concept S to accelerate from 0–100 km/h (0–62 mph) in just 2.5 seconds and reach a top speed of 365 km/h (227 mph).[34]

At the 2017 Geneva Motor Show the company announced the establishment of official dealerships of its brand in Europe, North America and the Middle East, with dealers Manhattan Motorcars, PACE Germany and Al Zarooni Group.[35]

C_Two
Main article: Rimac C Two
Rimac Concept Two on display at the 2018 Geneva Motor Show

The successor to the Concept One, named Concept Two (but styled as C_Two), was unveiled at the March 2018 Geneva Motor Show. The car features an entirely new design with gull-wing doors and various power upgrades. The four updated electric motors now produce a total of 1,427 kW (1,940 PS; 1,914 hp) and 2,300 N⋅m (1,696 lb⋅ft) of torque. The carbon fibre body construction results in a weight of 1,950 kg (4,300 lb) despite the heavy battery packs. The C_Two is able to accelerate from 0–97 km/h (60 mph) in 1.85 seconds and achieve a claimed top speed of 415 km/h (258 mph).[36]

The car incorporates a fully independent torque vectoring system (R-AWTV) to improve handling and also includes many high-tech features such as a facial recognition system that would unlock the ignition only for the owner and adjust the car's settings according to the owner's mood. The "drift mode" present in the car allows the car to drift at high speeds and an intelligent traction control system keeps the car in control during the process. The Concept Two will have Level 4 self-driving capability, according to Rimac founder Mate Rimac. To aid in that, the car has eight cameras, a LIDAR, six radars, and twelve ultrasonic sensors. The production of the vehicle will be limited to 150 units.[37][38]

Rimac debuted the C_Two California edition at the August 2018 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. The new special edition comes in a one-off shade of blue, new wheel design, six liters of champagne and two flutes in the boot of the car.[39]

Component manufacturing

Among other projects, Rimac is in charge for producing KERS hybrid battery systems for Aston Martin's all-new sports car, the Valkyrie. The company also produces battery systems for Koenigsegg (specifically for the Regera), Jaguar E‑type Zero concept car and Seat Cupra e-Racer concept car.[40] In 2018, it entered a technical partnership with Automobili Pininfarina, whose first car, the Battista, is said to be based on the same architecture as the C_Two.[41] The Battista, which was introduced at the 2019 Geneva Motor Show also employs a Rimac powertrain.[42]

Rimac is also involved in the production of drivetrains and other components for race car drivers, such as Nobuhiro Tajima, with whom it debuted with the joint all-electric car "Tajima Rimac E-Runner Concept_One" at the 2015 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. The car finished the race in second position, ahead of all internal combustion engine cars.[43][44]

Other projects

In 2014, it was announced that Rimac automobili is building the first fast electric yacht in the world.[45]

In 2015, Mate Rimac in an interview entitled "N1 Pressing: Mate Rimac (1.6.2015)", Mate Rimac said they made a car which is driving without a driver, what would mean that the car has fifth level autonomous driving. He also said that they are making personal watercraft (hovercraft). They are making 300 of them in 2015, and next year they will make over 1000 of them in total. They are testing them in a lake near Sveta Nedelja. In the same interview he said they are working on a project that will require an airfield, and that they are even working on a flying car.[46]

In 2020, the company was reportedly in talks with the Volkswagen Group to acquire the Bugatti brand.[47]

See also

Similar electric vehicles

References
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  2. "Porsche increases stake in Rimac Automobili to 15.5%". www.autodevot.com. Retrieved 6 September 2019.
  3. https://web.archive.org/web/20201201173410/https://www.croatiaweek.com/working-and-living-in-croatia-foreign-employees-at-rimac-open-up/
  4. Johnson, Bailey (5 September 2012). "World's first million-dollar electric supercar". US: CBS News. Retrieved 8 March 2017.
  5. Domenick Yoney. "New Applus Volar-E is an electric supercar with Rimac roots, courts controversy [w/video] - Autoblog". Green.autoblog.com. Retrieved 8 March 2017.
  6. "Mladi Bosanci i Hercegovci koji su oduševili svijet u 2013. godini" [The young Bosnians and Herzegovinians who delighted the world in 2013]. 24sata (in Croatian). Archived from the original on 1 January 2014. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
  7. Wittenberg, Simon (October–November 2012), "$1 Million Rimac Concept", Luxurious Magazine, pp. 90–92
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