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Rimac Automobili (, \'Ri-mats\) is a Croatian car manufacturer headquartered in Sveta Nedelja, Croatia, that develops and produces
electric Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by ...
sports cars A sports car is a car designed with an emphasis on dynamic performance, such as handling, acceleration, top speed, the thrill of driving and racing capability. Sports cars originated in Europe in the early 1900s and are currently produced by ...
, drivetrains and battery systems. The company was founded in 2009 by
Mate Rimac Mate Rimac (; born 12 February 1988) is a Croatian innovator, entrepreneur, and founder of the Croatian electric sports car company Rimac Automobili and Greyp Bikes, a high-tech eBike and eBike technology company. During his high-school years ...
. Rimac Automobili's first model, the Concept One, was the world's fastest production electric vehicle. While manufacturing and marketing high-performance vehicles under its own brand, Rimac also develops and produces battery packs,
drivetrain A drivetrain (also frequently spelled as drive train or sometimes drive-train) is the group of components that deliver mechanical power from the prime mover to the driven components. In automotive engineering, the drivetrain is the components o ...
systems, and vehicles for other companies. The Applus+ IDIADA Volar-E is an example of a product developed for another company. During the 88th
Geneva International Motor Show The Geneva International Motor Show is an annual auto show held in March in the Swiss city of Geneva. The show is hosted at the Palexpo, a convention centre located next to the Geneva Cointrin International Airport. The Salon is organised by th ...
in March 2018, the company unveiled its second model, the
Rimac Nevera The Rimac Nevera (pronounced: ǐːmat͡s něʋeːra is an all-electric sports car designed and manufactured by the Croatian automotive manufacturer Rimac Automobili. The first production prototype car was released in August 2021. Nevera pro ...
.


History

The groundwork for the company was laid in 2007 as a hobby garage activity of Mate Rimac. Working on his own, he converted his
BMW 3 Series (E30) The BMW E30 is the second generation of BMW 3 Series, which was produced from 1982 to 1994 and replaced the E21 3 Series. The model range included 2-door coupe and convertible body styles, as well as being the first 3 Series to be produced in 4- ...
to incorporate an electric powertrain and subsequently gained attention from the press and investors. A significant part of the early financing came from angel investors and the sale of proprietary patents. Rimac Automobili was founded in 2009 in Sveta Nedelja, near
Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital and largest city of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb stands near the international border between Croatia and Slov ...
, Croatia, where suitable facilities were rented. When he was 19 years old, Mate Rimac began converting an E30-M3 which served as his first
test mule A development mule (test mule, or simply mule) in the automotive industry is a testbed vehicle equipped with prototype components requiring evaluation. They are often camouflaged to cover their designs. Application Mules are necessary because ...
: "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." In 2018,
Volkswagen Group Volkswagen AG (), known internationally as the Volkswagen Group, is a German multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. The company designs, manufactures and distributes passenger and commercial ...
subsidiary Porsche Engineering Group GmbH acquired a 10% stake in Rimac to form a development partnership, as part of its electrification process. 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". Hyundai Motor Company and
Kia Motors Kia Corporation, commonly known as Kia (, ; formerly known as Kyungsung Precision Industry and Kia Motors Corporation), is a South Korean multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. It is South Korea's second lar ...
jointly invested  million in 2019 and announced plans "to collaborate on the development of high-performance electric vehicles." In 2020, Rimac recommended Infinum, the largest Balkan software and design company, to Porsche that led to creation of the a joint venture Porsche Digital Croatia with an investment of  million. In July 2021, VW Group's Porsche and Rimac announced that they have agreed to create a joint venture that will incorporate Volkswagen's high-performance Bugatti brand as well as Rimac Automobili. The new venture will be called Bugatti Rimac. Parent company Rimac Group will have a 55% stake in the joint venture, while Porsche will hold a 45% stake in the company. in June of that year, Porsche stated it was one of the participants in a new  million round of fundraising. Rimac Technology is 100% owned by the Rimac Group. Rimac Technology develops vehicle systems and technologies for many global OEMs.


Models


e-M3

Rimac's first car was a converted 1984 BMW M3 called the Rimac e-M3, nicknamed 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 and of torque, reaches 100 km/h from a standstill in 3.3 s and has a top speed of . Five development updates 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) 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 he realised how little of the original car remained, he decided to build a new and faster car from scratch.


Ampster

The Ampster was a one-off electric-powered
Opel Speedster The Opel Speedster is a mid-engined, targa-topped, two-seat sports car sold by German automaker Opel and introduced in July 2000. It was built in both RHD and LHD versions at the Lotus Cars plant in Hethel, Norfolk, England. It was presented ...
.


Concept One

The ''Concept One'' is an all-electric battery-powered
sports car A sports car is a car designed with an emphasis on dynamic performance, such as handling, acceleration, top speed, the thrill of driving and racing capability. Sports cars originated in Europe in the early 1900s and are currently produced by ...
. With a curb weight of 1,850 kg, and a power output of , the Concept One can reach 100 km/h from a standstill in 2.6 seconds and continue to accelerate to a top speed of . 92 kWh of energy in the battery modules deliver enough energy to permit 600 km of range. The car was first unveiled in 2011 at the
Frankfurt Motor Show The International Motor Show Germany or International Mobility Show Germany, in German known as the ''Internationale Automobil-Ausstellung'' (''IAA'' – International Automobile Exhibition), is one of the world's largest mobility shows. It cons ...
, when some parts were contracted to other companies. The production version was introduced in 2016. A production of 88 units was initially stated, which was later limited to 8 units, all of which were sold. The first car was for Spanish company Applus+ IDIADA, called the Volar-e. The second buyer is Paul Runge, one of the shareholders of Rimac automobili. The battery cells are supplied by Sony, with wheels being supplied by HRE Performance wheels, developed in collaboration with Rimac. Almost all of the materials are produced in-house, and none of the critical components used in the vehicle are off-the-shelf. The design team includes former designers from
Pininfarina Pininfarina S.p.A. (short for Carrozzeria Pininfarina) is an Italian car design firm and coachbuilder, with headquarters in Cambiano, Turin, Italy. The company was founded by Battista "Pinin" Farina in 1930. On 14 December 2015, the Indian ...
and
Magna Steyr Magna Steyr AG & Co KG is an automobile manufacturer based in Graz, Austria, where its primary manufacturing plant is also located. It is a subsidiary of Canadian-based Magna International and was previously part of the Steyr-Daimler-Puch cong ...
; the exterior of the car was designed by Croatian designer Adriano Mudri. Rimac's goal is to 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 due to the electric drivetrain. The batteries are located under the floor of the vehicle together with the other heavy propulsion components, which leads to a low center of gravity and better handling. The battery charges fully in 30 minutes on a 200 kW power supply station, and can then operate the vehicle for around . Rimac made eight Concept Ones.


Concept S

The ''Concept S'' is a lighter, more powerful and more aerodynamic, track-oriented update of the Concept One. The four electric motors can deliver , enabling the Concept S to accelerate from in 2.5 seconds and reach a top speed of . 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.


Nevera

The successor to the Concept One, named Nevera (renamed from Concept Two, styled as C_Two), was unveiled at the March 2018 Geneva Motor Show. The car has an entirely new design with
butterfly doors Butterfly doors are a type of car door sometimes seen on high-performance cars. They are slightly different from scissor doors. While scissor doors move straight up via hinge points at the bottom of a car's A-pillar, butterfly doors move up a ...
and various power upgrades. The four updated electric motors produce a total of and of torque. The
carbon fibre Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (American English), carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers (Commonwealth English), carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics, carbon-fiber reinforced-thermoplastic (CFRP, CRP, CFRTP), also known as carbon fiber, carbon compo ...
body construction results in a total weight of , including the heavy battery packs. The Nevera claims to be able to accelerate from 0– in 1.85 seconds and achieve a top speed of . 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 A facial recognition system is a technology capable of matching a human face from a digital image or a video frame against a database of faces. Such a system is typically employed to authenticate users through ID verification services, and ...
that would unlock the ignition only for the owner and adjust the car's settings according to the owner's mood. The car has a high-speed "drift mode", with an intelligent traction control system keeping the car under control. The Nevera will have Level 4 self-driving capability, according to Mate Rimac; it has eight cameras, a LIDAR, six radars, and twelve ultrasonic sensors. The production of the vehicle will be limited to 150 units. Rimac debuted the Nevera California edition at the August 2018 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. It comes in a one-off shade of blue, with new wheel design, and is supplied with six liters of champagne and two flutes in the boot of the car.


Component manufacturing

Rimac Technology produces battery systems for Aston Martin's new sports car, the
Valkyrie In Norse mythology, a valkyrie ("chooser of the slain") is one of a host of female figures who guide souls of the dead to the god Odin's hall Valhalla. There, the deceased warriors become (Old Norse "single (or once) fighters"Orchard (1997: ...
. The company also produces battery systems for
Koenigsegg Koenigsegg Automotive AB () is a Swedish manufacturer of high-performance sports cars based in Ängelholm, Skåne County, Sweden. Company The company was founded in 1994 in Sweden by Christian von Koenigsegg, with the intention of producin ...
(specifically for the Regera), Jaguar E‑type Zero concept car and
SEAT Cupra Cupra Racing, formerly known as SEAT Sport, is the high-performance motorsport subsidiary of the Spanish automobile manufacturer SEAT, founded in 1985, succeeding the "SEAT Special Vehicles department" which had been formed in 1971 with the miss ...
e-Racer concept car. In 2018, it entered a technical partnership with
Automobili Pininfarina Automobili Pininfarina GmbH is a luxury electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer headquartered in Munich, Germany, with roots in the Italian car design firm and coachbuilder Pininfarina SpA. The company also has a design facility and office location ...
, whose first car, the
Battista Battista is a given name and surname which means Baptist in Italian. Given named * Battista Agnese (died 1564), cartographer from the Republic of Genoa, who worked in the Venetian Republic * Battista Dossi, also known as Battista de Luteri, It ...
, is said to be based on the same architecture and uses the same powertrainAutocar
1900bhp Pininfarina Battista EV can hit 217mph , Autocar
access-date: 9. maaliskuuta 2019
as the Nevera. Rimac is also involved in the production of drivetrains and other components for race car drivers, such as
Nobuhiro Tajima , nicknamed "Monster", is a hillclimb racer, tuning shop owner, rally team manager and former rally driver who is best known for his participation in Suzuki's rallying program as well as his triumphs at the Pikes Peak International Hillclimb in ...
, 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 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb (PPIHC), also known as The Race to the Clouds, is an annual automobile hillclimb to the summit of Pikes Peak in Colorado, USA. The track measures and has over 156 turns, climbing from the sta ...
. The car finished the race in second position, ahead of all internal combustion engine cars.


Other projects

In 2014, it was announced that Rimac Automobili is building the first fast electric yacht in the world. In 2015,
Mate Rimac Mate Rimac (; born 12 February 1988) is a Croatian innovator, entrepreneur, and founder of the Croatian electric sports car company Rimac Automobili and Greyp Bikes, a high-tech eBike and eBike technology company. During his high-school years ...
said they made a driverless car, which would mean that the car has fifth-level autonomous driving. He also said that they are making personal
watercraft Any vehicle used in or on water as well as underwater, including boats, ships, hovercraft and submarines, is a watercraft, also known as a water vessel or waterborne vessel. A watercraft usually has a propulsive capability (whether by sail, ...
(hovercraft). They are making 300 of them in 2015, and the following year would make over 1000. They are testing them in a lake near Sveta Nedelja. In the same interview he said they were working on a project that will require an airfield, and on a
flying car A flying car or roadable aircraft is a type of vehicle which can function both as a road vehicle and as an aircraft. As used here, this includes vehicles which drive as motorcycles when on the road. The term "flying car" is also sometimes u ...
.


See also

* NIO EP9 * RAESR * Mercedes-Benz ''EQ A'' *
Aspark Owl The ''Aspark'' Owl ( ja, アスパーク・アウル) is an all-electric battery-powered sports car manufactured by Japanese engineering firm Aspark (アスパーク), under development since 2018, with the goal of making the fastest accelerat ...
* Volkswagen I.D. R


References


External links

* * * * * * * {{Authority control Battery electric vehicle manufacturers Sports car manufacturers Luxury motor vehicle manufacturers Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 2009 Croatian brands Croatian companies established in 2009 Zagreb County Car manufacturers of Croatia