When Mate Rimac, then 23 years old, premiered his Concept_One at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show, I suspect not many expected to see this car again. Fast forward five years to this year’s Geneva Motor Show and the Rimac Concept_One is shown as a production car, with several more under production at the state-of-the-art factory near Zagreb in Croatia. Mate Rimac is still not in his thirties, but his name is well known in the performance car scene. Envisioning an all-electric supercar with one motor in each corner is quite clever, but actually building it and keeping up the pressure over several years to get it finished is a massive feat!
The carbon fibre body of the Concept_One was designed by Adriano Mudri, and cleverly incorporates a necktie/cravat shape, a clothing tradition that stems from Croatia. At full attack, the Concept_One does zero-to-100 km/h in 2,6 seconds, and won’t quit until it reaches 355 km/h, which is very impressive for any car, let alone an electric one. With 1088 horsepower on tap, and, more significantly, 1600 Nm of torque available from zero revs, this is a serious contender in the supercar segment.
Rimac All Wheel Torque Vectoring. If you’re going to remember one thing from this article, it’s this. As I mentioned, imagine having one motor for each wheel and being able to control each motor individually, changing the power output in an instant to maximize grip and safety. Sounds magnificent to me, and this is exactly what Rimac have put into the Concept_One. The technology behind it must be properly advanced, but running prototypes has proven its function and durability. There is a knob on the center console that allows you to adjust from understeer to oversteer, even mid-corner. How cool is that!?
The interior of the Concept_One features bespoke leather trim and an in-house developed infotainment system that gives access to telemetry data and all of the car’s systems. The electro-hydraulic steering system was chosen for its durability and its feel, lending a classic sports car sensation to the otherwise high-tech Concept_One.
The fact that the technology has been developed and produced from the ground up by the Rimac team is another indicator that we’ll see a lot of innovative solutions and products from them in the coming years, as is the steadily growing number of employees. They even found time for an Easter egg: Did you know that you can choose the colour of the printed circuit boards for all the electronics in the car?
The elegant, silver Concept_One on display was ordered by a U.S. customer, who has also contributed greatly to the development of the car and the brand awareness of Rimac Automobili. After the show, the car will be taken back to the factory for the final adjustments and tests before it sets sail to Florida. The owner kindly invited me over for a drive — I hope to be able to report on that in a while. Eight Concept_One and two Concept_S vehicles will be produced, and after them will come a different kind of sports car from the gates of Rimac. My attention is surely grabbed.
I’ll throw in a few photos of the Concept_S as well for good measure:
This article was first published on lovecars.com.