Move Over Bugatti Croatia Now Has Fastest Electric Car Ever

Rimac Concept One
Electric Supercar
from Croatia

In case the Bugatti Chiron launch a few days ago, that would set you back some cool US$2.6 million (before tax) but will take you as fast as 420kph, had you saying to yourself you could really do with a hypercar but Bugatti’s old-fashioned internal combustion is too uncool for school, never fear: the Croatian Rimac Automobili (headquarters Sveta Nedjelja, near Zagreb, Croatia) has you covered. Move over Tesla (electric car) as well – here comes the Croatian made Rimac Concept One – the fastest electric car made so far and will only set you back a cool US$1.4 million. The Croatian electric vehicle maker has been showing off the Concept One for about five years now but the production version broke cover spectacularly at the Geneva auto show on 1 March 2016.

Rimac Concept One was designed by a 28-year old wunderkind named Mate Rimac, a Croatian-native with some serious talent, who is also the founder and CEO of Rimac Automobili company that’s backed by investments from abroad including South America and Asia.

Mate Rimac
CEO of Rimac Automobili in Croatia
and inventor of Concept One and Concept S
supercars

With 1072hp the Rimac Concept One accelerates from zero to 96 kph in 2.6 seconds. It reaches 193 kph in 6.2 seconds and has a top speed of 335 kph. Quite simply, it leaves a Tesla electric car (US manufactured car named after the 19th century Croatian born inventor and scientist Nikola Tesla) in the dust and is hailed as the fastest electric car on the planet.
The Concept One uses a pair of electric motors fed by an 82kWh lithium-ion battery pack and all-wheel torque vectoring that Rimac says provides the functions of traction control, stability control, and antilock braking by constantly calculating the optimum torque for each of the four wheels. So, the use of for electric motors mounted at the center of the both axles give the Rimac Concept One a torque-vectoring all-wheel-drive system that continuously calculates optimal torque distribution between the front and rear wheels. The all-wheel drive system has four different modes –comfort, control, track and drift. Owners have the option of deactivating the system if they so desire or customizing it to suit their needs.

Rimac Automobili
Headquarters in Croatia

The car isn’t just fast. A quick look at the Concept One gives away the fine craftsmanship. No parts in the interior are plastic. Rimac opted for carbon, aluminum and alcantara, a high-end fabric found in yachts and Formula 1 cars.

Rimac Concept S –
is one amped up supercar

And if the Rimac Concept One isn’t enough for you, it now, literally, has an evil twin, called the Concept S that has just stepped from the shadows at the Geneva Motor Show, but instead of sporting a sinister Van Dyke beard and a menacing glare to denote the devilish difference, this doppelganger goes all-in on an aerodynamics package to put its perverse point across. The deviations are more than just skin-deep too – says auto blogger Domenick Yoney.
Unseen like an ulterior motive, the Rimac Concept S turns up the wick of an already diabolically powerful electric drivetrain, adding enough muscle to turn this all-wheel-drive supercar into a megawatt machine. Boasting 1,018 kW (1,365 horsepower) at peak with 1800 Nm (1,328 pound feet) of axle-twisting torque, we mean that in the most literal sense.
This version drops some weight (50kg) and gains an additional 296hp (200kW) and 147 lb-ft (200 Nm). That drops 0.1 seconds off the 0-100kph time and more than a second from the dash to 300kph.

True, Rimac Concept One and Concept S, or Bugatti Chiron for that matter, will go just as fast as any other car on the planet in city, town, village and any road traffic and a couple of handfuls or few dozens will own such a super super car  – most will not, but, hey, one can dream. Ina Vukic, Prof. (Zgb); B.A., M.A.Ps. (Syd)