With only 88 of the Concept_One to be built costing in excess of $1 million each it is a high-end experiment but one that really pushes the boundaries of what you would expect from a sports car. Rimac Automobili is the brainchild of Croatian entrepreneur who started with a blank canvas after he ‘blew up’ the engine of BMW E30 he was using for circuit racing.

“At first I started on my own. I read a lot about other people's projects who have already converted cars to EVs, and even some who are using EVs for racing. Then I ordered parts and started to build the car. After one year or so, the car was able to drive but I was not satisfied with the result. It was heavy, not very powerful and the range was very limited. I started to collect a team of experts to develop our own components since I believed that the electric propulsion can give much more compared to what was available on the market (at least for individuals -- big companies have access to better technologies)," said designer Mate Rimac.

The result is the Rimac Concept_One, which is built around a system of new permanent magnet synchronous motor generation which was developed especially for this car. Advantages of this system are efficiency, extremely fast response, wide power band, compact size, regenerative braking and high torque. One of the best new features is the Rimac All Wheel Torque Vectoring System (R-AWTV), which distributes the power to each single wheel in every situation based on various input factors.

The driving is exceptionally smooth as an electric motor does not know the words “lag”, or “time to change gears”. The Rimac Concept_One is surprisingly powerful and deliver 1,088bhp, with a 92kWh and a top speed of 306 kph. A single battery charging should get you about 600 km.

"What we have here is a fully-fledged hypercar that is as powerful as a Bugatti, as stylish as a Ferrari and as luxurious as a Mercedes, all while managing to forsake even the tiniest sip of gasoline," said Rimac, who is effusive about his new creation, and according to Swide, he has every right to be. 

The Rimac Concept_One rewrites the code for the luxury supercar. It is innovative, stylish, sexy, smart and ethical…. What more could you want?

By Hugo Mc Cafferty