Automakers have been leaking photos of upcoming concept cars leading up to next week’s Frankfurt Motor Show, but no one saw this one coming. A 23-year-old entrepreneur and automotive designer from Croatia named Mate Rimac will reveal an electric supercar at Frankfurt to rival the 1,000-horsepower Bugatti Veyron, which is the most powerful combustion-engined car on the road. “It is an electric supercar,” Mr. Rimac said. “It makes 1,088 horsepower, 3,800 newton-meters of torque [2,803 pound-feet] and is capable of going more than 300 kilometers per hour.” How can a country with no auto industry create a car to rival the most powerful vehicle on the market and make it electric to boot?
[youtube width=”537″ height=”456″]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSjAnl8asaU[/youtube]
The Rimac Concept One is powered by “four independent electric motor drive units,” according to Mr. Rimac, which produce a total of 800 kilowatts. “The front and rear systems are separate units,” Rimac said. “Each of them includes two high-speed, liquid-cooled permanent magnet electric motors, two liquid-cooled inverter units and two reduction gearboxes, integrated into one small unit.” Translation? Tons of power, zero emissions.
The Concept One has already been beating Teslas in the e-miglia race in Europe, under the cloak of an old BMW E30, and now promises a Tesla-beating range of 366 miles on a single charge. Rimac plans to construct 88 cars in the first run and price them “a bit below the gasoline-powered competition from Pagani, Koenigsegg and Bugatti.” Apparently the Abu Dhabi royal family is already in line for their eco-friendly Rimacs. We’ll be eagerly waiting for photos and more info until the Concept One is revealed on September 13th.
Via New York Times
