Rimac — Croatia's Electric Hypercar Maker and Bugatti Partner

Rimac at a glance

Origins: Mate Rimac and the electric BMW

Mate Rimac was born on 12 February 1988 in Livno, in what is now Bosnia and Herzegovina. During the Yugoslav wars his family moved to Frankfurt in 1991 and, after 2000, settled in Samobor in Croatia. Encouraged by a schoolteacher, he won national and international electronics competitions and in 2005 built the iGlove, a glove that replaced a keyboard and mouse.

In 2006 he bought a 1984 BMW E30 to race. When its petrol engine failed, he converted the car to electric power. The result, known as the Rimac e-M3, reached 100 km/h in 3.3 seconds and set several records for electric cars on 17 April 2011, including a quarter-mile in 11.808 seconds. In 2009, at 21, Rimac founded VST Conversions, soon renamed Rimac Automobili, in Sveta Nedelja near Zagreb. Early money came from angel investors and the sale of patents. The workshop grew into a company with more than 1,000 employees by 2020.

The Concept One

The first car was presented at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show and built from January 2013 to November 2014. It had four liquid-cooled electric motors, one at each wheel, with a combined 913 kW (1,241 PS). A 92 kWh lithium iron phosphate battery fed them, and the car reached 100 km/h in 2.5 seconds. Top speed was limited to 340 km/h, raised to 356 km/h in the 2016 version. The company first announced 88 cars, then limited the run to eight. Two lighter Concept S track cars with 1,032 kW (1,384 hp) followed in 2016.

In 2013 the Concept One was claimed to be the fastest-accelerating electric car in the world. In 2014 it served as the race director's car in the first Formula E season. On 10 June 2017 Richard Hammond crashed one during filming for The Grand Tour at the Hemberg hill climb in Switzerland; he survived with a broken leg. The car has its own page: Rimac Concept One.

The Concept One also made the company known as a supplier. Its Rimac Technology division developed battery systems for the Aston Martin Valkyrie, the Koenigsegg Regera, the Jaguar E-Type Zero concept and the Cupra e-Racer. In 2018 it became the technical partner of Automobili Pininfarina, whose Battista uses the same architecture and drivetrain as the Nevera.

Concept Two and the Nevera

The Concept Two, or C_Two, was unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in March 2018 and later renamed Nevera. The same year Porsche bought a 10% stake. Hyundai and Kia invested €80 million in 2019, and Porsche raised its share from 15% to 24% in March 2021.

The first production prototype of the Rimac Nevera appeared in August 2021, and the first customer car was delivered in August 2022. Its electric drive produces 1,408 kW (1,914 PS) and 2,360 Nm, fed by a 120 kWh battery with a WLTP range of 490 km. Production is limited to 150 cars; by May 2024 more than 50 had been delivered.

Records and the Nevera R

In November 2022 it reached 412 km/h on the Papenburg test track. In May 2023 it set 23 records in a single day, including 0–100 km/h in 1.82 seconds, a quarter-mile in 8.25 seconds and 0–400–0 km/h in 29.93 seconds. In July 2023 it was the fastest production electric car at the Goodwood Festival of Speed hill climb, in 49.32 seconds. In August 2023 it lapped the Nürburgring Nordschleife in 7:05.298, a record for production electric cars.

The Nevera R, unveiled in August 2024, raised power to 1,550 kW (2,107 PS) and top speed to 431.6 km/h. On 10 July 2025 it ran 0–400–0 km/h in 25.79 seconds, beating the 27.93 seconds of the Koenigsegg Jesko Absolut.

Bugatti Rimac and Rimac today

In July 2021 Porsche and Rimac announced a joint company for Bugatti. Bugatti Rimac began on 1–2 November 2021, owned 55% by Rimac Group and 45% by Porsche, with Mate Rimac as chief executive and headquarters in Sveta Nedelja. Bugatti and Rimac stay separate brands with their own factories; Bugatti Rimac started with 435 employees, about 300 in Croatia and 135 in Molsheim in France. Its first joint car was the Bugatti W16 Mistral, presented on 20 August 2022. In April 2026 Porsche sold its 45% to HOF Capital, a New York venture capital firm.

Porsche also took part in a €500 million funding round for the company in June 2022. The group added offices in Tokyo and Katowice in September 2023, and in June 2024 it showed the Verne robotaxi, planned for launch in Zagreb in 2026. The group employs about 1,500 people. Mate Rimac founded the electric bicycle maker Greyp in 2013, received the Order of Danica Hrvatska in 2014 and was elected to the US National Academy of Engineering in 2025. Other record cars appear in the most powerful supercars list. The company's models are listed in the Rimac catalogue; the partner brand's cars are in the Bugatti catalogue. The fastest electric cars are ranked in the quickest electric cars.

Rimac timeline

Landmark Rimac models

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