Beyond the first full-electric supercar and you won’t believe it; it is produced by a small EV-manufacturer from Croatia. I expected Tesla to be the first automaker to achieve this historical fete but Tesla looks comfortable staying at the sports car level. You won’t believe it but the 2016 Rimac Concept One electric drive-train has 4 digit output figures, a first for electric vehicles. When Rimac introduced the Concept One at the Frankfurt Motor Show, I did not believe the automaker would follow up and deliver a production model because a power output of over 1000 hp for a fully electric supercar at that time seemed a bit out of reach but Rimac has proved me wrong. The launch of a production model at the recent Geneva Auto Show took everyone by surprise. In addition to the record-breaking drive-train, the designers managed to hook up the model with a stunning body as well as a befitting cabin.
2016 Rimac Concept One Exterior
Designers of the Concept One took their time to design the exterior of this model. They managed to create a vehicle that has a broad aesthetic appeal. The designers seem to have drawn their inspiration of the front fascia from the Jaguar F-Type, while the low, wide stance is derived from the XJ220. The profile also has some resemblance to the Noble M60-0 and Bugatti while the rear fascia looks to have been inspired by the Koenigsegg Agera.
The supercar is 164.84 inches long, 72.51 inches wide and stands at a height of 42.12 inches. It has a curb weight of 4078 lbs. The structure uses a lot of aluminum and carbon fiber. Most of the model’s weight is due to the gigantic battery pack. The rear does not have a window which is quite bizarre but with this kind of speed, you will not be doing a good job at the wheels if you need to look back at who is closing in on you.
Interior of Rimac Concept One
Inside, Rimac designers will build you a custom interior using the most premium materials in the industry. The cabin can either be upholstered in Alcantara, carbon fiber or aluminum. The buttons are machined from premium billet aluminum. The model comes with a central touch-screen in an otherwise clean cabin. The screen is used to control the vehicle’s infotainment system. The vehicle features 500 sensors spread throughout the vehicle. They send important information to the driver. This data is analyzed via the vehicle’s touch-screen, driver’s Smartphone or personal PC.
The screen also provides access to the vehicle’s In Car Entertainment system, air conditioning and functions as a data-logging system when you decide to test your Concept One on the race track.
Overall, the cabin has a minimalistic design. Its sports seats are wrapped in leather while the steering wheel has some lovely chromed inserts.
Engine and performance
As said in the introduction, the drive-train is all-electric. The drive-train, which was actually crafted in-house features four permanent motors one for each wheel. The motors are mounted at the center of the respective axle. The motors are backed by an 82-kWh battery pack. The battery pack is made up of 8,450 individual cells that are controlled by the automaker’s custom battery control system. The system produces a record breaking 1,072 horses and 1,180 lb-ft of torque. With this kind of power, the supercar takes only 2.6 seconds to dash to 62 mph from a standstill position on the way to a top speed of 221 mph.
The drive-train also features liquid thermal management as well as low-resistance conducting. The battery pack is replenished via a 22-kW charger. There is, however, an option for a DC quick charger. The automaker did not release the details about the model’s charge times or range per charge but according to rumors, the supercar will run for around 310 miles on a full charge.
To enhance acceleration and top speed, engineers have hooked up the supercar with four individual gearboxes. For the front motors, each is paired with a single-speed gearbox while the rear motors each get a 2-speed unit along with a carbon-fiber double-clutch pairing.
The vehicle further features Rimac’s AWD torque vectoring unit christened the R-AWTV. The automaker successfully employed this system at the Pikes Peak climb last year. The system uses sensors mounted on the suspension and chassis to determine optimum torque distribution. The system doubles up as the vehicle’s stability control system, traction control system and ABS. In addition, the R-AWTV is also integrated with the model’s regenerative power system which helps slow the car without the actual use of the brakes. The system uses 0.6 g of negative acceleration to achieve this fete.
Four driving modes are offered to customize the driving; they are Control, Comfort, Track and Drift.
Price and release date
Only 8 units of the Rimac Concept One will be built. As for the price, I am surprised it is priced under a million dollars. The model is available for only $935,000 which is not much for some Middle East Princes and other super-wealthy guys. I understand that the model has already sold out.
