I don’t especially love featuring multi-million dollar hypercars. Few will ever see them, less will drive them, and almost nobody can and will get to own them. But some hypercars have an impact far beyond their own production numbers.
Three things make the Rimac Nevera more important than it appears: 1) it is backed by Porsche, which provides capital but also hopes to learn from its experiences; 2) Rimac supplies electric batteries and drivetrains to lots of other supercar makers; 3) The Nevera will be a real-world testbed of EV tech.
That’s before we get to the stats on the Nevera, which are amazing:
-1,914-horsepower and 2,360 newton-meters (1,740 pound-feet) of torque.
-1.85 seconds 0-60 mph
-258 mph top speed
-150 units at the $2.4 million
-Deliveries to start by the end of 2021.
These numbers make this rocket ship faster than a Bugatti Chiron Pur Sport (0-to-60-mph in 2.3 seconds) and faster than a Koenigsegg Gemera hybrid (1.9 secs). Rimac is a Croatian manufacturer, and the name Nevera refers to “a quick, powerful, and unexpected lightning storm that races across the Mediterranean Sea off the Croatian coast.”
Porsche invested $84 million, raising its stake in Rimac from 15% to 24%. Hannah Elliot reports “Insiders have said the move could pave the way for parent Volkswagen AG to spin its ultraluxury French Bugatti brand into a joint venture between Porsche and Rimac.”
Automotive tech often starts at the high-end luxury/performance cars, and eventually finds its way to more affordable cars. Think crumple zones, ABS, seatbelt tensioners, etc. all offered on Mercedes Benz before migrating down-market. Expectations are that the Rimac technology eventually works its way into Porsche’s EVs, then Audi’s and VW’s.
If EVs are the future, Croatia may be one place where some of the most advanced performance tech will be coming from.
Source: Rimac
Source: Bloomberg
