Four Motor 190 mph Electric Supercar

A small company in Croatia has developed a supercar concept that is capable of accelerating from 0 to 62 mph in only 2.8 seconds along with having a top speed of 190 mph.? The Concept One, by Rimac Automobili of Sveta Nedjelja, Croatia, near Zagreb, plans to start shipping the Rimac sports car in 2013 with production of the first model limited to 88 vehicles.

The Concept One has a curb weight of 3,638 pounds and is propelled by four electric motors ? one at each wheel ? which produce a total 1088 horsepower.? The Concept One motors get their power from a 92kWh of energy in the Battery Modules which the company claims can provide enough juice for range of up to 370 miles.

Rimac developed the unique powertrain which is divided into four sub-systems, each consisting of one motor, inverter and reduction gearbox. Each of those systems drives one wheel, working independently one from the other. It’s called All Wheel Torque Vectoring and it allows a new approach to vehicle dynamics.

Mate Rimac, the CEO of Rimac Automobili says: ?I believe that the electric motor is a much better machine compared to the ICE (internal combustion engine), in almost all aspects, especially for a sports car.?

The carbon-fiber body is designed by Adriano Mudri: ?Exploring the labyrinth of creativity, it was obvious at an early stage that the design had to be simple and clear with a lot of sporty elegance to easily catch up with its competitors in this power & exclusivity class.?

The interior is designed by a team of former Pininfarina employees, led by Mr. Goran Popovic. After the Rimac Automobili engineering team finished the development and prototyping of the interior parts, the leather-specialist Vilner stepped-in. The result is a high-tech-supercar interior which can be both appealing and pleasant to interact with, at the same time. Special attention has been paid to the infotainment system and gadgets like head-up-displays and soft-close doors which had to match the propulsion technology in its advancement.

Rimac Automobili is a young company, which develops and produces high performance electric vehicles, drive trains and battery systems. The company was started after the founder, Mate Rimac, converted his old BMW to a race EV. He explored the technology by improving every part and began to team-up with experts from different fields in order to develop the next generation supercar. The old BMW is now officially homologated as a ?Rimac Automobili e-M3? and is used as a test mule for battery technologies, battery management, propulsion systems and latest in-house developments.

Describing their beginnings Mate Rimac points out: ?Our first car evolved in a short period of time into a project that didn?t give a final result – instead it was a start, the start of the world?s first electric hyper car ? the Concept _One?.? The company started with an original group of 20 multi-talented engineers and designers who settled in Croatia near Zagreb to build a different kind of car.