Thoughts of the Mediterranean country of Croatia, just across the Adriatic Sea from Italy, do not really bring up images of cars, or even technological innovation. But electric car company Rimac has been operating of what can be described loosely as forefront (and convergence) of each of those topics.
The Concept One, a quad-motored high performance EV with a total output of 913kW, helped put the fledgling Rimac Automobili on the map as a serious technical force in EV development, most importantly showcasing their electric drivetrains and battery systems. They have already collaborated with Aston Martin, Jaguar, and Renault on their EV efforts.
Their prominence, and in some sense notoriety, has gained the attention of Porsche, who themselves are embarking on an ambitious shift toward electrification are soon to release their first production fully electric sports saloon, the Taycan, due out in 2020. Thusly, it has been revealed that the Zuffenhausen automaker has purchased a 10 percent stake in the Croatian EV upstart for an undisclosed amount.
“By developing the purely electric two-seaters super sports cars, like the ‘Concept_One’ and ‘C Two’, as well as core vehicle systems, Rimac has impressively demonstrated its credentials in the field of electromobility”, says Lutz Meschke, Deputy Chairman of the Executive Board and Member of the Executive Board for Finance and IT at Porsche.
He adds: “We feel that Rimac’s ideas and approaches are extremely promising, which is why we hope to enter into close collaboration with the company in the form of a development partnership.”
Porsche is clearly gunning for access to Rimac’s impressive high performance EV powertrain DNA as well more efficient battery management and technology. Going forward, this strategic partnership may blossom to satisfy both Porsche’s thirst for innovation in this space as well as provide additional resources to Rimac to further their own electric hypercar efforts in the form of the upcoming C_Two and beyond.
Mate Rimac, the company’s CEO said: “This partnership now is an important step for Rimac on our way to become a component and system supplier of choice for the industry in electrification, connectivity and the exciting field of advanced driver assistance systems.”
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