A sensation in the realm of EV supercars, Rimac is synonymous with ultra-luxurious electric vehicles that push the boundaries of performance, if you’re willing to pay the price.

Now, the company’s founder, Mate Rimac, and two of his closest colleagues from Rimac Group, both Marko Pejković and Adriano Mudri, have launched Verne, the company’s crack at an autonomous robotaxi that will be launched in Zagreb, Croatia, in 2026.

Video: The Rimac Nevera rips through the streets of Monaco

Mudri has been named Chief Design Officer at Verne, while Pejković takes over as CEO of the new venture. Its goal: built a fully autonomous EV, enable it as a mobility service platform, and build an adequate infrastructure to support it.

Fully Autonomous EV

Verne will launch a vehicle that is built upon a completely new platform that is designed around safety and comfort, two factors that the company feels are most important in the robotaxi experience.

Completely engineered from the ground up, Verne will develop an autonomous EV using Mobileye Drive, an autonomous platform.

Starting from scratch and building what it believes will be fully operational within two years, the platform is free of any compromises and disadvantages that would come from developing a groundbreaking vehicle type with scraps inspired by a vehicle designed for human driving.

Mobility Service Platform (MSP)

Tailored for driver-free pickup, passengers are the first thought in Verne’s initial development. Of course, this is no different than traditional ride-hailing services that exist today, but without a human controlling the wheel, things need to be different.

Before ordering a ride, the Verne app will allow users to completely personalize everything. From temperature to comfort to lighting to scent, those who request a ride from a Verne EV can choose everything.

Infrastructure

Verne will expand past Zagreb in the coming years, and each city where the company operates will be the home of the “Mothership,” where every vehicle is inspected, maintained, cleaned, and charged.

Verne’s first production facility for the new EV will be in Croatia. The cars will be deployed worldwide.

New Leadership

Mudri has huge expectations for Verne, which is named after Jules Verne, an author who is said to be “the man who invented the future”:

“Just as he used the theme of travel as the driving force in his storytelling, we use it as our inspiration in shaping a future filled with imaginative innovation and tangible achievement. His faith in the future and his spirit sparked the curiosity in generations of scientists and explorers. Making things that sometimes seem impossible, possible.”

Mate Rimac said the goal for Verne is to have more than just Point A to Point B transportation:

“The end result would be the best possible mobility experience for everyone. This means that every customer will have a better service than the best mobility service enjoyed by the very rich, through the service that is affordable for all. You will have a safe and reliable driver, a vehicle with more interior space and comfort than the best limousines today, and a service that will be tailored to your needs in every possible way.”

Robotaxi Design

Verne’s robotaxi vehicle will have two seats and an interior concept that “completely redefines” past narratives about interior space. Mudri said that 9 out of 10 rides through ride-hailing services are used by 1 or 2 people:

“Therefore, we can satisfy most of all trips with a two-seater and create unmatched interior space in a compact-sized vehicle. We completely redefined interior space. More space than a Rolls-Royce to relax and spend your time well. 

It will also feature things like music and movies with an ultrawide screen and 17 speakers for enhanced audio.

As for the exterior, it will be sleek, with deeply integrated cameras, radars, short and long-distance-lidars, no windshield wipers, and no side-view mirrors:

Čestitamo Mati Rimcu i njegovom timu na izradi prototipa budućeg autonomnog električnog vozila, “Verne”! Ponosni smo na još jednu ?? inovaciju koja će mijenjati svijet. Podupiremo ulaganja koja povezuju digitalnu i zelenu tranziciju i ostvaruju ciljeve 5️⃣.industrijske revolucije. pic.twitter.com/3yK73MESr7

— Andrej Plenković (@AndrejPlenkovic) June 26, 2024

“This makes the aerodynamic performance more efficient and allows for easier cleaning. One typical element of an automobile we kept is the trunk. So you don’t need to worry if you‘re going to the airport with a lot of luggage or just finished a major grocery shopping.”

There’s a long way to go, a lot of competition, and so many variables that come into play with this new project.

I’d love to hear from you! If you have any comments, concerns, or questions, please email me at joey@teslarati.com. You can also reach me on Twitter @KlenderJoey, or if you have news tips, you can email us at tips@teslarati.com.

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During recent testing, the Nevera was accompanied by Rimac employees and the Guinness World Records, attempting to hold the official title for fastest speed in reverse. Earlier this year, the Nevera was responsible for dethroning cars from more than 20 acceleration and braking records in a single day, one of which was the top-speed run of 256 MPH (412 km/h).

But the reverse top speed record had not been captured by the Nevera, which can go from 0-100 MPH in 3.21 seconds moving forward. The EV’s lack of gears and use of four all-electric motors helped it achieve one of the most incredible feats in the history of speed records.

“It occurred to us during development that Nevera would probably be the world’s fastest car in reverse, but we kind of laughed it off,” Matija Renić, Chief Program Engineer for the Nevera, said.

It was new grounds for the Nevera team at Rimac-Bugatti, and the accomplishment was something the team did not think it would ever attempt.

“The aerodynamics, cooling, and stability hadn’t been engineered for traveling backwards at speed, after all. But then, we started to talk about how fun it would be to give it a shot,” he added. “Our simulations showed that we could achieve well over 150mph, but we didn’t have much of an idea how stable it would be – we were entering unchartered territory.”

To highlight the significance and overall ridiculousness of the record, Rimac notes that the Lamborghini Miura became the fastest production car in the world in 1967 by being the first to break through the 170 MPH barrier.

The Nevera just did this, but in reverse.

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They became a part of two of the nation’s most significant car collections: the Triple F Collection and the Ash Crest Collection.

The Triple F Collection is owned by Dave, Jordan, and Jason Frecka and features 40 of the world’s most exotic supercars and hypercars, showing off the collection to over 190,000 followers on Instagram. From Bugattis to Ferraris, the newest addition is a Pearlescent finish Nevera paired with Light Blue leather seats and Dark Blue interior.

Credit: Rimac

Meanwhile, the Ash Crest Collection took delivery of a Stratos Blue Nevera with a Stage 2 carbon finish in glossy tinted Cyan. It has a distinct contrast of colors, as its white leather seats and yellow stitches parallel the graphite finish and yellow calipers that are paired with Infinitus wheels.

Credit: Rimac

Mate Rimac personally attended the handover event on June 17 at “The Event III,” hosted by Triple F Foundation, which raised over $100,000 for the Make-a-Wish Foundation.

These are the second and third deliveries of the Nevera in the United States so far, and Rimac believes there will be many more that will make their way to customers over this year and next.

Mate Rimac also commented on the delivery of Neveras in the U.S. market:

“The US market has been instrumental in the development and success of Nevera, and we’re honored to see that our cars are being delivered into the collections of real automotive enthusiasts. The Ash Crest Collection and Triple F Collection are comprised of the rarest and most admired performance cars in the world right now, and it’s a great endorsement of what we’ve spent years developing and refining, that they feel Nevera deserves a place among them.”

The first delivery of the Rimac Nevera took place last week at Manhattan Motorcars, and was the first unit to be delivered to a customer in the U.S.

Video: The Rimac Nevera rips through the streets of Monaco

I’d love to hear from you! If you have any comments, concerns, or questions, please email me at joey@teslarati.com. You can also reach me on Twitter @KlenderJoey, or if you have news tips, you can email us at tips@teslarati.com.

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Limited to just 150 planned units, the Nevera is built by Rimac in Croatia at Bugatti-Rimac Headquarters. It features a 120 kWh battery pack and 300 miles of range, but those are not the focus of the vehicle.

Video: The Rimac Nevera rips through the streets of Monaco

The Nevera is currently the fastest production car with a top speed of 256 MPH, achieving 0-60 MPH in just 1.74 seconds, which caught the attention of Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who said the next Roadster will be faster and better.

However, the Roadster is several years late and hopefully will be produced next year. Until then, the Rimac Nevera will reign supreme unless another newcomer takes over.

The initial U.S. delivery comes to a buyer that ordered the vehicle in Gunpowder Gray paint with a pearlescent finish. It is capped off by Gunmetal Infinitus wheels and gloss black calipers.

Credit: Rimac

“The US often leads the world when it comes to embracing new innovations in automotive performance,” Hendrik Malinowski, Buggati Rimac’s Commercial Director, said.”We’re witnessing this phenomenon with the Nevera as American buyers are flocking to secure their place in history. Congratulations to our first US customer, who had the foresight to recognize the Nevera’s immense potential during its early development. They are now rewarded with the incredible honor of being the inaugural Nevera driver in the USA, and the proud owner of the fastest-accelerating road car in the world.”

Credit: Rimac

The Rimac Nevera costs a cool $2.2 million and has over 1,800 horsepower, making it a marvel of automotive engineering. The first U.S. delivery marks a major step forward for Rimac and an incredible piece of automotive history making it to the United States.

I’d love to hear from you! If you have any comments, concerns, or questions, please email me at joey@teslarati.com. You can also reach me on Twitter @KlenderJoey, or if you have news tips, you can email us at tips@teslarati.com.

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As the use of renewable energy systems like wind and solar has grown in popularity, the need for energy storage systems to back up these renewables has grown as well. Now, to help meet the demand for these solutions in Europe, electric supercar maker Rimac has announced it will introduce its own offering, which will compete with products from Tesla, ABB, and numerous others.

According to Rimac, its new energy storage system (ESS) offerings will come in a couple of key variants, including “utility-scale, commercial & industrial applications, and highly integrated battery buffered charging solutions.” The Croatian company aims to begin production later this year, with deliveries beginning in 2024 and high-volume production starting in 2025. Rimac specified that “all [of its] products [will be] fully designed, developed, and produced in Europe.”

The upcoming ESS products will be produced at Rimac’s new Croatian campus, which will eventually have an energy output of 10 GWh annually.

“At Rimac, we have always been driven by innovation and a passion for pushing the limits of what is possible in the automotive industry,” says Rimac’s new Energy Director, Wasim Sarwar. “However, we recognize the importance of stationary storage solutions to power our planet sustainably. Given our track record in innovative battery technology, we believe we will play a vital role in building Europe’s future energy ecosystems, elevating it on the global stage.”

Rimac did not include many specifications for the upcoming ESS products, but it noted two primary upgrades that commercial buyers might be interested in. Foremost, Rimac promises a 40% smaller product footprint compared to industry standard, and second, its ESS offerings will reduce system energy losses by 50%.

Rimac is entering the energy storage market precisely at the right time, particularly in Europe. Many countries on the continent are looking to get out of fossil fuel use as fast as possible. This focus stems from not only environmental concerns but also the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, which has resulted in energy production in the Old World being shaken to its core.

What do you think of the article? Do you have any comments, questions, or concerns? Shoot me an email at william@teslarati.com. You can also reach me on Twitter @WilliamWritin. If you have news tips, email us at tips@teslarati.com!

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Rimac has taken their acquisition of Bugatti quite seriously and has now achieved a record of their own, achieving 413kph to become the world’s fastest production electric car. Rimac set the record on the Automotive Testing Papenburg track in Germany and used a 4km straight to achieve its incredible top speed.

Straight-line speed has always been an obsession of automotive enthusiasts. It is why drag racing, salt flats, and 0-60 times mean so much to so many people. And when Rimac Automobili, a Croatian hypercar builder, purchased a controlling stake in Bugatti, a company that has long held the title of world’s fastest car, there was no doubt the direction the company was headed.

The record was achieved with the Rimac Nevara hypercar. The car uses a quad motor system to produce 1,914 horsepower and 1,741 pound-feet of torque. However, with a 120kWh battery, the car must overcome a fairly substantial 4,740-pound curb weight. Nevertheless, during the run, the car also achieved an eye-melting 0-60 of 1.85 seconds and an 8.582-second quarter mile.

Rimac test driver Miro Zrnčević commented on the achievement: “To travel at 412kph, or 258mph, means travelling at a third of the speed of sound. Simply achieving that alone in a road car is incredibly complex, but in Nevera we have created a car that can travel long distances on a single charge, can tackle tight and twisting race tracks and can drift as well as break straight-line speed records, both for acceleration and V-MAX.” The driver concluded by praising the Rimac’s planted feel and incredible control as it hit record speeds.

For now, electric vehicles lag behind their gas counterparts in terms of overall speed. Bugatti’s newest gas vehicle, the Chiron, achieved a top speed of over 300mph over three years ago. Nonetheless, Rimac’s record today indicates that electric vehicles are on the right track to overtake their gas competitors in the coming years.

What do you think of the article? Do you have any comments, questions, or concerns? Shoot me an email at william@teslarati.com. You can also reach me on Twitter @WilliamWritin. If you have news tips, email us at tips@teslarati.com!

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Pininfarina’s Battista has been circulating in the news for over three years. Still, with more recent information about the vehicle now being manufactured and it being reviewed by Top Gear and Edmunds, perhaps it deserves one more look. It could show the future of electric hypercars, not just from Pininfarina but from the market as a whole.

Pininfarina is an Italian auto design firm that has worked with many automotive brands on improving the aesthetic design of their vehicles for decades now. Most notably, the brand has worked with Alfa Romeo on their Stradale in the ’60s, countless Ferraris, including the 348 and 360 from the ’80s and ’90s, and now they are introducing a vehicle of their own based on the carbon tub and powertrain from a Rimac Nevera.

Universally, the Pininfarina Battista has been adored for its hypercar performance. With a quad motor setup that puts 1,874 horsepower and 1,726 pound-feet of torque, it will make your head spin as you rocket from 0-60 in under 2 seconds. And if you are willing to keep your foot off the floor, the vehicle will even take you 300 miles, with 100% complimentary lifetime charging.

Much like other electric vehicles, the vehicle is far from featherweight. In Top Gear’s video in the rain, the hypercar handled more like the Saturn 5 rocket than a road-going vehicle. However, this gets to the point of the Battista; character and charm.

While Top Gear calls the Rimac Nevara the “nerd’s wet dream,” the Pininfarina offers a classic supercar feel. Its gorgeous Italian body lines are contrary to the Rimac and evoke thoughts of a Ferrari Dino, 360, or F50 brought to the modern era.

Pininfarina’s pursuit of character continues in the cockpit, where you are greeted by traditional leatherwork, expected strange Italian UI choices (a screen on either side of the driver, instead of in front of them), and a large drive setting knob letting you chose from; calma, pura, energica, and furiosa. The drive modes, in particular, is where Edmunds finds much of the car’s character resides; “give the knob a turn…” suggests Edmunds, “and you instantly feel everything in the car tighten up.”

More minor details are present to help create a unique driving experience as well. The vehicle is given a distinctive noise via interior and exterior speakers, while active aero and electronically controlled dampers change the vehicle’s driving dynamics and appearance.

Pininfarina’s Battista shows the new challenge sports car manufacturers face; how do you create a passionate experience in an item that removes many traditional characteristics? Hopefully, the character and enjoyment brought to so many by supercars will not go the way of the dinosaur with electric powertrains, but manufacturers will undoubtedly have to change how they affect the driving experience in the electrified world.

What do you think of the article? Do you have any comments, questions, or concerns? Shoot me an email at william@teslarati.com. You can also reach me on Twitter @WilliamWritin. If you have news tips, email us at tips@teslarati.com!

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Rimac’s humble beginnings as a Croatian carmaker have shifted substantially since the company was somewhat of a hobby for founder Mate Rimac. Now, Rimac has completely transitioned to a full-fledged operation, developing some of the fastest and most advanced all-electric hypercars on the planet. Rimac’s early successes have launched collaboration projects with VW’s Porsche and Bugatti.

Tesla Model S Plaid and Rimac Nevera face off in world’s quickest production car drag race

But Rimac has been working on its own projects too, like the Concept One and the Nevera, which will be the company’s first attempt at a new design that features more power upgrades due to improvements in the electric motor systems. Rimac estimates its Nevera hypercar can reach 258 miles per hour.

Early range estimates from the WLTP have found the Rimac Nevera capable of a much more forgiving 342 miles of range per charge, but these ratings are generally not as close to realistic as the EPA range ratings for other vehicles that have been released in the past. According to the EPA and CARB documents, first seen by AutoBlog, the Nevera will have 287.28 miles of range at a full charge.

Of course, customers who will end up buying the Nevera will not be super worried about a high-range EV. If they wanted that, they’d stick with the Lucid Air, which, amongst its configurations, has the most range over the Tesla Model S Long Range, which was the first EV to receive an over 400-mile range rating from the EPA. Rimac customers want speed and performance, and they’ll get it. The 258 MPH top speed is complemented with 1,914 horsepower and 1,741 pound-feet of torque.

Rimac will also feature several other tech features in the Nevera that truly set it apart from other vehicles. Not only will the car have a fully independent torque vectoring system for handling, but it will also have a facial recognition feature that will allow only the owner of the car to start the vehicle. Additionally, the vehicle will adjust its performance settings to match the mood of the driver, and will have Level 4 autonomy capabilities, Mate Rimac estimates.

As previously mentioned, the Nevera will cost somewhere around $2.1 million. The Nevera Production Car #002 is currently undergoing pre-delivery testing in Croatia.

I’d love to hear from you! If you have any comments, concerns, or questions, please email me at joey@teslarati.com. You can also reach me on Twitter @KlenderJoey, or if you have news tips, you can email us at tips@teslarati.com.

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While not being used for the Rimac Auto brand, this round of investment was intended to fund the Rimac Technology brand, a company that will be an EV and PHEV parts supplier to other brands. The tech arm of Rimac could also be used to fund a potential venture into self-driving robotaxis, according to Financial Times, which was told by owner Mate Rimac has been in “secret development” for three years. According to Mate Rimac, the company will make everything from EV battery systems and PHEV systems to rolling chassis.

Ultimately, Mate has stated the goal of producing these parts in the thousands, unlike the more limited-run production work done in the other subsidiaries of Rimac Group. Production will be based around their new headquarters built in Zagreb, Croatia, and has garnered the interest of Ferrari, Jaguar, Mercedes Benz, and Renault: with more substantial deals focused on battery production are in the works with Porsche, Hyundai, Koenigsegg, Pininfarina, and Aston Martin.

Mate also intends to use the funds to keep the brand independent from larger investors, in a media call earlier this month, he said, “It is very good for us to have Porsche and Hyundai on board as shareholders, but we don’t want to be dependent on them,” he said. When paired with the interest they are finding from many other automakers, this sounds more achievable than previously thought.

According to Crunchbase, Rimac has held a total of 8 investment rounds that have included 9 different investors totaling nearly $900 million. This comes shortly after Rimac merged with the Bugatti brand last November. Rimac Technology is Rimac Group’s third subsidiary, while Bugatti focuses on the new Chiron, and the Rimac Automobili brand focuses on the Nevara hypercar to be released this Summer.

What do you think of the article? Do you have any comments, questions, or concerns? Shoot me an email at william@teslarati.com. You can also reach me on Twitter @WilliamWritin. If you have news tips, email us at tips@teslarati.com!

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A report from the UK branch of Car Magazine reported early Thursday morning that VW Group, who owns Bugatti’s operations, is prepared to offload the supercar company to Rimac.

Car Magazine said:

“Bugatti – the luxury brand best known for today’s 16-cylinder hypercars and its pre-WWII automotive masterpieces – will likely be transferred to Rimac via Porsche, in exchange for a bigger share in Europe’s answer to Tesla.”

According to sources, Volkswagen AG executives have already approved a deal, but ink has yet to be put onto a piece of paper that will finalize the deal.

Volkswagen no longer has an interest in spending massive amounts of money on “hobby brands” like Bugatti, according to some sources. Bugatti, while a notable automotive company with a notorious reputation for creating some of the fastest cars the Earth has ever seen, is not an “everyday” entity. The company’s products are usually reserved for those with large bank accounts. With expensive cars comes expensive Research and Development, which generally drives up the cost of a vehicle.

Money is being set aside for consumer products that will drive the future of Volkswagen AG’s brands. All funding is being focused on developing electrified models, along with digitalization and autonomous driving technologies.

Volkswagen’s long list of brands are all working to develop fleets of fully-electric vehicles that can be used as daily drivers. The focus, at the moment, is saving its time, energy, and money into developing functional electric cars through MEB software. Volkswagen’s ID.3 and ID.4 will be the German automaker’s first two attempts at creating an EV that uses the MEB infrastructure, and it is proving to be more difficult than anticipated.

Porsche, which is owned by Volkswagen AG, has an over 15 percent stake in Rimac. Volkswagen is using Porsche as a mutually beneficial party in the deal.

Current executives of Bugatti, like CEO Stephan Winkelmann, are expected not to remain a part of the carmaker if the deal is signed. Car Magazine reached out to Bugatti executives, but they declined to comment. However, they did indicate that Bugatti had been “a positive contribution to the Group for the past two years.” Additionally, they stated that the brand was “on track to exceed 2019’s sales.”

Volkswagen AG’s focus on consumer products instead of highly-priced supercars shows its primary focus is expanding its presence of electric vehicles. Mass-market cars will allow the company to grow across the globe as affordable electric models will be released for years to come. While supercars are fast, fun, and crucial to a brand’s image of exclusivity, they are not an essential part of the early growth that automakers need when transitioning to electrification.

Down the road, perhaps Volkswagen could revisit supercars that are fueled by electric powertrains. Now, the focus remains on mass-market automobiles.

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