Rimac Could Shun EVs For Future Hypercars, But The Future Is Even More Exciting
Key Takeaways
- Next Rimac hypercar unlikely to be electric.
- Rimac is more than an electric car manufacturer, focused on creating exciting products, including new technology.
- Electric cars have lost exclusivity, and high-end customers seek unique experiences.
- Rimac will adapt to market demands, potentially with diverse fuel options like LPG, hydrogen, or diesel.
Speaking at the Financial Times Future of the Car conference in London, Rimac CEO Mate Rimac has made it clear that his is a technology company, not an electric car manufacturer exclusively, and that Rimac will always be doing “whatever is most exciting.” As reported by Autocar, Rimac has not sold all 150 examples of the Nevera. Mr. Rimac told conference attendees that times have changed, and Rimac must change with them in order to capture the imagination of its customers.
2023 Rimac Nevera
- Base MSRP
-
$2,400,000
- Horsepower
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1,877 hp
- Torque
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1,740 lb-ft
- Top Speed
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258 mph
- 0-60 MPH
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1.74 Seconds
When the Rimac Nevera entered development more than seven years ago, “electric was cool,” said Rimac. The possibilities afforded by game-changing EVs like the Nevera were fascinating, but since then, global legislation has made electric power seem like a necessity, not a novelty, and as more and more mainstream EVs have emerged, all-electric hypercars have lost an element of exclusivity.
“The regulators and some OEMs push it so much that the narrative has changed. They’re pushing stuff on us that we don’t want, so people get a little bit repulsed by it, this forced application. I’m always against it. I think everything has to be based on merit. So the product has to be better.”
– Mate-Rimac, Bugatti-Rimac CEO.
A Digital World Leaves Buyers Feeling Cold
Mr. Rimac’s comments are symbolic of a feeling that applies across the entire automotive spectrum. Whether you’re buying a new work truck, a family car, a sports car, a ride-sharing vehicle, or anything else, buyers want what suits their needs best, and for most, that appears to be a hybrid powertrain. For the 1%, however, something more special is required, which explains why the next Bugatti will have a unique V16 engine – which Mate had to fight for when near-sighted upper management demanded an electric powertrain.
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“At that time [2016/2017], we were thinking [that] electric cars would be cool in a few years – the best cars, or with the highest performance and so on. We 1715179985 notice that as electrification is becoming mainstream, people at the top end of the sector want to differentiate themselves.”
If Rimac’s comments above sound familiar, it’s because similar ones have been uttered by Horacio Pagani when he said that his Utopia hypercar eschewed a V8 with four-figure outputs because his audience “wants to feel emotions when driving; they don’t care about pure performance.” Similarly, some of his buyers chose not to buy the Huayra because Pagani did not offer a manual transmission. Clearly, having thousands of horsepower and deploying them as quickly as possible means nothing if the car fails to stir the soul. An analog approach is the only way to make this happen.
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“An Apple Watch can do everything better [than an artisanal chronograph]. It can do a thousand more things; it’s a lot more precise; it can measure your heart rate. But nobody would pay $200,000 for an Apple Watch.”
– Mate Rimac, highlighting the importance of the product experience as higher than its function.
What Can Rimac Do To Stay Relevant As EV Demand Cools?
Mate Rimac says that there is still a market for the Nevera electric hypercar and that “it is the best-sold electric hypercar,” noting that more than 50 of the 150-unit production run have been delivered to customers. However, there’s a reason Mr. Rimac fought to keep combustion alive at Bugatti, arguing that a Bugatti-badged Nevera would sell on the value of its brand alone but that demand would be “nowhere near” as high as a combustion car. While he admits there are “things you cannot do with a combustion engine, it’s not about being electric; it’s about doing things that other cars can’t do and giving a unique experience.”
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Sure, Sant’Agata will build some EVs, but its super sports cars will remain combustion-powered for at least a few more years.
“Rimac isn’t exclusively electric; it’s doing whatever is most exciting at the time,” the Croatian genius added, saying that liquid petroleum gas (LPG), hydrogen, and even diesel could fuel future Rimac offerings. Let’s not forget that Porsche, with which Rimac Automobili shares a corporate link, is advancing the development of synthetic fuels, too. In a nutshell, Rimac blew the world away with the Nevera hypercar, converting naysayers and proving that the future will be exciting, regardless of how it’s powered. For the company’s second hypercar act, we expect the same result – it’ll just be achieved in a novel manner.
Source: Autocar
