Published April 23, 2012
By Jeff Cobb
If you had two dozen Ford Focus Electrics, and wanted to make an even swap, that might just get you one Rimac Concept_One.
The maker of the $980,000 battery electric supercar has now started taking orders, and given that only 88 slots are there to be filled, if you’re interested, you better wire the money in a hurry.
What does your nearly $1 million get you in EVs these days? The product of Croatian designer, fabricator and all-around clever inventor, Mate Rimac, the 3,680-pound supercar has four 250-kw motors – one to drive each wheel – for a combined 1,088 horsepower, and 2,800 pound-feet of torque.
In normal operation, it is said to be able to travel 372 miles on a charge from its 92-kwh LiFePO4 battery, and even when lapping the Nurburgring in race mode, it might get in nine laps, or about 87-112 miles estimated range – although the car’s builders are working on increasing this at full stomping speeds.
Speaking of which, 0-62 mph is reported at 2.8 seconds for the all-wheel-drive ripper, and top speed is limited to 185 mph, though Rimac said the car is held back to this maximum velocity to retain a measure of sanity.
“It can go 500 kph [310 mph], but we can’t guarantee the passenger’s safety,” he said.
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With each wheel being churned by a high-torque motor via its own reduction gear assembly, the company recently said that specially constructed Vredestein Ultrac Vorti Y-rated tires had to be developed to handle forward thrust.
And apparently this car was originally designed with forward motion primarily in mind, as the prototype has no rear window, instead relying on cameras – although the production version will get a rear window to meet legal requirements.
Aside from that seemingly flippant attitude toward practicality, the car does have a host of on-board safety technology, as one would hope, since such a machine could easily get out of control.
Rimac has a storied history as a designer, and reportedly turned his attention to all-electric drivetrains after blowing the engine in his 86 BMW 323 while abusing it as a drift machine. His now-electrified Bimmer is said to deliver somewhere around 600 horsepower, and the ground-up design of the Concept_One supercar was based on this developmental stepping stone.
As one might expect, Rimac says he believes EV performance trumps internal combustion power, and with this vehicle that was first shown last September at Frankfurt, he says he intends to show just how capable the technology is today.
For more info, you can check out Rimac's Web site. The car costs just shy of a million, however, you can get a free newsletter.
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But what do you think? We could foresee some people frowning and asking what is the point? Others might say it’s all good, and anything that builds excitement for electric propulsion is acceptable. Others still will likely be highly enthusiastic for such an ultimate, as such fantasy cars have always churned imaginations, some in idle directions, and others onto new avenues of creativity.
As for us, we share some of the likely concerns mingled with fascination, shock and awe, a tinge of dismay – but also, we'd like to see more independent proof that this million dollar dream machine really is more powerful than a Bugatti Veyron and otherwise capable as it's said to be.
Wired
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