Porsche AG has acquired a 10% stake in electric car maker Rimac Automobili, a Croatian company. Rimac is the creator of the fastest electric car currently and it may sound familiar because Richard Hammond was driving the Rimac Concept One in a filming of the Grand Tour where he suffered from a horrific crash.
The company also manufactures electric vehicle powertrain systems and battery systems and has worked with the likes of Renault, Aston Martin and Jaguar. The company’s tech was even used in the E-Type Zero Jaguar driven by Prince Harry and the Duchess of Sussex at their wedding last month as reported by TechCrunch.
This investment shows that Porsche is looking to further enhance their electric car plans to ensure that they stay relevant in the luxury electric car market which Tesla currently dominates. Porsche is planning to release their electric sports car, the Taycan in 2019.
In 2009, founder Mate Rimac (30) began working from his garage on his vision of producing electric sports cars that could both be fast and offer excitement. Rimac recently presented the latest version of its electric hypercar, the “C Two”, at the Geneva Motor Show in March 2018. The two-seater produces around 2,000 hp and reaches a top speed of 412 kilometres per hour. It has a range of 650 kilometres (NEDC Cycle), and achieves an 80% battery charge in 30 minutes through a 250 kW fast charging system. Furthermore, the company engineers and manufactures high-performance electric vehicle powertrain systems and battery systems.
“By developing the purely electric two-seaters super sports cars, like the ‘Concept One’ or ‘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.”
Main focus is on high-voltage battery technology and electric powertrains
The fast-growing Zagreb-based company employs a total of around 400 employees. Rimac’s main focus is on high-voltage battery technology, electric powertrains and the development of digital interfaces between man and machine (HMI Development). Rimac also develops and produces e-bikes under its subsidiary Greyp Bikes, which was founded in 2013.
“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”, explains Rimac’s CEO Mate Rimac.
