√Rimac Nevera electric hypercar destroyed by unnamed car company boss – report
Rimac Automobili founder Mate Rimac claims the Chief Technical Officer of a global car company crashed a prototype Rimac Nevera after engaging the 1427kW hypercar’s ‘Drift Mode’.
The founder of Croatian electric car maker Rimac Automobili claims a prototype of its Nevera hypercar was destroyed in the hands of an over-exuberant executive for a major auto manufacturer while using the car’s ‘Drift Mode’.
Launched in 2021, the €2 million (AU$2.93 million) Rimac Nevera is claimed to be the world’s fastest-accelerating production car, capable of launching from 0 to 100km/h in 2.1 seconds, with 1427kW and 2360Nm available from its four electric motors.
In an interview Mate Rimac, 34-year-old founder of Rimac Automobili, told 2016 Formula 1 World Champion-turned-influencer, Nico Rosberg, how one of the Rimac Nevera prototypes was wrecked by a Chief Technical Officer (CTO) of a major automotive company.
According to Mate Rimac, the unnamed CTO engaged the Rimac Nevera’s ‘Drift Mode’ – disabling the front motors and sending more than 700kW to the rear wheels – before losing control and destroying the prototype.
“There was a CTO of one big, big car company – one of the biggest car companies in the world,” Mate Rimac told Nico Rosberg in a video posted to YouTube.
“(On) the first lap he was in the car on a race track, he was like, ‘I go straight into drift (mode)’.
“First corner, he loses the car … and takes three poles out.
“Nothing happened to him but the car was totaled – the third pole was taken out and the top was like a spike.
“The car stopped on the pole with the battery straight on the spike.”
While the Rimac Nevera prototype was written off, the CTO escaped unharmed.
Rimac first rose to prominence in 2017 when TV personality Richard Hammond crashed a Rimac Concept One.
Hammond was filming a segment for Series Two of The Grand Tour at a Swiss hillclimb event when he lost control of the car, running off the road and down an embankment.
The Rimac Concept One subsequently caught fire, allegedly burning for five days due to its split battery pack, while Hammond suffered a broken leg.
Rimac took more than three years to develop the Nevera, from its first unveiling as the C_Two Concept in 2018 to the production-ready Nevera’s reveal in 2021.
Rimac received an €80 million ($AU116 million) investment from South Korean car giants Hyundai and Kia in 2019, with the pair taking a joint 12 per cent stake in the Croatian hypercar maker.
In May 2022, Hyundai and Kia cut ties with Rimac after German car maker Porsche increasing its involvement in the Croatian company.
In 2021, Porsche increased its stake in Rimac from 10 per cent to 24 per cent, as well as forming a joint venture which led to a takeover of hypercar maker Bugatti from the Volkswagen Group.
Named Bugatti-Rimac, 55 per cent of the joint venture is owned by Rimac while the remaining 45 per cent is held by Porsche.
While Rimac is currently focusing on production of the electric Nevera, it is not yet known if Bugatti will go fully-electric or launch an electrified model.
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