February 16, 2021 – In an admiring new business profile, the most prestigious of British broadcasters looks at Croatian car innovator Mate Rimac BBC comparing him to Tesla's Elon Musk.
In an admiring new business profile, the most prestigious of British broadcasters looks at Croatian car innovator Mate Rimac BBC comparing him to Tesla's Elon Musk.
The Mate Rimac BBC profile is titled 'The hypercar maker who was told to give up his dream' and was published earlier today, Tuesday 16 February 2021. In the article, which is part business profile and part a personality profile on Mate Rimac BBC journalist and business correspondent Theo Leggett describes Rimac automobiles as “some of the most exotic machines on the planet”.
The BBC profile of Mate Rimac and his Rimac Automobili company, from earlier today © BBC screenshot
Direct quotes from the Mate Rimac BBC profile
“Rimac Automobili is best known for building ultra-exclusive electric hypercars,” says Mate Rimac BBC profile writer Mr Leggett.
“The Concept One, first unveiled in 2011, had a top speed of 354km/h (220mph). Only eight were ever made - and one was famously destroyed when the TV presenter Richard Hammond careered off the road during a competition in Switzerland.”
“Its successor the C_Two is even more extreme with a claimed top speed of 415km/h (258mph); able to accelerate from 0-97km/h (60mph) in 1.85 seconds. Due to go on sale this year, it's expected to have a price tag of €2m ($2.4m; £1.8m).”
The rimac C_Two © Branko Radovanović
“The cars are by any normal measure extraordinary. But they form only one part of Rimac's business model. Increasingly the company is setting itself up as a technology supplier to other manufacturers, to help them build their own high-performance electric cars.”
Alongside the obvious similarity of them both building electric cars, it is this expansion of the company's field of vision that prompts the Mate Rimac BBC profile journalist to compare the Croat to Tesla's Elon Musk.
Further along in the Mate Rimac BBC profile, the journalist interviews David Bailey, professor of industrial strategy at Birmingham University.
"Mate Rimac is seen as a real disruptor," says Professor Bailey. "His company has come from absolutely nowhere, their products are really exciting - and they've developed a brand round the hypercars."
