Tuesday, 6 December 2022

Croatian Inventor Mate Rimac Nominated for Businessman of the Year

December the 6th, 2022 - The remarkable Croatian inventor Mate Rimac has rather unsurprisingly been nominated as businessman of the year by both Poslovni Dnevnik (Business Diary) and Vecernji list.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/VL/Tanja Ivancic writes, the expert jury nominated Croatian inventor Mate Rimac for businessman of the year this year, and even more is expected in the future from the young leader of the Rimac Group, who managed to create yet another Croatian unicorn through persistent work and dogged determination against everything thrown at him.

For now, Rimac can certainly boast of having produced an incredible hypercar – recently declared the fastest electric car in the entire world, which also holds the record for the fastest acceleration of any car. Namely, the Nevera reached an impressive speed of 412 km/h, which makes it the fastest electric production car on the face of Earth, while the record for acceleration was 8.582 seconds per quarter mile, which was set back in 2021.

The Nevera electric car is otherwise Rimac's premium product that has since entered into small-scale production. Back in June this year, the company revealed the release of the first Nevera on the roads, which was fitted with 000 plates and wasn't for sale, and then, they said, deliveries to clients from around the world began.

They also emphasised from the Rimac Group that the production of the Nevera required five years of development and testing, equal to an incomprehensible 1.6 million hours of deep research.

Along with the production of the stunning Nevera at the Jankomir plant in Zagreb, what marked this year for Croatian inventor Mate Rimac was the investment round that he closed back in March and the start of the construction of the Rimac campus in Sveta Nedelja. In June, Mate Rimac reported that the Rimac Group had successfully collected 3.78 billion kuna or 500 million euros in investment round D, which brought the market value of the Rimac Group company to over 2 billion euros in total.

The key new investors were SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and Goldman Sachs Asset Management, with participation from existing shareholders of the Rimac Group, including Porsche and Investindustrial. All of the investors now have a share in the Rimac Group, while Mate Rimac himself, the company's founder and executive director of the company, still owns the largest share of all.

"It's a total of more funds than we've ever previously raised, so it's really a huge thing for us,'' Rimac emphasised at the time, noting that they had five times more interested investors than they planned in terms of the raising of the money in this round, and as for the IPO, that is, public share offerings, they are thinking about it in a longer-term framework when the company becomes more predictable, so somewhere in the range of three to five years, according to Rimac.

This new investment is being used to continue the company's growth, increase production capacity and allow for additional employment. The capital raised will primarily be used for the further development of Rimac Technology in the field of large series production for global car manufacturers.

It should be known that Rimac Group is, namely, a holding company and consists of two companies; Bugatti Rimac, in which the Rimac Group has a majority share of 55 percent, while the other 45 percent is owned by Porsche, and Rimac Technology, which is 100 percent owned by the Rimac Group.

The company Rimac Technology is known as a technological partner of numerous global automotive manufacturers who choose it for the development and production of their high-performance battery systems, electric powertrains, electronic systems and user interface components. Mate Rimac then pointed out that the company has ambitious growth plans for the next two years, in addition to the issue of employees and the opening of new offices. They're present in four locations in Zagreb, and they also have offices in Split and Osijek, as well as elsewhere in Europe - in Germany, France and England.

The construction of the upcoming Rimac Campus in Sveta Nedelja is currently delayed, but considering the situation on the market, the deadlines set for it previously remain acceptable, and the plant should be ready in the next few months, with the administrative building and other facilities likely to be ready over the next year or so.

''It's a big investment and will be the largest industrial building in all of Croatia, spanning 100,000 square metres, and I believe that everything is progressing according to plan, and we're already planning the construction of Campus 2,'' Rimac reported back in June.

The Rimac Group employs a total of more than 1,500 people, with 500 of them working at Bugatti Rimac, 150 of them in France, while 1,000 people are employed at Rimac Technology. That's what the official figures from June of this year read. In the first half of this year, they employed 300 people, and by the end of the year they planned to employ another 700. As Mate Rimac wrote in a recent post on social media, they currently have a total of 2,000 employees.

Croatian inventor Mate Rimac otherwise started his business literally from his garage and back in 2009 he founded Rimac Automobili, continuing at this pace, doubling the number of employees, attracting strong investments, and breaking records and production despite the difficulties he faced. It's safe to say that the future should not be a problem for the talented and innovative Croatian inventor Mate Rimac.

For more, follow our business section.

Thursday, 17 November 2022

Nevera Reaches 412km/h, Becomes Fastest Serial Electric Car in World

November the 17th, 2022 - The stunning Nevera made by Mate Rimac's company has become the fastest serial electric car on the planet, reaching an incredible 412 km/h.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, Rimac's amazing Nevera has successfully reached a top speed of 412 km/h, making it the fastest serial electric car in the entire world. The record-breaking feat continues after Nevera's independently verified quarter-mile acceleration record of 8.582 seconds was set back in 2021, making it the fastest-accelerating production car in the world.

On this occasion, the Rimac team specifically looked for an oval-shaped track with straights long enough for the Nevera to reach its absolute top speed, and in the end they decided to verify the speed at the Automotive Testing Papenburg track in Germany. The track makes it possible to reach a speed of more than 400 km/h but this isn't a common sight because it is very rare that a car can even reach such a high speed.

The Nevera was placed in its so-called Top Speed ​​mode, creating an aerodynamic profile that balances both drag and downforce to ensure stability at high speeds. Fitted with road-legal Michelin Cup 2R tyres, and under the supervision of a Michelin technician who checked their condition, the Nevera was ready to set a real speed record.

At the wheel was Miroslav Zrncevic, the main test and development driver. His challenge was to achieve a perfect flat entry from the curved sections of the track to ensure the best possible opportunity to reach top speed. Coming out of the oval part of the track from the incline, traveling at around 250 km/h, Miroslav unleashed the full power of the Nevera to reach a speed of 412 km/h – exactly as simulated at the start of the Nevera project.

The posted speed therefore makes the Nevera the fastest production electric car on Earth, and it is the fastest speed ever recorded on Germany's Automotive Testing Papenburg circuit. The speed ​​was measured using the Racelogic V-Box, a high-precision GPS-based measuring device. A top speed of 412 km/h was the goal set by the Rimac team. It has now been reached.

Miroslav Zrncevic, chief driver for testing and development at Bugatti Rimac commented: "Travelling at a speed of 412 km/h means travelling at a third of the speed of sound. Achieving that speed in a road car is an incredibly complex process, but with the Nevera we managed to create a car that can cover long distances on a single charge, can tackle tight and twisty race tracks and can drift, as well as break acceleration records, reaching speeds of over 400 km/h. I've driven the Nevera since the beginning and to see the finished car as it is today is a really emotional moment. The most important thing I learned when driving at top speed was just how well-composed and stable the car was – which confirms that our aerodynamics and vehicle dynamics teams have done an incredible job.”

The Nevera is otherwise delivered to customers with a limited top speed of 350 km/h, but can reach a top speed of 412 km/h at special customer events with the support of the Rimac team and under tightly controlled conditions. Since the tires are under huge stress during such speeds, most precautions are aimed at keeping the tires properly fitted for it. The production of the Nevera is currently underway at Rimac's headquarters in Jankomir in Zagreb, and the first cars are already with their new owners around the world.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated business section.

Tuesday, 4 October 2022

Famous American TV Host Jay Leno Thrilled With Rimac's Nevera

October the 4th, 2022 - American TV host, writer and comedian Jay Leno is clearly pleased with the amazing Nevera created by Croatian entrepreneur Mate Rimac.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, famous American presenter Jay Leno well and truly threw himself into the waters of all things automotive just a few years ago. He has since grown a very successful YouTube channel called "Jay Leno's Garage" which is dedicated entirely to his passion and he recently tested out Mate Rimac's stunning Nevera.

Leno loved Rimac's remarkable car, the Nevera, and he was particularly impressed by the speed it can reach without much effort and the sheer ease of driving one feels when behind the Nevera's wheel. Leno said that Americans, especially many of those who have never even heard of the Republic of Croatia, will now hear about it and the incredibly intelligent people who built the strongest car in the entire world, as RTL Direkt reported.

"The Nevera's acceleration is impressive. It's linear,'' said Leno in the video in which he tested the Nevera, comparing it to the lack of ease of other electric vehicles and adding that he thinks that this, the latest of Rimac's astonishing supercars, is set to achieve great success on the demanding American market.

Livno-born Croatian entrepreneur and businessman Mate Rimac has often been compared to famous inventors and is frequently referred to as Europe's own Elon Musk. This doggedly determined creator started out with his love of cars from his garage, with not much knowledge or cash behind him.

He has since put Croatia, a country which had absolutely nothing to do with the automotive world whatsoever, very firmly on the map for all lovers of cars and connected it forever with Bugatti, showing that even the most unimaginable ventures can work out, even in a country which is still only just learning how to give entrepreneurs a fighting chance to succeed.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated Made in Croatia section.

 

Saturday, 18 June 2022

Mate Rimac Registers First Nevera, Reveals More About License Plate

June the 18th, 2022 - Croatian entrepreneur Mate Rimac has registered the first Nevera supercar. He took to Facebook to make the announcement and to reveal just what the letters and numbers on the vehicle's license plate mean.

Livno-born entrepreneur and inventor Mate Rimac has done more to place Croatia firmly on the map of innovation and not just tourism than anyone else in recent times. Dubbed the Balkan Elon Musk, Rimac shines a more modern light on the country of genius Nikola Tesla's birth, attracting investment from the likes of Porsche and becoming immortally associated with the gigantic Bugatti group.

His Nevera supercar was in the making for a full five years, and this doggedly determined self-proclaimed car lover who started up his remarkable business from his garage not so long ago has shown just what can be achieved even in a country which likes to bite the heels of would-be entrepreneurs at every step.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, businessman and creator Mate Rimac took to Facebook recently to post that the first Nevera supercar had officially been registered.

"After five years of development, over 1,000 people in the project, seventeen prototypes produced, 45 crash tests, nine cars destroyed during crash tests and thousands of other tests - today, the first Nevera has officially been registered. For now, in Croatia, and soon in many other countries. Here’s the license plate, it even has its stamp. It will be interesting to see them soon on the license plates of Monaco, UK, USA, Germany, Japan, Canada, etc,'' wrote Rimac.

He then revealed what the different letters and numbers on the stunning Nevera's license plates meant.

One of his Facebook followers asked him below his published photos of the newly registered Nevera if the letters NM on the table mean "Nevera Matina''. Rimac replied that it meant "2360 Newton metres'', to which multiple people said is truly an original thought.

For more, make sure to check out Made in Croatia.

Tuesday, 14 June 2022

Rimac's Nevera Supercar Races Against Plane - Who Was Quicker?

June the 14th, 2022 - Mate Rimac's stunning Nevera supercar recently raced against a plane as part of a Varazdin-based event, but which of the two was quicker?

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, the gorgeous Nevera supercar was driven by Miroslav Zrncevic, the main test driver of the Bugatti Rimac car, who explained that the maximum speed of the Nevera was 420 km per hour, and the maximum speed it achieved in this particular race against an aircraft was 350 km per hour.

As part of a three-day meeting of supercar owners held this weekend in Varazdin, Rimac's Nevera supercar faced off an acrobatic plane in a race - and this Croatian-made car won.

Three hundred visitors witnessed the unprecedented spectacle, a race between the Nevera supercar and an acrobatic plane, and despite the strong winds that disturbed both the driver of the Nevera and the pilot, the experienced helmsmen of their respective vehicles put on an amazing 20-minute show. In the battle in which both the Nevera supercar and the plane reached speeds above 350 km per hour, the final and convincing victory was won by entrepreneur Mate Rimac's car from Sveta Nedelja near Zagreb.

"We made two attempts at it, during the first attempt we were aligned to the goal where I started to go, and in the second attempt I basically let the plane go so that we could show spectators a little more about the difference in speed," said Zrncevic.

As Peter Podlunsek, an experienced Red Bull acrobatic pilot who flew the plane, pointed out, the race against the Nevera supercar was technically very demanding.

"First of all, flights when you fly upside down at 300 km plus per hour with strong winds blowing aren't so common, so there was a lot of turbulence to deal with,'' explained Podlunsek, who has been behind the wheel for several races, but this is his first against a hypercar.

The main organiser of the spectacle was Kresimir Mostarcic.

The spectacle was held as part of a three-day meeting in which Mostarcic brought expensive cars to Varazdin, so Rolls-Royces, Bentleys, Jaguars, Porsches, Maserattis drove through the streets of this continental Croatian city, and the highlight was the arrival of Rimac's Croatian-made Nevera.

"My vision is that even smaller cities can be the centres of top car events. I'm glad that this meeting was recognised by our friends and partners from many European countries, and the owners of these cars came from Switzerland, Italy, Germany, and Slovenia,'' said Mostarcic.

He noted that the mayor of Varazdin, Neven Bosilj, and the director of the city's Tourist Board, Jelena Toth, also both expressed a desire for this event to be repeated.

Mostarcic announced that similar events called FLY OVER by CleanFellas will be held in both Osijek and Pula.

For more, check out Made in Croatia.

Wednesday, 13 April 2022

VIDEO: Rimac Team Test Out Stunning Nevera in Extreme Conditions

April the 13th, 2022 - The Rimac team have been testing out Mate Rimac's stunning Nevera in some rather extreme conditions close to the Arctic Circle up in Sweden.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, the Rimac team completed two intensive weeks of winter testing with the gorgeous Nevera supercar back in March at Pirelli’s Sottozero Centre near the Arctic Circle in Sweden. With unusually warm daytime temperatures, the Rimac team spent their time testing the car at night when temperatures were at their lowest and as such their most extreme, adjusting systems such as the ABS, ESP and torque vectoring, and before delivering the very first production cars.

After several years of simulations and testing on tracks, as well as in various test centres across Europe, the all-electric 1914 hp Rimac Nevera has already passed its homologation crash tests for the US and EU, serial production is underway and deliveries to customers around the world will begin in the next few months. However, to ensure that each management system works perfectly in all conditions, the Rimac team headed up to Sweden to confirm the results they had previously achieved on the road, on the tracks and in the climate chambers.

This environment was an ideal opportunity to test the Nevera on its recommended winter tyres - Pirelli P Zero Winter. This type of tyre is characterised by a special mark on the side that testifies to the joint development that Pirelli carried out in partnership with Rimac. Nevera's standard summer tires are otherwise Michelin Pilot Sport 4S.

Miroslav Zrncevic, Chief Development and Test Driver, said: ''Testing the Nevera on a low-adhesion substrate allows us to make consistent and accurate observations of how our systems operate at low temperatures. Things happen much slower on this than they do on asphalt, and we have nice, even, smooth handling paths so we know that the data we get isn't being affected by surface imperfections or temperature changes. After these two weeks of testing, we're happy to see exactly the results we wanted to achieve.''

Mate Rimac, the CEO of Rimac Group, said: “For us, this process of testing in extreme conditions was an opportunity to perfect the Nevera, ensuring that it's perfect before the first deliveries go out to the owners. Even after two weeks spent at temperatures of around -15 ° C and with a rather demanding testing regime, our prototype met the conditions by achieving 100 percent of the expected results, so we know that all our core systems can work reliably even in extreme conditions. What we also wanted to achieve is to develop a super sports car that can be driven and enjoyed by someone who isn't the most experienced driver. Finding a balance of creating an exciting, driver-adaptable yet safe ride in a 1914 hp car with four independent electric motors has been our goal since day one, and as testing nears the end, I can say with certainty that this is exactly what we achieved with the Nevera.''

For more, check out our lifestyle section.

Friday, 8 April 2022

Top Gear Car Magazine Gives Mate Rimac's Nevera Prestigious Award

April the 8th, 2022 - The Top Gear Magazine Electric 2022 awards has awarded Croatian entrepreneur Mate Rimac's stunning Nevera a prestigious award.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, just weeks after being named GQ Magazine's Hypercar of the Year, Rimac's gorgeous  Nevera won the Best High Performance Electric Car Award at the prestigious Top Gear Electric 2022 awards. These Top Gear car magazine awards, organised and judged by a team of experts from Top Gear each year, highlight the most important cars around the world in a number of different categories.

Speaking about the impressive Nevera, the assistant editor of Top Gear magazine, Tom Ford said: “The evolution of the revolution - Nevera is a summary of the technological knowledge of the Croatian manufacturer Rimac, and when it comes to electricity and advanced control systems, Rimac is the god of lightning.''

A new generation of fully electric hypercar

Rimac's Nevera represents a paradigm shift in automotive performance, technology and design. The new generation of fully electric hypercar has also unlocked new dimensions of performance that were once considered unattainable. 1914 horsepower produced by four electric motors, running it from 0-60mph in just 1.85 seconds and up to 100mph in 4.3 seconds. The Nevera was named the fastest production car in the entire world last year, crossing a quarter of a mile in a world record of 8,582 seconds.

“When we first introduced the all-electric Concept_One supercar at the Frankfurt Motor Show back in 2011, it had no competition - the idea of ​​sports and supersports electric cars was still abstract. But today, with Nevera, we find ourselves in a market full of extremely impressive all-electric sports cars from some of the world’s largest manufacturers. On behalf of the team of people who have worked tirelessly to improve the Nevera over the past few years, it's a great privilege to be singled out by the amazing group of Top Gear experts as the best high-performance electric car in the world today,'' said Mate Rimac, the CEO and founder of Rimac Automobili.

For more, make sure to check out Made in Croatia.

Thursday, 17 February 2022

Rimac Nevera First US and EU-Certified Electric Hypercar

February 17th, 2022 - Nevera passed all crash tests and is ready to be shipped to customers

Croatian entrepreneur Mate Rimac announced on Facebook that the all-electric hypercar Nevera passed all crash tests and is ready to hit the road.

The announcement reads:

Nevera has completed all crash tests. After 45 crash-tests and 9 complete cars destroyed in the process (and many many parts), we’ve made it – Nevera is the first US & EU certified electric hypercar!

All EU destructive, static and dynamic tests are completed – so the EU homologation is completely done. We have a few more static and sled-tests for the US which should be done during the next couple of months, but those are not critical (stuff like window anti-pinch tests).

So – EU cars are ready to be shipped to customers and US cars will be so very soon. We have customer cars on our brand-new production line (in a brand-new production facility) which we’ll show to you in the coming weeks as well.

We can’t wait for the first cars to arrive to the customers around the world! 

 Rimac also shared Carwow’s video showing one of the crash tests that had the €2 million car slamming sideways into a pole. Watch the video in the announcement or on YouTube.

Monday, 20 September 2021

Help Create Affordable Rimac Nevera: Vote for the LEGO Version

September 20, 2021 - Fancy owning a Rimac Nevera, but a few dollars short of the asking price? Help create the budget version, powered by LEGO.

When I was growing up back in the 15th century, LEGO was king. Simple blocks to build, a chance for childish creativity. I would play for hours. 

There were no distractions of gadgets or the Internet back in those days, and the simple LEGO pieces, which all came in standard sizes, were popular with kids everywhere. 

rimac-nevera-lego_3.jpg

About 10 years ago, I was looking for gifts for my nephews on a trip back to the UK. I was heartened to hear that they were into LEGO, with a special interest in Star Trek and Star Wars. I was admiring their creativity in my head - just how would you build the Starship Enterprise from those simple blocks - until I went into the story. LEGO had clearly moved on, and I left a few minutes later with some custom-made inter-galactic LEGO sets.  

rimac-nevera-lego_4.jpg

And not only is LEGO still thriving, but it is also evolving. One of its coolest features is to encourage innovation in new models. The company encourages its customers to design new products using LEGO pieces, and if there is enough interest (10,000 votes), then the company will consider putting the design into mainstream production.  

This initiative takes some serious planning and dedication for those with a passion, and TCN has featured a couple of designs before. But could this be the ultimate cool LEGO gift for your nephew or niece, a gift to inspire for the future. Meet the proposed LEGO version of the Rimac Nevera!

It is all the brainchild of a fan called platon_dr who tells us a little more about the proposed LEGO version on the official LEGO website

rimac-nevera-lego_5.jpg

The model itself consists of 2127 parts, has an opening boot, doors and several compartments in the interior.

There is no frunk, just in like the real car, all the space in the front is used for making the car faster, than any car before had ever been.

The interior is very accurately copied, there are several opening compartments, the butterfly doors open just like the real ones, except they’re a bit smaller. 

 I must confess that my first reaction to seeing the Rimac Nevera was 'wow!' But platon_dr had another reaction:

The second I saw the car, I thought to myself “this would be a pain to build out of LEGO” and then I took it as a challenge. It would make a great set as LEGO also has to move on into the electric car future.

rimac-nevera-lego_1.jpg

(The real thing - photo by Rimac Automobili)

Want to help make the budget Rimac Nevera a reality? You can voice your support for the idea here

Alternatively, go for a spin with one of the first buyers of the Rimac Nevera, Formula One legend Nico Rosberg.

For more Croatian innovation, check out the TCN Made in Croatia section

Thursday, 10 June 2021

Bugatti Who? German Media Shower Praise on Croatian Mate Rimac

June the 10th, 2021 - The German media has been no stranger to the entire Rimac story, with numerous articles praising the Croatian Mate Rimac, being referred to as the ''Elon Musk of the Balkans'' and compared to genius and countryman Nikola Tesla. That trend hasn't stopped and the showers of praise from Germany continue for this remarkable entrepreneur from Livno.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, the popular German publication Der Spiegel has featured the brand new car made by Croatian Mate Rimac, as reported by Index. The beautiful new Nevera is described by the publication as "superior", and Rimac has been referred to as a person who is "introducing new standards" to the electric car industry.

“The 2000 hp Rimac Nevera sports car demonstrates the superiority of electric drive on the racetrack,” Der Spiegel points out in an article entitled ''Bugatti was yesterday. Now comes Rimac's Nevera.''

The German paper also states that Croatian Mate Rimac's truly stunning Nevera represents "the current peak of a brilliant career", during which Rimac, in ten years from being "completely unknown" became an advisor to some of the most famous managers in the automotive industry, even advising the bosses of Volkswagen and Porsche on switching to electric cars.

However, Der Spiegel critically states that "Nevera plays on the lowest instincts", reports Index.

"We wanted to show off what is technically possible. And, of course, have a little fun,'' Rimac told Der Spiegel, who recalls that he started his career as a race driver. "Infidelity is not a contribution to mass mobility, but it's a fun activity for a few," explains Rimac.

Despite appealing to speed lovers and perhaps ''the lowest human instincts'', Nevera should also demonstrate "what Rimac Automobili can produce". According to the Index, Der Spiegel believes that Rimac's "technology can make ordinary vehicles faster, more economical, or safer".

For more, follow Made in Croatia.

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