Automotive

23-year-old designer set to show 1088 bhp Electric Sports Car this week at IAA Frankfurt

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The Frankfurt Motor Show opens this week and a number of new brands will be seen for the first time, including a Croatian company Rimac Automobili, which will show a pure electric sportscar named the Concept One with an aluminum frame, carbon fiber bodywork, and an all-up weight of just 1650 kg.

Inside that lightweight construct lurks a massive 92 kWh battery capacity good for a 366 mile range. It's the performance of the car which has the buzz percolating though, as it has a claimed 1088 bhp, prodigious torque of 3800 Nm and an electronically-limited top speed of 305 km/h.

Perhaps the most remarkable claim is the acceleration though, which has the 0-100 km/h time pegged at 2.8 seconds, making it one of the fastest accelerating road cars anywhere.

As can be seen from this teaser Youtube video, the Concept One appears to be made in high-tech facilities and certain to add to the story is that the entire project has been hatched by 23-year-old Croatian automotive designer Mate Rimac who will build 88 examples of the Concept One.

The Concept One is driven by four independent electric motor drive units which are divided into the front and rear driver system.

The front and rear system are separated units. Each of them includes two high speed, liquid cooled permanent magnet electric motors, two liquid cooled inverter units and two reduction gearboxes, united into one compact unit

The company's web site is understandably coy about more details prior to the launch, though if you can read Croatian, the Rimac Automobili Facebook page might be more enlightening.

From what we can gather, the car has a reconfigurable computerized dashboard, a heads-up display, regenerative braking and looks set to challenge the establishment.

Good luck Mate!

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19 comments
Bill Bennett
RE: photo #7 where is the caliper? Where is the room for the caliper?,, yeah unhuh, it only pushes on the rear of the disc, yeah, right..
Mr Stiffy
Why do journalists keep doing stupid things like espousing these kinds of things?
"Perhaps the most remarkable claim is the acceleration though, which has the 0-100 km/h time pegged at 2.8 seconds, making it one of the fastest accelerating road cars anywhere."
What you mean that everyone, everywhere, is really interested in doing the daily commute on a DRAG RACING STRIP, from one set of traffic lights to the next?
William Blackburn
\"23-year-old Croatian automotive designer Mate Rimac who will build 88 examples of the Concept One.\"
Yeah good luck with that one. Wake me when the first one gets built.
justme70
It can probably be done on a low-production basis, and if it\'s done right it\'ll be a honey and grab headlines. However...
Independent PM machines at each wheel are a nasty, nasty control problem waiting to happen. PM machines also have cost and durability issues relative to IPM machines (like were used by Tesla and Fisker), and not just because of the magnet materials.
This sucker may be a designer\'s dream, but it\'s a drivetrain engineer\'s nightmare.
Slowburn
Re; justme70
Assuming PM stands for prime mover or primary motor. Having one at each wheel solves all the differential problems. Plus it allows you to drive to a shop, after a major breakdown.
johnpsom
I cannot understand you people...
this young person looks to have a dream and ready to go for it pressumably when a sponsor will give him the corresponding bugdet.
Why you have to talk negatively and be such arrogants to anybody with such ideas?
Why do not see the positive side of all that?
George Wilson
Check out this young designers BMW conversion he has more practical experience than the naysayers. Finance dosnt seem to be a problem if the guide through his research/production center is any indication it also should allow for any rapid transitions in design. PM permanent magnet motors might not be the best way to go but if you have a proven product take it to market and upgrade later as Continental are rolling out all copper AC motors in mass production but not at the power ratting of these quad units. Braking go regenerative this is that good that F1 uses it in KERS su disc brands are probablyunsprung mass not needed in this design. All the best Mate wish I could catch the show
Ingo
hehe, 92kWh at 1088 bhp equals roughly 7 minutes.
Muraculous
As usual, concepts brought through to limited production will advance some automotive technologies by proving that they are, in fact, workable. There is very little wrong with this design although, as someone else has mentioned, controlling speeds at each wheel is cause for several layers of redundancy, including default to same speed albeit with differential-like cornering considerations.
The reconfigurable dash is an excellent idea and I would take it a step further by putting it all on the windshield via laminated OLED display. Sub three second acceleration is a lot like the 4-minute mile and really only sacred in the world of internal combustion engines and, effectively, piloting an engine with wheels - done to death and for the very nostalgic.
Chris Pape
@ William Blackburn
Mate Rimac has already built an impressive electric vehicle conversion of a 1986 BMW E30. It pretty much beats any other EV conversion out there in range and acceleration. I wouldn\'t count this guy out just yet.
http://green.autoblog.com/2010/10/17/video-vst-conversions-blows-us-competition-away-with-bmw-bi-mo/