Croatian supercar amps up the power

The Rimac One Concept and has four electric motors (one on each wheel) with a combined output of 800kW

The Rimac One Concept and has four electric motors (one on each wheel) with a combined output of 800kW

Published Sep 6, 2011

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Little-known Croatian carmaker Rimac Automobili will be showing this slinky-looking electric supercar concept (without the blanket, we hope) at the Frankfurt motor show next week - and if its performance claims are true this thing will make a Tesla look like a milk float!

It's called the Rimac One Concept and it has, according to the maker, four electric motors (one on each wheel - no need for differentials, you see) with a combined output of 800kW and (are you sitting down?) 3800Nm.

That's enough, it says, to take the car, which weighs only 1650kg, from 0-100 in just 2.8 seconds and on to an electronically-limited 305km/h.

Rimac also claims the concept has a range of 600km - but, even driven at a gentle, steady 100km/h, that would require a 1600kWh battery, which would be about the size of a London bus!

And, presupposing the electric motors run at the usual 440 volts, a full-power take-off would draw 1800 amps - enough to melt the cables, or set the battery on fire, whichever came first.

But then again, maybe those clever Croatians have perfected a supercooled battery, or a synchronous motor that runs at seven million volts and draws only 115mA at full power.

As soon as we hear, so will you.

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