Rimac Concept_One History

The Concept_One grew out of a project Mate Rimac began in 2007 when, as a teenager, he converted a 1984 BMW E30 to electric power. That car — nicknamed the 'Green Monster' — set an FIA-sanctioned electric drag record and attracted enough investor interest for Rimac to formally incorporate Rimac Automobili in 2009 in Sveta Nedelja, near Zagreb.

Unveiled at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show, the Concept_One entered limited production in January 2013. Just eight cars were completed. Each used four electric motors — one per wheel — producing a combined 913 kW (1,224 hp) and 1,600 N·m of torque from a 92 kWh lithium-iron-phosphate battery pack, driving a four-wheel torque-vectoring system that Rimac developed entirely in-house. Claimed 0–100 km/h was 2.5 seconds; top speed 340 km/h.

Six of the eight cars survive. The most famous casualty was one destroyed in June 2017 when television presenter Richard Hammond crashed it filming The Grand Tour in Switzerland. Of the eight produced, one served as the official zero-emission race director's car during Formula E's inaugural 2014–15 season — an early signal of Rimac's ambition beyond road cars.