Rimac Concept_One: This Electric Vehicle Could Outpace Supercars

Jan 24, 2014 10:21 AM EST | Jordan Ecarma

The swift Rimac Concept_One could reinvent the way people view electric vehicles.

The revolutionary electric concept could be a supercar with the third-fastest acceleration in the world if its performance specifications are accurate, CNN reported.

The Rimac Concept_One, which debuted at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 2011, has performance figures that would be impressive in a traditional gasoline-powered car, let alone an EV.

Creator Mate Rimac, a 25-year-old inventor and longtime car enthusiast, started tinkering with electric vehicles when he was in high school. The Rimac Concept_One came about because of his passion for both cars and technology, Rimac told CNN.

The unique EV is intended to showcase the power of electric, showing that battery-powered cars can be just as fast and powerful as traditional vehicles if not more so.

"I decided to combine my two passions, technology and cars, and make an electric car that can prove the electric motor is much better even on the racetrack," Rimac said. "Not just city cars for boring stuff, but to show people that the future will be interesting--that one day when petrol is gone and you only have electric cars in the world, you won't have to compromise in terms of performance, speed or (how) far (it can go)."

Rimac made it into the Guinness Book of World Records with the modified lime green BMW that he began tinkering with in high school. Working on the car for several years, Rimac took out the motor and put batteries inside instead. He later set the world record for the fastest quarter mile ever by an electric vehicle.

The young inventor is working on a slim budget to pursue his dream of bringing the Concept_One supercar to production in the near future.

"In the car industry, it's common to design a new car with 1 billion to 5 billion dollars," Rimac told CNN. "But, most of those cars carry over components from previous versions--engines, gear boxes and stuff. We had to design a car (including) the whole technology under the skin, (while) the company itself didn't have a desk to put a computer on. And we did all that with less than 0.1 per cent of the budget which is usual in the car industry."

No word yet on when Rimac's cutting-edge electric supercar will be available, but car fans can go here to learn more.

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