What's the news?
This year's Salon Privé, one of the most prestigious shows in the automotive calendar, takes place in London's Syon Park on September 5 to 7. Sure to be one of the stars of the show is the Croatian Rimac Concept_One hyper-car that boasts (paraphrasing 24 year-old CEO Mate Rimac) the power of a Bugatti, the style of a Ferrari and the luxury of a Mercedes-Benz. There is also the little matter of it being an electric vehicle.
Exterior
The team that built the Concept_One includes a designer who used to work for Pininfarina so the Croatian hyper-car is suitably dramatic in its styling. Carbon fibre has been used extensively due to its low weight and has been left exposed on parts of the exterior to create a two-tone effect.
Interior
Along with a designer from Pininfarina Rimac boasts some of the craftsmen from top Bulgarian tuners Vilner. The result is an opulent interior befitting the Concept_One's high price. Driver-focused, the interior features a high end infotainment system and clear displays to show what the complicated drivetrain is doing.
Mechanicals
Building a car that can compete with the Bugatti Veyron's power figure is not that difficult; bolt a large enough turbo to a big enough engine and you too can enter the 1,000hp club, but doing it without an internal combustion engine is different. Powering the Concept_One is a 92kWh battery that is connected to four electric motors, one at each wheel. Capable of working independently of each other, when all four combine the power output is the equivalent of 1,103hp; enough to propel the Rimac from 0-100km/h in just 2.8 seconds and onto a top speed of 306km/h. With a theoretical range of 600 kilometres you can even enjoy the power without having to recharge straight afterwards.
Anything else?
Salon Privé will be the first outing for the all-electric hyper-car, only 88 of which are scheduled to be built. It will not come cheap though with each model commanding over €800,000. Think of the fuel savings...