August 13, 2023 – Another memorable night in Hvar Town, as Hvar, Rimac, and Europa Park combine with an announcement as spectacular as the show. In pictures and video.
There is something a little different about Hvar Town this summer with its cultural programme. A return to the classier ways of old. While the Hvar Summer Festival continues to provide quality concerts as it has done for more than half a century, the difference has been in some of the signature events and exhibitions which have taken place this summer, starting with the excellent Made in Croatia exhibition in the Arsenal.
And then, last month, something rather unusual – a pop-up showroom in the middle of the main square, showcasing the fastest electric car in the world, and the pride of Croatian technology, the Rimac Nevera. Parked just outside the oldest public theatre in Europe, opened in 1612, it was a powerful image of Croatian quality and luxury, from its groundbreaking culture of yesteryear, to its groundbreaking technology of the future.
And while many admired this elite example of Croatian excellence, others wondered what it was doing there on the main square in peak season. That question was rather stylishly answered three nights ago in the latest stunning announcement from the Rimac Group, during an evening attended by Mate Rimac himself. And rather than me butcher a good announcement, here it is in the words of the Rimac press team, and Hvar Tourist Director.
From the Rimac press room:
Bugatti Rimac will be partnering with Europa-Park, Germany’s largest theme park and eight-time winner of the Golden Ticket Award for Best Amusement Park, in a groundbreaking expansion that will pay homage to the spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship. Set to open in 2024, the park’s new area, dedicated to Croatia, will become Europa Park’s largest single area, showcasing the theme of “energy” in collaboration with Bugatti Rimac.
The new Europa-Park area pays homage to Nikola Tesla, the Croatian-born inventor that impacted the world like few others did. Mate Rimac cites his compatriot Nikola Tesla as one of his great inspirations for exploring the use of electric motors and batteries in performance cars. Today, the Rimac Group is renowned for its Nevera all-electric hypercar and its Rimac Technology business, which supplies high-performance electrification technologies to the global car manufacturers.
The focal point of this collaboration will be the unveiling of “Voltron Nevera powered by Rimac,” which is scheduled to open in 2024. The rollercoaster will be the park’s first new large rollercoaster in 12 years, and will stand as one of the Europa-Park’s most advanced rollercoasters.
The enchanting Town of Hvar, Croatia played a key part in this collaboration, standing as one of the regions that inspired MACK One – the driving force behind unique ideas within the Mack company group. Having heavily influenced the Croatia-themed area, Hvar is a central part of Rimac’s European progress, with the Nevera having recently been showcased in the center of Hvar town.
The driving forces behind the collaboration between Europa-Park and Rimac, Mate Rimac and Michael Mack, are two key figures of entrepreneurial spirit. Mate Rimac’s career has led him to create a globally renowned business valued at more than 2bn Euros, headquartered near to Zagreb, Croatia Similarly, son of Europa-Park’s founder Roland Mack, Michal Mack’s dedication and vision have been instrumental in shaping the park’s success. His wife, Miriam Mack, is from Croatia and her heritage has provided another source of inspiration for the new themed area.
“Ever since the very beginnings of the Rimac Group, our Croatian identity has been at the core of the business. The home of the Rimac Group will always be in Croatia, and much of what we do is inspired by this country. It’s an honor for our business to be represented in such a significant way at Europa-Park, and we’re excited to bring our first innovations to visitors from all over the world. But the addition of the Voltron Nevera ride is just the first step in our partnership, and as we grow even further, our relationship with Europa-Park will grow too.”
Mate Rimac, Founder and CEO of Rimac Group
“The cooperation is a perfect match. There couldn’t be anyone better than Mate Rimac and his team for this, as the company is 100 percent authentic. It is important to Europa-Park to strive for partnerships that take place on an equal footing. That is why we are particularly looking forward to working together. This cooperation also brings together a young generation that thinks outside the box. We’re united by our entrepreneurial spirit, our passion for acceleration and our special relationship with Croatia. My wife Miriam comes from the country, and I have been able to get to know a lot of great people there. She has provided us with a lot of inspiration for the implementation of the new Croatian theming. The fact that our new cooperation partner is now also from Croatia makes me very proud.”
Michael Mack, CEO of Europa-Park
Iva Belaj Šantić, Director of the Hvar Tourist Board, had this to say:
Over the course of 3 weeks (July 25-August 10), the town of Hvar and the Tourist Board of the Town of Hvar had the honor of hosting Nevera at the Hvar Pjaca, and in this way, through joint marketing activities, contributed to the additional promotion of Hvar as a top destination, and at the same time offered the guests of Hvar a unique experience to see live cars that set new standards in electric mobility.
Nevera attracts attention with its design and performance, but its display on the main square of Hvar is a continuation of the story we told through the “Made in Croatia” exhibition set up in the historic Arsenal, because no matter how many controversial opinions Rimac causes, Nevera is a product conceived, designed and manufactured precisely in Croatia, which we can all be proud of and use for further promotion of Croatia as a country of innovation and technical expertise.
We are proud of the fact that Bugatti Rimac and Europa Park have chosen the city of Hvar as the place where they have announced their collaboration with the latest roller coaster “Voltron”, which will be located in the part of Europa Park thematically dedicated to Croatia.
From an organizational point of view, this event confirmed that the City of Hvar, the Tourist Board of the City of Hvar, Sunčani Hvar and other local companies cooperate well and that they can carry out logistically very demanding projects without any problems. The selection of Hvar as the host of this event not only confirms the attractiveness of Hvar as a tourist destination of top quality and rich historical, cultural and enogastronomic offer, but at the same time positions it as an extremely attractive place for the promotion of various business initiatives that we hope for in the future.
You can watch the official trailer for the new theme park here.
