March 10, 2020 – VIDEO: BBC/Top Gear tests Rimac C_Two prototype which can go from 0 to 100 kph in under two seconds!
Tom Ford/Top Gear reviewed the Rimac electric hypercar prototype, with the 1.94 million EURO price tag, on March 10, 2020.
Rimac C_Two: Here are the Numbers
The technical tour-de-force that can reach 160 kph in 4.3 seconds. It will manage some 550 kilometers on a charge (WLTP) and be able to charge to 80 per cent in just half an hour on a fast charger. More pertinently, it will have four-wheel drive and insanely complicated torque vectoring, active aero and sophisticated battery management to prevent performance drop off.
This is a prototype that’s been in testing for several months. “Virtually nothing on this car will be the same as the production version,” says Mate Rimac cheerfully, CEO of his eponymous company, “but it represents a significant step on the journey.” Mate is driving first and the C_Two yelps away from a standstill flicking gravel into the as-yet-unlined arches. It creaks and squeaks a little, but it goes. Hard.
Did Mate Rimac let you have a drive?
Yep, he’s a generous bloke. The driver’s seat is both familiar and a little weird, with an aquarium-blue interior that feels like a CAD drawing, and two massive red buttons by my right elbow that isolate the electrics and disable the braking system.
Rimac C-Two | Rimac
First impressions?
The steering is non-production heavy, the vision surprisingly good – forwards, at least, because the rear view is filled with wires and mysterious boxes of digital think. The ride is… fine. Not hard, but obviously not optimised.
The acceleration is delivered in one long pull rather than the tidal surges of an ICE engine. The car feels half a tonne lighter than its prototype weight of two-and-a-quarter-plus tonnes, with the real deal ending up somewhere just under the double for production.
Rimac C-Two Interior | Rimac
Any final thoughts from the boss?
Just one: “I didn’t actually build this car because I needed to bring down my company C02 targets or because of particular environmental concerns,” he says, with disarming honesty and despite the fact he’s a vegan with a huge passion for environmentalism and eco-consciousness,
“I did it because EV is the best solution. It will make for a better car,” he added.
Follow our Made in Croatia page for updates on the Rimac C_Two electric hypercar and other Croatian innovations. More information and specifications on the car can be found here.
