Porsche acquires stake in Rimac
Porsche's push to electrification continues with Croatian collaboration
Some interesting news out of Stuttgart this morning, with Porsche announcing it has purchased a ten per cent stake in Rimac Automobili, manufacturer of electric supercars and nemesis of Richard Hammond. Complete machines such as the Concept One and 1,914hp 'C Two' aren't all the Croatian company is known for, however, it also happening to be at the cutting edge of componentry including high-voltage batteries and electric powertrains.
Following the move the German marque will look to establish a development partnership with Rimac. Having previously worked with brands such as Aston Martin, Jaguar, Renault and Koenigsegg, as well as on its own vehicles, the relatively young enterprise's expertise should come in handy as Porsche looks to pivot into the electric vehicle market in the coming years.
Back in 2015 Porsche announced its intention to release a road-going version of its Mission E concept - more recently the Taycan - by the end of the decade. That car was vaunted to have over 600hp, a 0-62 time of under 3.5 seconds, a range in excess of 300 miles, and be capable of achieving an 80 per cent charge in just 15 minutes.
Rimac's C Two, meanwhile, made its debut at this year's Geneva show boasting over three times Porsche's target power output, a 1.85 second (!) 0-60 time and an NEDC range of 400 miles. It can also achieve an 80 per cent battery charge in 30 minutes; not quite what Porsche promised, but not too far off either given the extra range. In short, it isn't hard to see where the two company's interests converge.
Speaking about the deal, Lutz Meschke, Member of the Executive Board for Finance and IT at Porsche, said: "By developing the purely electric two-seaters super sports cars, like the 'Concept One' or 'C Two', as well as core vehicle systems, Rimac has impressively demonstrated its credentials in the field of electromobility. We feel that Rimac's ideas and approaches are extremely promising, which is why we hope to enter into close collaboration with the company in the form of a development partnership."
What this will mean for Rimac's own automotive output is anyone's guess, with founder Mate Rimac adding that, "This partnership now is an important step for Rimac on our way to becoming a component and system supplier of choice for the industry." Perhaps indicating that the company's future lies away from cars of its own. Whatever happens, though, Rimac has certainly done an exceptional job of creating exciting, useable electric cars and, most importantly, succeeded in getting them from the drawing board to the road. If its approach can influence Porsche's future electric output, it will surely be no bad thing.
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