The Garage Where Croatia Built the Future
Mate Rimac was 19 years old and living in Sveta Nedelja, a small town outside Zagreb, Croatia, when he decided to convert his battered BMW E30 to electric power. This was 2007 — years before Tesla made electric cars cool, before the world took EVs seriously. Mate worked in his fathers garage, teaching himself battery management systems, motor controllers, and vehicle dynamics from YouTube videos and forum posts.
The result, the Green Monster, set a Croatian national land speed record for electric vehicles. It was raw, it was fast, and it got attention. At 21, Mate founded Rimac Automobili with the conviction that electric performance could not just match internal combustion — it could destroy it.
Nobody believed a Croatian teenager could compete with Ferrari, Porsche, and McLaren. Mate proved them wrong by building machines that none of them could match.
From Garage to Global
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 2009 | Rimac Automobili founded; first concept car work begins in a garage |
| 2011 | Rimac Concept One unveiled at Frankfurt Motor Show — 1,088 hp electric hypercar. The automotive world takes notice. |
| 2013 | Concept One enters production; 8 units sold at ~$1M each. Porsche takes notice and begins investing. |
| 2016 | Concept One sets Nurburgring EV record. Porsche increases stake. |
| 2018 | Rimac Concept Two (later named Nevera) announced — 1,914 hp, 0-60 in under 1.85 seconds. |
| 2021 | Bugatti-Rimac joint venture announced — Rimac takes control of Bugatti from Volkswagen Group. Porsche increases investment to 24% of Rimac Group. Aston Martin invests. |
| 2022 | Rimac Nevera begins deliveries. Sets 23 performance records in a single test session, including 0-400-0 km/h in 29.93 seconds. |
| 2023 | Technology division revenue growing rapidly — supplying battery systems, powertrains, and engineering to major automakers. |
| 2024 | Rimac Group valued at $3B+; expanding into battery systems, autonomous driving tech, and energy storage. |
The Dual Business Model
Rimac is not just a car company. It is a technology company that happens to make the fastest cars on Earth.
Rimac Automobili (the halo): The hypercar business — Nevera production (150 units at ~$2.2M each) — is about proving technological supremacy, not volume. Each car is a rolling R&D lab. The Nevera generates media attention, validates Rimac engineering capabilities, and serves as the ultimate showcase for what the companys technology can do. But the real money is not in selling hypercars.
Rimac Technology (the engine): This is the industrial business. Rimac supplies battery systems, powertrain components, electronics, and engineering services to other automakers. Clients include Aston Martin (Valhalla battery system), Pininfarina (Battista hypercar), Hyundai N division, SEAT/Cupra, Koenigsegg, and others. This division is growing rapidly and represents the path to scale.
The model is elegant: build the most extreme EVs on Earth to prove capability, then license that capability to companies that need it. Rimac is to electric powertrains what Magna Steyr is to contract manufacturing or Bosch is to automotive electronics — a supplier of critical technology to the broader industry.
Competitive Advantages
Rimac moat is built on technological depth that few companies can match:
Full-stack vertical integration: Rimac designs and manufactures its own batteries, battery management systems, electric motors, inverters, torque vectoring systems, and vehicle electronics. This is rare even among established automakers. The ability to control the entire powertrain stack gives Rimac a performance and optimization advantage that competitors relying on third-party suppliers cannot easily replicate.
Performance credibility: 23 world records, including 0-400-0 km/h in 29.93 seconds, 0-300 km/h in 9.22 seconds, and a quarter-mile in 8.58 seconds. These numbers are not marketing — they are physics. When you build the fastest production car ever made, nobody questions your engineering.
The Bugatti acquisition: Controlling Bugatti gives Rimac access to one of the most iconic names in automotive history. The Bugatti-Rimac JV combines Rimac electric technology with Bugatti brand heritage — a partnership that gives both entities something neither could achieve alone. Rimac gets prestige and distribution; Bugatti gets electrification expertise.
Geographic advantage: Operating from Croatia provides access to skilled Eastern European engineering talent at costs significantly lower than Western Europe or Silicon Valley. The Rimac campus near Zagreb is one of the most advanced EV R&D facilities in the world, built largely from the ground up.
Porsche validation: Porsches investment is not just capital — it is endorsement. When Porsche, a company obsessed with performance engineering, puts money into Rimac, it signals to the entire automotive industry that Rimac technology is the real deal.
Key Metrics
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2009 by Mate Rimac (age 21) |
| Headquarters | Sveta Nedelja, Croatia (near Zagreb) |
| Flagship Vehicle | Rimac Nevera (1,914 hp, 23 world records) |
| Nevera Production Run | 150 units at ~$2.2M each |
| Bugatti-Rimac JV | 2021; Rimac controls Bugatti |
| Major Investors | Porsche (24%), Aston Martin, SEAT/Cupra |
| Revenue Streams | Hypercar sales + technology licensing/engineering services |
| Valuation | $3B+ (Rimac Group) |
Two Defining Details
The Green Monster: Mate Rimac first electric conversion was a 1984 BMW E30 323i that he found abandoned in his neighborhood. He spent months converting it in his fathers garage, teaching himself everything from scratch. The car, nicknamed the Green Monster, set the Croatian national land speed record for electric vehicles at 285 km/h. A 19-year-old in a Croatian garage, working alone, built a record-setting electric car. This is the origin story that makes Rimac unlike any other automotive company.
The 23-Record Test Session: In June 2022, the Rimac Nevera went to the ATP track in Croatia and set 23 performance records in a single day. Not across multiple attempts over months — in one session. The 0-400-0 km/h record (29.93 seconds) is particularly absurd: the car accelerates to 400 km/h (249 mph), then brakes to a complete stop, all in under 30 seconds. This is not just fast — it is a demonstration of engineering that pushes the boundaries of what is physically possible in a road-legal vehicle.