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Rimac Concept Two ‘C_Two’ makes most hypercars look slow

The all-electric Rimac Concept Two has been unveiled at the 2018 Geneva Motor Show. Here is what you need to know about what looks to be the fastest hypercar on earth and why it is important.

Adding electric power to a hypercar became the norm when the ‘Holy Trinity’, aka the Ferrari LaFerrari, Porsche 918 Spyder and McLaren P1, rolled onto the supercar scene and created the need for the ‘hypercar’ moniker.

But relatively few have ditched the combustion engine entirely and we can understand why. But then Croatian manufacturer Rimac does things a little differently and its latest car, the Rimac Concept Two (known officially as the C_Two), is a prime example. A mind-numbingly fast one.

You need only look at the numbers to see why. Four powerful electric motors provide a ridiculous 1,914 horsepower, making the Rimac Concept One‘s 1,073hp offering rather slim pickings. 0-60mph takes 1.9 seconds and 100mph arrives in 4.3 seconds. This, then, will be a car destined to land you numerous speeding tickets – maybe even a ban if you are anything but gentle with the accelerator. Or you will end up on fire and in a field, as The Grand Tour’s Richard Hammond will (begrudgingly) attest.

As for the top speed, that is an equally absurd 258mph although at that speed the 120kWh battery will drain very fast. In normal use, however, and Rimac claims around 400 miles of range, which would make sense given that the largest Tesla battery is 100kWh. The fact it weighs 1,950kg helps with both range and performance.

Rimac Concept Two C_Two at the 2018 Geneva Motor Show

Not only is the Rimac Concept Two exceedingly fast, it’s remarkably sophisticated. A combination of eight cameras, 12 ultrasonics, six radar and one or two LIDAR sensors means it can allegedly drive itself to a level four standard, which is beyond that of what Audi and Tesla can achieve. This is, of course, something we will need to verify because the claims err on the lofty side.

Handling should be potent, too, thanks to torque vectoring at each wheel and intelligent traction control. Or it can be very drifty if you use the ‘drifting mode’ that puts more power to the back, but then you will need testicles the size of a bungalow to mess around with a car this expensive.

With the push towards electrification a necessity in terms of meeting emissions and leaving some home left for polar bears, cars like the Rimac Concept Two are vitally important if only to prove that going electric need not be a dull, undesirable experience. Engine noise or not, that sort of pace will get the blood flowing as you certainly feel it in the dual-motor Teslas.

A mere eight Rimac Concept One cars were built, which meant owning one was unlikely. In the case of the Rimac Concept Two, there will be 150 examples. A price tag with seven figures is a given, but exactly how much is yet to be revealed. While you wait, feast your eyes on the teaser video below.

Video: Rimac Concept Two

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