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Auto Blog
6 days ago
- Automotive
- Auto Blog
Rimac Reveals Bugatti Tourbillon And Nevera Secrets As Testing Ramps Up
Mate Rimac Reveals Bugatti & Rimac Secrets The Bugatti Tourbillon is deep into its development and testing phases, with numerous prototypes being tested in various conditions around the world. As it draws nearer, Top Gear got the opportunity to learn more about the upcoming hypercar from Bugatti-Rimac CEO Mate Rimac, who gave the publication a tour of the massive facility where Tourbillon prototypes are being built (the production cars will be made in Molsheim, of course) and Neveras are prepared for their customers. Along with recapping and elaborating on many of the Tourbillon's neat innovations and design elements, Mr. Rimac also revealed some interesting details that would not be found in a press release, including the fact that the Nevera shares only a single part with another vehicle and that the electric hypercar almost formed the basis of the Tourbillon. How The Rimac-Based Bugatti Would Have Come To Life Source: Bradley Iger/Autoblog Mate explains that before he was directly involved with Bugatti, initial ideas included using most of the Nevera to form the basis of a new hybrid hypercar. Rimac imagined using the entire front half of the car, carrying over important elements like the dual electric motors and the steering system, cooling components, brakes, and crash structure. The battery of the Nevera would also have been retained, and then aft of the passenger compartment, a V16 would have been mated to the package. This was passed on for several reasons, but the simplest way to describe why this simpler route was not taken is with the word compromise. Not only would the dynamics of the Bugatti have been jeopardized, but the value of the brand would have been diminished, too. As Rimac succinctly said when referring to innovations like the speaker-free audio system in the cabin: 'If we [Bugatti] don't do it, who will?' In other words, Bugatti exists to set standards, not follow trends or take shortcuts, and although collaboration is okay – see the Tourbillon's Rimac-designed-and-made battery and Czinger/Divergent-sourced 3D-printed suspension – everything on a Bugatti must still be specific to the bespoke. Audi R8 Parts In A World-Beating Hypercar In the video embedded at the bottom of this article, TG's Oliie Kew notes, while looking at a naked Rimac Nevera R monocoque, that every component bears a Rimac stamp. Mate proudly says that the 'only component' shared with another car is the HVAC box from an Audi R8, and even that has been modified. Doing everything in-house must be expensive, and it is – Mate says that the Nevera project cost the team over €150 million, or around $173 million. Naturally, the conversation gravitated towards the disappointing sales figures of the hypercar, and although Mate concedes that the Nevera didn't sell out of all 150 units, he calls it 'the most successful electric sports car,' saying the company has 'sold most of them,' though an exact figure was not revealed. According to Bloomberg, Rimac has sold 50 cars as of July 2025. By providing your email address, you agree that it may be used pursuant to Arena Group's Privacy Policy. Bugatti Tourbillon Technology Coming To Everyday Cars Source: Bugatti During the tour, Mate often noted that battery packs and other components are being developed and produced for automakers that do not always wish to be named, and one example of that is highlighted around the half-hour mark, when Mate reveals that the front electric powertrain of the Tourbillon, which was developed specifically for the hypercar, has been repurposed as a rear-mounted electric motor for an unnamed upcoming SUV and sedan pairing. By developing the tech for hypercars first, the most costly research & development processes are already paid for, making the large-scale democratization of high-density energy storage and ultra-efficient motors cost-effective. In summary, the Nevera may have been a commercial failure in some ways, but it formed the foundation of the Rimac Technologies design and manufacturing juggernaut, served as a cautionary tale for Bugatti and others, and reset the bar for hypercar performance. About the Author Sebastian Cenizo View Profile
Motor 1
30-07-2025
- Automotive
- Motor 1
The Bugatti Tourbillon Doesn't Have Real Speakers. It Uses Something Much Cooler
The Bugatti Tourbillon is filled with all sorts of neat innovations. A steering wheel that rotates around a central hub , a titanium gauge cluster , 3D-printed suspension components, and a monster rear diffuser that doubles as a crash structure. Add to that a sound system that doesn't use traditional speakers. Top Gear magazine recently visited Rimac's new Croatian headquarters, where Bugatti Rimac is developing the Tourbillon. CEO Mate Rimac delights in showing off all kinds of innovations on both this and the Rimac Nevera, and he's particularly proud of the Tourbillon's sound system. Rather than using traditional speakers, the Tourbillon uses piezoelectric elements that vibrate the car's carbon-fiber tub. So effectively, the Tourbillon's chassis is one big speaker. This warrants further explanation. Traditional speakers use a magnet that receives an electrical signal, which in turn moves an electromagnetic voice coil back and forth. The voice coil is attached to some sort of diaphragm, typically a cone made from paper or metal, that vibrates, amplifying the sound. (Remember that sound is just air vibrating.) Obviously, this works incredibly well, but speaker magnets are quite heavy. A piezoelectric speaker uses a small crystal like quartz to do much the same thing. An electrical signal sent to the crystal vibrates some sort of diaphragm, usually a small piece of flat metal. Some hi-fi speakers use this technology, but more often, a piezoelectric speaker is just a small buzzer, like an alarm in an old quartz wristwatch. In the Tourbillon, the actual carbon-fiber chassis is the diaphragm—those piezo transducers are designed to transmit vibrations directly into the tub. Rimac shows Top Gear the Tourbillon's effective subwoofer, a piezo element attached to the roof of the car. It's a tiny metal piece, far smaller and lighter than a traditional speaker. The interior of the Tourbillon. No traditional speakers here. Photo by: Bugatti "Believe me, the sound quality of that car is in a different universe compared to a Chiron," Rimac says. "So we saved weight, space, and improved the sound quality." While this seems to be the first example of an automaker using piezoelectric transducers to turn a carbon-fiber tub into a speaker, the Tourbillon is not the first car to use part of its body structure for audio reproduction. Mercedes-Benz introduced a system called Front Bass that turned the front firewall of the 2013 SL into, effectively, a large speaker box. Though, this system did use traditional electromagnetic speakers. The car's structure was just used to enhance the sound from the speakers. Neat stuff, though with a naturally aspirated V-16 engine just behind the rear bulkhead, we wonder if anyone really needs a high-end audio system. More on the Tourbillon Bugatti Boss on Turbocharged Hybrid Supercars: 'I Don't Get It' Bugatti's New V-16 Has a Bizarre Timing System Get the best news, reviews, columns, and more delivered straight to your inbox, daily. back Sign up For more information, read our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use . Share this Story Facebook X LinkedIn Flipboard Reddit WhatsApp E-Mail Got a tip for us? Email: tips@ Join the conversation ( )
Malaysian Reserve
11-07-2025
- Automotive
- Malaysian Reserve
Rimac's slow-selling Nevera R is the world's fastest production EV
A Rimac Nevera R reached 268.2 mph at the Automotive Testing Papenburg facility last week in Germany, a feat the Croatian hypercar maker is calling a world record for the top speed of an electric vehicle. 'Breaking records is in our DNA, and we won't stop here,' Mate Rimac, founder and president of Rimac Group, and chief executive officer of Bugatti Rimac and Rimac Technology, said in a press statement. The 'R' stands for radical, relentless and rebellious, Rimac said when he introduced the €2.3 million ($2.7 million) electric hypercar during Monterey Car Week last year. But in the elite echelons of extreme speed, many records come down to technicalities and semantics. Rimac's mark beat the Nevera R's previous top speed of 256 mph, but it did not surpass the 273 mph achieved by an Aspark Owl SP600 in 2024, which earned Guinness World Records certification as 'the fastest battery-powered electric prototype hypercar in the world.' The 'prototype' distinction is important: 40 units of the Nevera R will be produced, with customer deliveries beginning later this year, while the Aspark Owl SP600 used for the top-speed run was a prototype. 'We believe that's a meaningful distinction for customers: You're not just buying a one-off prototype, but a record-breaking car you can actually drive on the road,' says Marta Longin, a Rimac spokesperson. Representatives for Aspark did not respond to a request for comment. Rimac used a high-precision data acquisition system from Dewesoft to measure the run. Officials from Guinness World Records were not on-site, Longin says, citing its laborious certification structure. 'It requires unusual event formats like simultaneous runs with over 10 competitive cars, which is more relevant to consumer stunts and show events,' she says. Rimac used Guinness to certify its 171-mph top speed in reverse record in 2023. The Nevera R's new top speed is one of 24 benchmarks set by the 2,107-horsepower car July 5-8. Among them was an improved zero-60 mph sprint time of 1.66 seconds, beating the Nevera's previous 1.74-second sprint time and a zero-400-zero kmh (zero-249-zero mph) time of 25.79 seconds—a full 2.04 seconds quicker than the 27.83 seconds achieved by the Koenigsegg Jesko Absolut in 2024. Cars powered by internal combustion still have the upper hand in speed runs. In 2019, a Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+ hit 304 mph; Koenigsegg and SSC Tuatara both make gasoline-powered cars with higher top speeds than the Nevera. The news comes as Rimac is facing continued disappointing sales of its electric hypercar, which has caused tension among its investors. Porsche owns around 20% of Rimac Group, which in turn owns 55% of Bugatti Rimac and all of the battery maker Rimac Technology. (Rimac Group's other investors include Hyundai Motor, Goldman Sachs Asset Management and Softbank Vision Fund 2.) The German automaker has been unhappy with the partnership because of poor Nevera sales and Bugatti Rimac revenue that plunged 46% last year to €182 million, according to Porsche's annual report. Rimac Group has explored buying Porsche's stake in Bugatti Rimac, valuing the business at more than €1 billion, according to Bloomberg reporting. In May 2024, Mate Rimac said just 50 out of a planned total of 150 Neveras had been delivered (Longin declined to comment on a more recent tally for this story); later that summer, in an interview with Bloomberg, he credited the low demand to buyers' appetite for combustion-powered supercars. The company has since announced pivots to its hypercar plan, saying it will make a two-seat autonomous taxi and noting it's not forever married to electric-only propulsion. 'We are thinking of whatever exciting technology is out there, whatever ideas we can come up with,' Rimac said. 'Not just batteries—we are looking to all kinds of stuff for the future of the brand.' –BLOOMBERG
Bloomberg
10-07-2025
- Automotive
- Bloomberg
Rimac's Slow-Selling Nevera R Is the World's Fastest Production EV
A Rimac Nevera R reached 268.2 mph at the Automotive Testing Papenburg facility last week in Germany, a feat the Croatian hypercar maker is calling a world record for the top speed of an electric vehicle. 'Breaking records is in our DNA, and we won't stop here,' Mate Rimac, founder and president of Rimac Group, and chief executive officer of Bugatti Rimac and Rimac Technology, said in a press statement. The 'R' stands for radical, relentless and rebellious, Rimac said when he introduced the €2.3 million ($2.7 million) electric hypercar during Monterey Car Week last year.
Auto Blog
07-06-2025
- Automotive
- Auto Blog
Mate Rimac Plans BMW E30 V10 Restomod, But Not Anytime Soon
It all started with an E30 BMW, and now the electric entrepreneur wants to shove a gas V10 into it. Electric Hypercar CEO Still Has a Soft Spot for the E30 Mate Rimac's path to fame and electric hypercardom started as a teenager racing an E30 BMW 3 Series, and it's been quite the story to follow. His Concept One electric supercar first put him into the international spotlight, and the current-day Nevera hypercar has set many records in its wake. But his love for the E30 has remained strong, and his ultimate E30 restomod isn't an electric one, but a V10-powered beast. All Roads Lead To E30 When the engine of the E30 BMW he raced blew up, he converted the gas powertrain to an electric one in 2008 when he was barely 20 years old. He founded the Rimac Group, and now he's also the CEO of Bugatti Rimac. His meteoric rise to stardom makes him one of the preeminent people in the automotive industry at only 37 years of age. Yet, it seems, his love affair with the E30 has not dimmed one bit. Why Rimac's Personal E30 M3 Is Too Rare to Modify Mate owns a 1990 E30 M3 Evolution III, one of only 600 cars made, and one of the rarest and most special E30s ever, right up there with the highly collectible M30-powered South African 333i, of which only a little over 200 were ever made. The Rimac boss is unlikely to molest his pristine M3, so his V10 engine will likely be shoved into a dedicated project car. He's been tight-lipped about exactly what engine the V10 will be, though. Surely the high-revving S85B50 found in the E60 M5 and E63 M6 will satisfy the requirements for a lightweight NA V10, while keeping it all nicely BMW in the process? We can't be sure, but it would make the most sense. Autoblog Newsletter Autoblog brings you car news; expert reviews and exciting pictures and video. Research and compare vehicles, too. Sign up or sign in with Google Facebook Microsoft Apple By signing up I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy . You may unsubscribe from email communication at anytime. Rimac Says Restomod Will Have to Wait While the internet is getting all riled up about Mate Rimac's V10 E30, let us remind you that it's just an idea in his mind right now. He is preoccupied with running his automotive empire and possibly expanding into robotaxis, so there's hardly a spare minute to spend on painstakingly constructing an epic BMW restomod. He sees it as little more than a retirement project at the moment, so we might be in for a long wait. About the Author Cobus F. Potgieter View Profile
