Well, I've been following Mate Rimac since his E-M3 days 1984 BMW E-M3 By Rimac Review @ Top Speed I think that Mate and his team has done extraordinary accomplishments in terms of technology development - all from battery tech, electronics, material and mechanical engineering. All of that at his home - Croatia. The C2 is just another proof of that. Besides cars, they have been heavily involved several other EV and related products. All of that with wife by his side and not pretending to save the world.
but the technology will eventually trickle down so indirectly they are saving the world. just not shouting out loud while doing it (humility) which is why i really respect the Mate Rimac. The interview with Johnny smith shows how humble the man is.
Can't say I see much technology from ICE hypercars trickling down to the masses, doubt it will be anything different for EV hypercars. I love what Mate has done but don't kid yourself. The higher volume EV builders which are driving the change to EV's and sustainable energy use are the ones pushing real change.
Advanced engine mapping, kinetic recovery technology, traction/stability control, turbo technology.... It may not be as obvious as things like abs and electronic ignition from days past, but high end production vehicles have always been a showcase for the latest and greatest.
You mean regen? Because that's just inherent when you add electric motors and energy storage to a drivetrain. Turbochargers have been around since the late 1800's.
So by your logic the roadster has done nothing for the model 3, and everything we know about the automobile we learned from Henry Ford... I fully agree that sometimes you have to look hard to find all the nuggets of technology trickle down in the auto industry, but it seems like you’re simply refusing to look at all...
Not by my logic... Of course Tesla learned something from each vehicle they produced. The difference is that Rimac seems to have no plans to create a high or even moderate volume EV so whatever they are learning won't be trickling down to anything. They have actually trickled UP market since the C2 is more expensive than the C1.
They don't need to be the ones making the vehicles for the trickle-down to occur. I believe they already sell / license their technology to others. At this time it's to Koenigsegg and other high-end manufacturers, but as word gets out and volume picks up, they should be able to drive the cost down into more main-stream manufacturers. Mate presents this strategy as a humble "needed to do this to keep the lights on" move, almost apologizing for doing it, but I expect he knows that this could be the core that funds the rest of the business in the long term. Now, I don't realistically think you'll ever see a VW eGolf with a "Rimac Inside" sticker on the side, but I also don't think it necessarily needs to go that low to be an effective catalyst for electric and electrified vehicle development, and to be a source of significant on-going income, at least for a while. That said, I also don't think Rimac wants to be the next Ford, either. There is plenty of opportunity in the marketplace without needing to scale to Huge.
On top of that, just like how the original roadster and model S made EV popular to the general masses, Rimac just another level further bolster these “perception” that EV can be better than Ferrari’s, McLarens ICE counterpart.
It is very impressive, and the detailed tech info is great. Wonder if Tesla could have a similar "skunk works tour" for the roadster, or is that more mass produced like a 911? Anyway, Nico Rosberg is a EV fan, with stakes in e-formula and the new e-Dakar series or what it is called.