Rimac Concept One

Revealed in 2011, the Rimac Concept One was the first car to carry the Rimac name into production, built as a limited-run demonstration of what a small Croatian startup believed electric hypercars could become. At a time when most automakers still treated electric power as a compromise, Rimac used the Concept One to show that an EV could deliver supercar-level performance without sacrificing speed or driving excitement, laying the groundwork for everything the company built afterward.

The Concept One was engineered around Rimac's own battery and motor technology, the same in-house philosophy that would later define the Nevera and the company's broader business. Its limited production run meant relatively few examples reached customers, but its real impact was on the industry rather than on sales figures. The car became a rolling showcase for Rimac's engineering capability, catching the attention of established automakers who were beginning to look for outside expertise in electric powertrains.

That attention translated directly into partnerships, as Rimac went on to supply battery and electric drive technology to brands including Aston Martin and Koenigsegg, and eventually formed the Bugatti-Rimac joint venture with Mate Rimac's company taking the controlling stake. Without the Concept One establishing Rimac's credibility as an engineering outfit, that path from garage startup to hypercar powerhouse would have looked very different.