As you can see from our coverage, there's been plenty to see and report from the halls of the Frankfurt Messe at the first major auto show of the post-summer season. But while most vehicles were displayed prominently under the bright lights in the big rooms, tucked away at the back of a supplier hall sat one of the most intriguing debuts of the show.
Its modest location isn't all that's unusual about the Rimac Concept One. And when we say "unusual," we mean "all kinds of awesome." From its headquarters in Croatia (of all places), the electric propulsion upstart has crafted quite the stunning show car.
Its drivetrain is localized at each corner, with four individual motors teamed up with their own inverter and gearbox for each wheel. The package reminds us of elements from the Devon GTX, Jaguar C-X75 and Koenigsegg – good places to start, all – but without looking derivative as independently made supercars often do. And while many concept cars pay little attention to the interior, this is another area in which the Rimac doesn't disappoint.
The cabin was styled by a team of former Pininfarina designers, and then outfitted by Vilner. The Bulgarian leather crafters regularly trim out some of the most stunning interiors this side of the QE2, but have outdone even themselves with this latest project. But don't take our word for it. Have a look for yourself in our gallery of live shots from the show floor, the second gallery of stock images and the brief press release after the jump. You won't regret it.
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Rimac selected Vilner for the final touches of Concept One interior
FRANKFURT, September 13th, 2011. – Rimac Automobili is unveiling the world's first electric supercar - the Concept_One. The Concept_One is anexceptional supercar with a new propulsion system.
Rimac Automobili developed an unique powertrain which is divided into four sub-systems, each consisting of one motor, inverter and reduction gearbox. Each of those systems drives one wheel, completely independent one from the other. It's called All Wheel Torqure Vectoring and allowes a new approach to vehicle dynamics. Mate Rimac, CEO of Rimac Automobili says: „I believe that the electric motor is a much better machine compared to the ICE, in almost all aspects, especially for a sportscar."
The exterior design is signed by Adriano Mudri: „Exploring the labyrinth of creativity, soon it was obvious thedesign had to be simple and clear with a lot of sporty elegance to easily catch up with its competitors in this power & exclusivity class."The interior is designed by a team of former Pininfarina employees, led by Mr. Goran Popović. After the Rimac Automobili Engineering team finished the development and prototyping of the interior parts, the company entrusted the vision of the Bulgarian custom studio Vilner for the elaboration of the interior, color combination and for the leather design accent.. The result is a high-techsupercar interior which can be appealing and pleasant to interact with at the same time.
RimacAutomobili is young company that develops and produces high performance electric vehicles, drive trains and battery systems. "Our first car evolved in a short period into a project that didn't give an end result but a beginning of great new story, of the first world electric hyper car – The Concept(One)" Mate Rimac describes their beginnings. 20 great engineers and designers settled in Croatia near Zagreb are making something new and revolutionary.
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