As I was growing up, anything road legal with more than 500 horsepower seemed absolutely impossible - and I'm even pushing it a little with the 500 in the first place.
At one point, though, somebody at Volkswagen had a short circuit and decided to build the world's fastest, most powerful road car. They settled for 1,000 hp and called it the Bugatti Veyron. In an instant, this name became synonymous with crazy top speed, but also luxury and a price to measure: one million euros.
Funnily enough, Volkswagen was still hemorrhaging money with this W16-engined car, but it had done it. The boring German company was behind the world's most ridiculous vehicle to date, and it was enjoying every minute of it.
These days, 1,000 hp isn't all that special. The new Chiron, Veyron's successor, has increased that output by 50 percent, but whatever it does, it will never have the same impact as its forefather.
The Rimac Concept_One has every chance of becoming the electric counterpart of the Veyron. In the EV world, it's all about acceleration rather than top speed, and the Concept_One has plenty of that. Nobody really knows how quickly Rimac's monster can reach 60 mph (97 km/h), but everyone agrees it's close to zero seconds.
This clip shows Mate Rimac, the founder and CEO of Rimac Automobili, and the Earl of Pembroke, the founder of Wilton Classic & Supercar, driving the two monstroulsy powerful hypercars on the beautiful roads of the Croatian Dalmatian Coast.
The two start off each in their respective vehicle, but then swap seats to get a taste of what it's like to go really fast using a different type of propulsion. Mate immediately feels the need to tell us he's a true petrolhead "despite" making electric cars, and judging by the very competent comments he makes, we believe him wholeheartedly. Besides, when you create a 1,088 hp car, it doesn't matter what sets its wheels in motion, you're definitely on the right side of the fence.
The two offer a pair of first-hand reviews that seem more professional than a lot of the attempts we've seen from "true professionals," showing you just need to love cars and know what you're talking about to capture the essence of the vehicle you're driving.
"Boy meets car, boy loves car, boy gets journalism degree and starts job writing and editing at a car magazine" - 5/5. (Vlad Mitrache if he was a movie) Full profile
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