Photo: Rimac Automobili
In case you missed it, there's a real arms race going on in the industry regarding electric vehicles, with pretty much everyone playing catch up to Tesla at the moment.
But while most manufacturers are trying to come up with accessible products that offer the same kind of range as the ones from the Californian EV maker, there is one that takes aim at a yet unreleased model: the all-new Tesla Roadster.
During the presentation in November, Elon Musk dropped a few bits of information on the upcoming electric sports car - just enough to get everyone's juices flowing. He talked about a top speed of over 250 mph (400 km/h), a torque figure of 10,000 Nm (7,375 lb-ft), though that one a bit misleading as it referred to wheel torque, a zero to sixty acceleration time of 1.9 seconds, and clearing the standing quarter mile in 8.8 seconds.
To top it all off, the new Roadster is supposed to go over 620 miles (1,000 km) on a single charge. I think we can all agree these numbers are way ahead of anything that's currently on the market or in development for that matter, which makes it all the more interesting that someone would dare to challenge them, and with a vehicle that's supposed to be unveiled less than two months from now.
However, if there's anyone who can do it, then it has to be the Croatians at Rimac. Their existing car, the Concept_One, has already proven to be the most dynamically capable road-going electric vehicle, and the fact that it comes from a small East European country only makes it all the more remarkable.
If we were to have one doubt about Rimac's ambiguous claims of beating the Roadster's numbers, it would definitely have to do with its maximum range. Also, Rimac could never sell the car for as little as $200,000, as Musk promised to do with the Roadster II, but if it manages to outdo the Tesla on a track and a drag strip, then plenty of people would be willing to throw at least ten times that at it.
As for the teaser itself, it's the second one released by the company and, after getting a glimpse of the vehicle's side profile, this one sheds some light on its front end. There's nothing particularly impressive about the design as it seems to get a nose cone similar to the first-gen Tesla Model S and a pair of headlights that wouldn't look out of place on a Hyundai.
The new hypercar will be revealed in March at the Geneva Motor Show when we'll hopefully get to learn more about its performance and how it'll all be made possible. Rimac says a commercial debut should follow shortly, which only makes things all the more intriguing.
During the presentation in November, Elon Musk dropped a few bits of information on the upcoming electric sports car - just enough to get everyone's juices flowing. He talked about a top speed of over 250 mph (400 km/h), a torque figure of 10,000 Nm (7,375 lb-ft), though that one a bit misleading as it referred to wheel torque, a zero to sixty acceleration time of 1.9 seconds, and clearing the standing quarter mile in 8.8 seconds.
To top it all off, the new Roadster is supposed to go over 620 miles (1,000 km) on a single charge. I think we can all agree these numbers are way ahead of anything that's currently on the market or in development for that matter, which makes it all the more interesting that someone would dare to challenge them, and with a vehicle that's supposed to be unveiled less than two months from now.
However, if there's anyone who can do it, then it has to be the Croatians at Rimac. Their existing car, the Concept_One, has already proven to be the most dynamically capable road-going electric vehicle, and the fact that it comes from a small East European country only makes it all the more remarkable.
If we were to have one doubt about Rimac's ambiguous claims of beating the Roadster's numbers, it would definitely have to do with its maximum range. Also, Rimac could never sell the car for as little as $200,000, as Musk promised to do with the Roadster II, but if it manages to outdo the Tesla on a track and a drag strip, then plenty of people would be willing to throw at least ten times that at it.
As for the teaser itself, it's the second one released by the company and, after getting a glimpse of the vehicle's side profile, this one sheds some light on its front end. There's nothing particularly impressive about the design as it seems to get a nose cone similar to the first-gen Tesla Model S and a pair of headlights that wouldn't look out of place on a Hyundai.
The new hypercar will be revealed in March at the Geneva Motor Show when we'll hopefully get to learn more about its performance and how it'll all be made possible. Rimac says a commercial debut should follow shortly, which only makes things all the more intriguing.
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