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The "Tesla-Killer" Claims Are Back, This Time Aimed at the Unlaunched Roadster

They seem to have dialed down lately, but just about one year ago, every new electric vehicle announced by a traditional manufacturer was a "Tesla-killer." The term was used so often, it eventually became a joke.
Rimac Concept_One 1 photo
Photo: YouTube screenshot
It was even funnier considering the specs of those vehicles, despite coming to market two, maybe even three years later, were inferior to Tesla's current products, making the claim nothing more than big words for a catchy title.

The other week, Tesla went even further and presented its plans - at least a part of it, since the company should also be working on the Model Y compact crossover - for 2020, which come in the shape of the all-new Roadster.

We probably shouldn't bore you with details about the car as you've probably already heard about them (if not, click here), but suffice to say that if everything holds out for the production model, we're looking at the quickest and fastest car you can buy off-the-shelf, and one that comes at a reasonable price considering.

If anything is going to beat it, it's going to have to be electric since gasoline-powered cars have all but reached their maximum potential when it comes to acceleration. And if anyone's capable of doing it, then it has to be the Croatians at Rimac, the small company behind the superb Concept_One.

Well, it looks like that's precisely what's going to happen, and that even before the new Tesla Roadster hits the market. According to AutoGuide - who gets its information from Jens Sverdup of Auto Iconica, the Rimac distributor for the Americas - the company has been quietly working on an all-new electric hypercar for a few years.

Sverdup says it'll have improved performance compared to the Concept_One, which is an extremely quick car in itself. With Tesla openly announcing its plans, we'll be surprised if Rimac doesn't try to beat the Palo Alto carmaker with a vehicle with comparable specs to the new Roadster - if not better.

Furthermore, the unnamed Rimac hypercar is said to debut sometime during 2018, meaning it would get a two-year headstart compared to Tesla's model. On the other hand, Rimac is a low-volume manufacturer and its car will surely not compete within the same price bracket as the $200,000 Tesla Roadster. But if it delivers the performance, it shouldn't have any problems finding clients even if it costs ten times that.
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About the author: Vlad Mitrache
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"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)
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