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Q&A with Rimac Electric Hypercar and Verne Autonomous Vehicle Visionary Mate RimacQ&A with Rimac Electric Hypercar and Verne Autonomous Vehicle Visionary Mate Rimac
What are Rimac’s plans for the new Verge autonomous robo-taxi service?
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Founder Mate Rimac sits in a Rimac Nivera.Rimac
At a Glance
- Choice of subscription or pay-as-you-go usage
- Firewalling autonomy systems is more important than systems consolidation
- The Verne service could consider outsourcing manufacturing of its cars
No one much noticed in 2009 when an ambitious young Croatian named Mate Rimac optimistically decided to launch his own company to build electric-powered dream cars. Rimac (pronounced MAA-teh REE-mahtz, with a rolled “r”.)
The company entered the global consciousness in 2017 when Grand Tour co-presenter Richard Hammond (the shorter, rebellious one, not the tall, bellicose one nor the unkempt-haired professorial one) infamously crashed while driving the Rimac Concept One in a terrifying plunge down a hillside during which the car improbably protected him from serious injury.
Now, Rimac is building its $2.2 million, 1,914-horsepower Nevera hypercar in a sprawling new production campus outside Zagreb that is reminiscent of the McLaren Technical Centre in Britain.
Following the announcement of Rimac’s Verne autonomous ride-hailing vehicle service at the headquarters, Design News sat with Mate Rimac for a wide-ranging chat about the company’s plans.
Click through the slide show to see the discussion.
About the Author
Dan’s coverage of the auto industry over three decades has taken him to the racetracks, automotive engineering centers, vehicle simulators, wind tunnels, and crash-test labs of the world.
A member of the North American Car, Truck, and Utility of the Year jury, Dan also contributes car reviews to Popular Science magazine, serves on the International Engine of the Year jury, and has judged the collegiate Formula SAE competition.
Dan is a winner of the International Motor Press Association's Ken Purdy Award for automotive writing, as well as the National Motorsports Press Association's award for magazine writing and the Washington Automotive Press Association's Golden Quill award.
Dan, testing the 2025 Aston Martin Vanquish. ANDY MORGAN/ASTON MARTIN
He has held a Sports Car Club of America racing license since 1991, is an SCCA National race winner, two-time SCCA Runoffs competitor in Formula F, and an Old Dominion Region Driver of the Year award winner. Co-drove a Ford Focus 1.0-liter EcoBoost to 16 Federation Internationale de l’Automobile-accredited world speed records over distances from just under 1km to over 4,104km at the CERAM test circuit in Mortefontaine, France.
He was also a longtime contributor to the Society of Automotive Engineers' Automotive Engineering International magazine.
He specializes in analyzing technical developments, particularly in the areas of motorsports, efficiency, and safety.
He has been published in The New York Times, NBC News, Motor Trend, Popular Mechanics, The Washington Post, Hagerty, AutoTrader.com, Maxim, RaceCar Engineering, AutoWeek, Virginia Living, and others.
Dan has authored books on the Honda S2000 and Dodge Viper sports cars and contributed automotive content to the consumer finance book, Fight For Your Money.
He is a member and past president of the Washington Automotive Press Association and is a member of the Society of Automotive Engineers.
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