Development of the Rimac C_Two electric supercar continues amid a coronavirus pandemic
Thanks to the coronavirus outbreak, Rimac's C_Two was scheduled to debut at the 2020 Geneva Motor Show, but development of the electric supercar continues in Rimac's native Croatia.
"We are somewhat returning to normal," founder Mate Rimac said in a video updated in early May (first spotted by Motor1). The "production department" staff is back at work, he said, while the office staff is "still working from home.
One of those back at work is Miroslav Zrcevic, Rimac's test and development driver. Most of the video focuses on how Zurcevic got his current job. Zurcevic previously worked as an automotive journalist, but wanted to become a test driver. Luckily, he knew a man.
Zurcevic met Rimac when he was still tinkering with gasoline-powered cars; the two raced Rimac's E30 BMW 3 Series, but the engine eventually blew. Rimac decided to replace the engine with an electric motor and started down the path of building an electric supercar.
Initially there were no test driver positions available, so Zurcevic began working for Rimac as a marketing assistant. Rimac was a very small company at the time, Zulcevic explains, so everyone had multiple jobs. It was this that allowed him to eventually take the wheel.
What Makes a Good Test Driver? According to Zurcevic, good car-handling skills are a prerequisite, but a test driver must also be fluent in engineering terms. He has a degree in mechanical engineering and founded the Formula Student Team at the University of Zagreb, Croatia.
Zrcevic's current task is to finish the development of the C_Two. The car was presented in concept form at the 2018 Geneva Motor Show and is claimed to have 1,914 horsepower, a 0-60-mph time of 1.85 seconds, and a top speed of 258 mph. Rimac has not released the latest specs for the production version, but they suggest that significant changes have been made.
C_Two's torque vectoring system still needs fine-tuning, and there are plans for a "drift mode," Zulcevic said. When ready for production, the price will be $2 million. Despite its high price, most production slots were filled shortly after the C_Two concept was unveiled in 2018.