Rimac Automobili Ramps Up Production of Crash Test C_Two Electric Hypercar

Rimac Automobili has announced a new production line at their facility in Veliko Trgovišće Croatia as part of the continuing development of the C_Two electric hypercar.

Like many other car brands, Rimac Automobili didn’t get the chance to reveal their latest designs at this years canceled Geneva Motor Show but that hasn’t stopped the Croatian based company from moving forward and increasing the speed at which they produce their C_Two electric hypercar prototypes as they work towards the final validation and crash testing processes needed for worldwide homologation.

Required to prove that a car is roadworthy, automakers must build several prototypes to undergo a series of rigorous tests; including sending a perfectly decent car into a wall at a crash test facility.

The homologation process itself takes around three to four years from the first concept to full testing of prototypes and finally seeing the cars on the road.

So far, Rimac has been able to assemble four early prototype vehicles, but a further 13 are needed for the testing and homologation process, followed by another 10 pre-series cars which are hoped to be finalized this year.

Previously it had taken Rimac’s production team approx 10 weeks to produce each C_Two electric hypercar but in a recent reveal of their new production line, the team will now be able to cut this down to approx. 5 weeks.

Divided into five main zones, the new production line begins with the bonding of all brackets and fixing points onto the monocoque. Two people in each following zone then continue to build up the car piece-by-piece. Sub-assemblies like the powertrain, the dashboard, or the front radiator are built away from the line and delivered complete to be fitted.

Under the new production schedule, Rimac will now be able to build 4 new prototypes per month which will accelerate the production of the C_Two prototypes need for testing.

Mate Rimac, Founder and CEO, Rimac Automobili, said: “We have worked hard to bring the C_Two to the stage where it is now, and we want our customers all over the world to be able to experience the thrill of a 1,914hp all-electric hypercar. The only way we can do that is through a strict crash testing process requiring many different prototypes, each of which has its own purpose. While some cars will go straight from the production line to the crash testing facility, others will be used for different validation tests before hitting the wall. Only a handful of prototypes will not be crashed during this program. As we are ramping up prototype production, this new line is an absolutely necessary investment to streamline the process, and it’ll help us as we begin to deliver customer cars from next year.”

Although Rimac Automobili’s original plan to deliver customer cars at the end of this year was slightly thwarted by the COVID-19 pandemic, under the improved production circumstances customer deliveries are on track for 2021.

Rimac also shows no signs of slowing down as business continues to scale up with Porsche increasing its ownership stake in the business to 15.5% and Hyundai Motor Group joining a growing list established partners of Rimac, including Koenigsegg, Automobili Pininfarina, and Aston Martin.