Rimac Unveils Concept For New €200 million Campus in Croatia

Electric automaker Rimac Automobili has unveiled new designs for its €200 million state-of-the-art home in Croatia, including an on-site test track, accommodation, museum, and campus facilities.

Recently EV hypercar manufacturer Rimac Automobili unveiled designs for its new €200 million state-of-the-art home in Croatia, including an on-site test track, accommodation, a museum, and campus facilities.

From humble beginnings in the garage of founder Mate Rimac, over the last ten years, Rimac Automobili has created some of the most thrilling electric hypercars and become a global leader in technology thanks to Mate’s vision for an electric future.

Reflecting its role as a strategic partner to the likes of Hyundai-Kia and Porsche, Rimac is now looking to bring together all of its people and functions into one unique location and have found a place to call home only a few miles from Rimac’s current facilities.

Working with famed Croatian architectural firm 3LHD, Rimac is looking to showcase its spirit and focus on attention to detail and create a futuristic complex that will house all operations for many years to come.

The new complex will also be its international R&D and production base and enable the company to ramp up from prototype and smaller volume projects to high-volume production of its high-performance electric drivetrain and battery systems for many global car companies.

The new building site, designed around the idea of providing the best possible working environment for an international workforce, is almost double the size of the current location and will occupy a site of 200,000 m² with works to be completed by 2023.

Putting considerable time and thought into the new design, Mate Rimac has personally been keen to ensure that the new home embodies not just the brand’s character but also that of its people. As such, the spaces have been refined to be friendly, open, and warm, with more than a hint of fun. Simultaneously, befitting the company’s leading-edge technology status, it will be contemporary, light-filled, and take inspiration from its natural surroundings.

Sharing on the brand’s exciting new plans, Rimac Automobili CEO and Founder Mate Rimac explains, “Just 10 years ago this company was only me in a garage, working on electric performance vehicles and components. Since then, we have grown to around 1,000 employees, formed strategic partnerships with Porsche, Hyundai Motor Group and others, and are working with the biggest names in the automotive industry. But, one thing that we have always committed to is developing our business within Croatia; we’re proud to be here, and with this new location, it will be our long-term home.

We have now reached a point where we need to build our long-term home in Croatia, and that’s exactly what the Rimac Campus is. Having outgrown our existing facilities, we’re now creating a space that best reflects our brand and our ambitions, working with world-leading architects to build a campus that sits comfortably within the natural beauty of Croatia while also bringing every aspect of Rimac into one place.

The top priority of the project was to create the best possible working environment for our employees and to allow visitors and the public to enjoy the space and mix with Rimac employees. The campus is our springboard to the growth plans we have over the next decade and beyond, strengthening us as niche hypercar maker, a leading Tier 1 supplier of electric performance technology to the world’s largest automotive manufacturers and an early mover in the worlds of autonomy and mobility.”

Using their extensive experience in creating spectacular buildings and complexes, often integrating spaces with nature, Croatian architectural firm 3LHD has taken design inspiration from several sources, including the curves and movement of Rimac’s C_Two hypercar and speed itself.

Focusing on the concept of speed, the new Rimac complex is influenced by how various groups enter and flow through the site. For example, employees will naturally be keen to get to their workspaces quickly, while visitors and museum guests are more likely to experience the indoor communal spaces and outdoor areas at a more leisurely pace.

The new complex also features a balance between design innovation and sustainability and includes urban “swamps” and meadows, along with a rooftop garden and on-site accommodation for visitors and employees in a series of “individual pods” that will blend in with the surrounding woodland area.

Of course, as an automotive factory, Rimac will include a customization showroom to allow customers to preview and specify their cars to their exact tastes on-site, plus a museum with a bar and merchandise shop.

As part of full site tours, visitors will also see cars being carefully pieced together through glass, although visitors will not be given access to the top-secret project rooms.

With a focus on employee wellbeing and learning, the Rimac complex will also feature a games room, gym and training center, restaurant, and even a kindergarten.

In keeping with its sustainability credentials, on-site organic food production has also been factored in, as has plenty of parkland for both employees and the public to enjoy and even the provision for farm animals on-site. Meeting the company’s desire for multi-functional and adaptable spaces, the site will also house an auditorium, conference hall, and education rooms.

With a plan for long-term growth, the site has also been designed so that it can be expanded over time while still blending in seamlessly with its natural surroundings. It will be able to accommodate over 2,500 employees and substantial production facilities, double today’s current headcount.

Hence, the site has been split into two distinct areas. The first being the HQ building, which will house central functions, management, and R&D, as well as Grey’s offices – the electric bike manufacturer also founded by Mate Rimac.

Linking this building to the next will be a large, glazed restaurant subtly built into the landscape with sweeping views on either side. At one end will be the retail space and kindergarten. At the other, the reception and showroom and museum.

On the opposite of its fork design will be its production and testing facilities, encompassing design, prototyping, and reverse engineering.

At the rear will be the entrance to the beating heart of the site, its production plant, which will house machining, components, and vehicle assembly, battery production, composites production, and paint shop.

The new €200 million Rimac Campus’s size and scale make it one of the most significant builds in Europe, with construction scheduled to begin later this year.