California Dreaming: Rimac C_Two Makes Pit Stop in L.A.
En route to Monterey Car Week, ‘California Edition’ of electric supercar is revealed in Hollywood and becomes an overnight superstar.
“What you see before your eyes is the Rimac Concept_Two, which was inspired by the California lifestyle,” announces Rimac rep Marta Longin at the August 17 unveiling of the revolutionary pure-electric supercar at L.A.’s Petersen Automotive Museum. “What’s special about this car is that we reimagined the design of it around the idea of California and its vibrant atmosphere. It’s made to be used, not just look pretty and nicely-designed, but to cross continents.”
The sleek grand tourer parked before us in the Petersen’s lobby certainly has the attention-grabbing good looks to make it in Hollywood. And considering that the Rimac C_Two has a top speed of 258 mph and can hit 0 to 60 in 1.85 seconds, it seems like it would easily feel at home whether it was using its 400-mile range to cruise the Pacific Coast Highway or to tear up the track at Willow Springs.
“The thing about this car is that it can perform, and perform very well, and it can also teach you how to drive,” says Longin. “The car is Level 4 autonomous ready. The main feature of this autonomous driving, for us, is the ‘Driving Coach.’ The Driving Coach enables the car to overlay a race track, and it will actually teach you how to drive like a professional race driver. The car gives you steering input, braking input, audio and visual [guides]…it’s very exciting.”
Auto enthusiasts got their first glimpse of the C-Two earlier this year when a silver version debuted at the Geneva Motor Show. But this new California edition, which is bathed in an unpretentious light blue paint job, is even sportier looking than the Geneva model. In fact, the Rimac C_Two is so sexy that it should come equipped with its own soundtrack, a simple bow chicka bow wow, because wherever it may roam–whether a tree-lined suburban street or a world-famous race track–this tech-heavy super car is going to turn heads and spark instant envy.
Designed by Rimac’s in-house team and integrated with ground-breaking technologies, the C_Two is the second generation of hypercar from Rimac Automobili, which was founded in Croatia in 2009 and has quickly become a serious contender in the world of supercars. “The first was the Concept_One [in 2011], and that was produced in only eight units” says Longin. “It was kind of our learning project for the C_Two. This car has been in development for over three years now and still is. So, the production and delivery starts in 2020.”
‘The Driving Coach enables the car to overlay a race track, and it will actually teach you how to drive like a professional race driver, with steering input, braking input…’
Although the Rimac C_Two follows in the footsteps of the Rimac C_One, Longin reveals to the assembled auto journalists at the Petersen that the commonalities end there.
“The C_Two has nothing taken off the shelf and nothing passed on from the Concept_One except the general idea of the world’s fastest electric supercar,” says Longin. “It is a lot bigger, a lot more spacious. It’s a proper grand tour car. It will be available in 150 units, which is a very big thing for us since the Concept_One was produced in eight units only.”
Featuring a full carbon fiber monocoque with bonded carbon roof, integrated battery pack, and merged rear carbon subframe, the Rimac C-Two is also aerodynamically, well, dynamic. The lightweight body works in tandem with strategically integrated hood flaps that alter the C-Two’s aerodynamic profile, and a rear wing that automatically shifts position according to dynamic loads and also operates at full air-brake to stabilize the vehicle under heavy braking.
It’s What’s Inside that Counts
Although its stunning exterior can’t be denied, the Rimac C_Two proves that beauty indeed comes from the inside–and what an inside it is in this super-cool supercar.
At the Petersen reveal, Rimac showcased a bespoke grand tourer covered in a light blue paint job that is part of a color scheme that continues in the equally gorgeous interior, where the intricately stitched leather seats look particularly modern and stylish in light brown. The Rimac logo stitched on the headrests are a nice touch, bringing a bold aesthetic to the soft color scheme. The floor mats also sport the Rimac logo, in a light brown hue that perfectly complements the color of the seats.
And, of course, the interior is where you’ll find the best piece of state-of-the-art tech, which was designed to provide both the driver and passenger with an equally awesome experience.
The on-board A.I. includes eight cameras, a lidar sensor, six radar emitters, and 12 ultrasonic sensors. And adding a bit of personality to the tech-heavy vehicle is response-monitoring software that changes the car’s character depending on the driver’s mood or the prevailing weather conditions.
Oh, and don’t worry about carrying around any keys or fobs because this futuristic vehicle is also equipped with facial recognition in lieu of a traditional key system.
Rimac doesn’t skimp on the awesome driving experience either. The passenger seat provides guests a riding experience that is comparable to the driver’s courtesy of some high-tech additions to the C-Two.
“There are three high-definition screens inside: the central display, the cluster, and the passenger screen, which is quite new,” says Longin. “So, the passenger can engage with the car and with the drive as much as the driver.”
Power and Performance
The Rimac C_Two may be all electric, but it’s still got some serious old-school edge when it comes to emulating the exciting power and performance of classic track racing. Thanks to its high-tech 120 kWh battery, which provides 1.4MW of power, the C-Two can cover two laps of the Nurburgring at full power: 258 mph.
Drivers get some assistance in dealing with all this power via Rimac’s signature All-Wheel Torque Vectoring (R-AWTV), which controls four electric motors, one per wheel, and enables both the safety features, such as advanced ABS and ESP, as well as a uniquely adaptable all-wheel drive.
The Rimac C_Two’s suite of electronic control systems means that full torque-vectoring is available to harness 1,914 hp of power and 2,300 Nm of torque, which is about two and a half times the torque output of a contemporary hypercar.
The Rimac’s unveiling at the Petersen was a pit stop en route to Monterey Car Week, which explains the two huge bottles of champagne and trio of glasses in the back of the car. With a rumored $2 million price tag and reportedly already piquing plenty of interest, it looks like the Rimac C_Two is quickly become the toast of the town, or in the case of the C_Two California Edition, the toast of Tinseltown.
Photos and video for Team Speed by David Ciminelli
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