12 most innovative and eccentric electric cars - Rimac Concept_One

Rimac Concept_One

The Rimac Concept_One is a textbook hypercar. It has breathtaking looks, with numbers to match: 1,224bhp, a 221mph top speed and 0-62mph in 2.5 seconds. There’s one important difference between this and the supercar establishment, though. While Bugatti, Lamborghini and Pagani use big petrol engines, the Rimac uses four electric motors, one in each wheel. That provides four-wheel drive and, crucially, allows power to be instantly varied from corner to corner for incredible grip and stability.

Building – and selling – a car for almost $1m is no mean feat, especially given the founder started messing around with electric cars as a hobby. His first attempt was to electrify a BMW 3 Series race car, something that would later become a test bed for the Concept_One. It’s a shame, then, that the Concept_One will be better remembered as the car crashed by Richard Hammond on The Grand Tour.

It’s not just small-scale carmakers who are getting in on the act, though. Find out about General Motors’ effort on the next page.