Rimac Is Helping BMW Create Two New Mystery Models

Rimac has transformed from a small Croatian brand that built just eight examples of the wild Concept One into a technology and manufacturing juggernaut that now owns Bugatti. When it's not building hypercars, Rimac supplies electric drivetrains to some of the industry's top automotive brands, and boss Mate Rimac has confirmed it's working on two more cars with BMW. The new i7 is the first model from BMW to use a jointly developed battery system created alongside Rimac. 

This system combines the German automaker's Gen6 4695 lithium-ion cylindrical cells with its Gen5 module-based technology into a scalable architecture that other vehicles can use. Rimac manufactures the battery system at its campus near Zagreb. In a recent interview with Auto News, Mate Rimac confirmed that "there are two more cars in the pipeline"  being developed alongside BMW. Details about these new models haven't been announced, so we can only speculate. New products from BMW's Neue Klasse line-up seem most likely.

In the same interview, Rimac shared how it landed an important supply contract with BMW. He gave BMW executives a tour of the Rimac Campus while it was still in the early stages of construction, and pointed out where he planned to establish a production line for BMW at the site. The German automaker said it had no contracts with Rimac. 

"It doesn't matter," Mate Rimac replied, "I'm building it for you," reassuring the German brand that Rimac was committed to the project. "BMW is premium," he added. "You have to be the best technically and commercially to supply them. They have to be competitive on the market and they cannot pay a premium to get components from a company that's not optimized. To win that business, we had to be better than everyone on the market both technically and commercially." 

A wide range of cars feature Rimac technology. These include the Koenigsegg Regera, Aston Martin Valkyrie, Porsche 911 GTS T-Hybrid, and the new Ceer EVs from Saudi Arabia. In September, a consortium of investors purchased Porsche's 21% shareholding in Rimac Group and its 45% stake in the Bugatti Rimac joint venture. Free from Porsche's influence, Rimac says it can now make decisions faster. "A big company like Porsche is always risk aware and risk averse, and the decision-making process is long", Mate Rimac said. "Now I can sit down with my management team, make a decision and go. Something that would have taken six months to decide waiting for board approvals gets done much quicker."