Mate Rimac – sure, that Rimac – has been referred to as plenty of issues. Pioneer, billionaire, inventor, genius. It’s all technically true, however you may apparently add BMW fanatic to the listing. You don’t must look arduous to search out connections to the model – whether or not you began 15 years in the past in the beginning of his firm’s timeline or as not too long ago as September of 2023 when he was noticed driving an E46 M3 CSL. Rimac – a passionate automotive fanatic – and BMW are inextricably linked.

Rimac and the Electrifying E30

The person chargeable for one of many quickest vehicles out there as we speak acquired his begin swapping a BMW E30 3 Collection with EV parts. After the engine blew, Mate determined to swap in some batteries and motors, dubbing his race automotive the e-M3. Mate – by this time, already a patent holder for inventing the iGlove, an innovation changing the keyboard and mouse – started breaking information not lengthy after the automotive’s completion. The E30 units 5 Guinness and FIA World Information for the fastest-accelerating electrical automotive with the e-M3 by 2011. The file braking try happened on a 2 km lengthy navy runway close to Zagreb on April the seventeenth, 2011. This identical yr, the Rimac Concept_One debuts in Frankfurt. Rimac calls his E30 BMW the “inexperienced monster” as a result of the automotive made 600 horsepower, 900 Nm of torque, reached 100 km/h from standstill in 3.3 sec and had a high pace of 280 km/h.

Discovering Mate’s posts on DIYElectricCar – an lively discussion board nonetheless as we speak – is like trying right into a time capsule. His first put up documenting the E30’s swap is telling. “My purpose is to make a really, very highly effective EV.” Properly, mission achieved. Who might’ve recognized in February 2009 that Rimac – then 19 years outdated – would go on to supply a 200+ mph hypercar that endlessly altered the notion of EVs?

Rimac’s Different BMWs

Whereas barely much less well-documented, Mr. Rimac has owned many BMWs—and apparently nonetheless does. As of 2021, his assortment represented the model properly—an F90 M5 Competitors as a each day driver (completed in Darkish Graphite Metallic ), alongside a blue Z4 M Coupe and Diamond Black E30 M3 EVO. In a video with The Late Brake Present, Rimac divulges extra of his illustrious BMW possession historical past. “I owned an M6, the E64 with the V10. I undoubtedly need to construct an E30 with the V10 sooner or later,” he says.

In the identical video, Rimac shared his affection for the 1990 BMW E30 M3 EVO III, noting it was a dream automotive he acquired from Belgium as soon as financially ready. This mannequin, distinctive in Europe, is meticulously maintained, showcasing Rimac’s care regardless of its slower tempo in comparison with his Rimac Nevera. For Mate, the E30 represents not only a prized possession however a profound emotional bond.

Extra not too long ago, Mate was noticed by an intrepid automotive spotter, apparently driving his E46 M3 CSL to and/or from the workplace. That is proper on model for the person, who’s well-documented as being all in favour of “emotional” vehicles. Fairly the step up from an E30 with a blown engine. An engine he blew, thoughts you, whereas racing it. Final yr, in the course of the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este, we had the pleasure of assembly Mate. Our introduction was serendipitous, sparking a dialog between us, regardless of being strangers. Naturally, our chat veered in the direction of BMW vehicles, and it was in that second we witnessed his profound ardour for vehicles. His enthusiasm wasn’t simply theoretical; it was backed by his involvement in shaping an thrilling future for hypercars, complemented by his appreciation for historical past by way of his personal assortment of traditional vehicles.

How a lot of his hypercar’s efficiency capabilities and dynamics had been knowledgeable by classes realized from behind the wheel of a BMW? We’ll most likely by no means have a solution to that. We’re simply glad Mate discovered an E30 when he did. And we’re glad his automotive ardour is outwardly alive and properly a decade and a half later.