Mate Rimac – sure, that Rimac – has been known as a number of issues. Pioneer, billionaire, inventor, genius. It’s all technically true, however you may apparently add BMW fanatic to the checklist. You don’t should look exhausting to seek out connections to the model – whether or not you began 15 years in the past at first 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 automobiles out there as we speak obtained his begin swapping a BMW E30 3 Collection with EV elements. 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 data 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 document braking try passed off on a 2 km lengthy army runway close to Zagreb on April the seventeenth, 2011. This similar 12 months, 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 wanting right into a time capsule. His first submit documenting the E30’s swap is telling. “My objective is to make a really, very highly effective EV.” Nicely, mission completed. Who might’ve recognized in February 2009 that Rimac – then 19 years previous – would go on to provide a 200+ mph hypercar that ceaselessly 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 nicely—an F90 M5 Competitors as a every 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 positively 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 inquisitive about “emotional” automobiles. Fairly the step up from an E30 with a blown engine. An engine he blew, thoughts you, whereas racing it. Final 12 months, through 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 direction of BMW automobiles, and it was in that second we witnessed his profound ardour for cars. 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 automobiles.

How a lot of his hypercar’s efficiency capabilities and dynamics have been knowledgeable by classes realized from behind the wheel of a BMW? We’ll in all probability 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 nicely a decade and a half later.