Electric Concept One destroys LaFerrari

All-electric concept destroys opposition in drag race.

IT IS no great secret the Tesla P90D is one helluva monster off the line. Despite tipping the scales at a whopping 2.2-tonnes, the all-electric beast in Ludicrous mode can haul itself to 100km/h from a standstill in just 3.0-seconds.

It is not until you get into hypercar territory that you find a car capable of shaming the mighty Tesla in a race off the line. The Ferrari LaFerrari is one such car, accelerating to 60mph (97km/h) in an eye-watering 2.4-seconds.

However, both the Tesla and hybrid Ferrari have been utterly hosed by a little-known car from Croatia.

Known as the Rimac Concept One, the all-electric supercar allegedly packs a staggering 800kW of power, and an almost unbelievable 1600Nm of torque. This results in a decimating performance which leaves both challengers in the dust.

You can’t blame poor driving for the defeats either, with professional GT driver Archi Hamilton at the wheel of the Tesla and LaFerrari in both stoushes.

The Concept One’s awesome performance is thanks to four electric motors which send power to all wheels instantly.

Not content with powering each wheel individually, each motor has an independent gearbox. Both front wheels have single-ratio reduction ‘boxes, while the rear wheels have their own two-speed dual-carbon-clutch gearboxes. According to Rimac this results in brutal acceleration at any speed.

As ultra-cool as these electric launches are, traditionally they result in overheated and drained batteries.

The Croatian built Rimac avoids this with seven independent cooling systems, in addition to a number of ‘sub-systems’. CEO, Mate Rimac, says the car was designed to maximise performance on the track, not just a couple of showy acceleration runs.

Hypercar destroying launches aren’t the Concept One’s only party trick. The car’s air-ride suspension and four-wheel drive make it decent at climbing steep hills covered in wood chips, it turns out.

A video from last weekend’s Pebble Beach event shows the Rimac climbing an impressive slope in order to grab the best real estate possible. Let’s see your LaFerrari do that!